NMC’s School of Education

The premier offering of the School of Education is the Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, Grades K-8. During the four years that the college has offered this program, it has averaged more than 30 graduates per academic year. Most of these graduates have been immediately employed by PSS and a few have decided to pursue more advanced degrees.

In addition to its acclaimed baccalaureate degree program in elementary education, the School of Education also offers other certificate/endorsement programs, which were developed to serve the needs of the CNMI.

A Special Education Endorsement was developed in collaboration with the Public School System. A Related Service Technician certificate was designed to give teacher aides in the Special Education and Early Childhood Programs sufficient skills to supplement licensed, or certified related service providers. Additionally, the Early Childhood Education Certificate is an enrichment-training program for educators within the Head Start classrooms.

As NMC developed the BS program in Elementary Education, the SOE identified a need to assure that students were appropriately prepared for the junior and senior level courses. The teacher candidacy process was established for this purpose.

The Teacher Candidacy application has also been improved to more clearly communicate requirements to reflect new developments in the SOE. The most significant change in the application process has been the inclusion of the PRAXIS I (Professional Skills Test, Basic Skills and General Knowledge in Reading, Writing and Mathematics). Starting Spring 2005, students will be required to submit test scores from the PRAXIS I exam to the SOE.

Other School of Education accomplishments include the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology Implementation Grant. This grant has enabled the college to hire faculty, purchase equipment and conduct workshops to assist the advancement of educational technology with preservice teachers and college faculty. NMC provides an Apple eMac computer, video cameras and technical support to each student teacher. At the completion of student teaching, preservice teachers can integrate multimedia into teaching practices.

Mathematics Education for Novice Teachers: Opportunities for Reflection (MENTOR) is a National Science Foundation funded project through PREL. Throughout the year, an SOE education mathematics specialist provides workshops and continual support at on-site CNMI locations.

The Curriculum Resource Center is a teaching and learning resource for School of Education students and faculty at NMC. The CRC is linked to the main NMC library system. Its holdings include texts for educational research and curriculum materials to enhance constructivist-teaching methodology and provide primary resources for education students, teachers-in-training, and mentor teachers.

Workshops and seminars are too numerous to mention but as an ongoing community service, each faculty member has provided training, seminars, workshops and consultation at the request of PSS and private school administrators and principals. These activities have been presented at no cost and include topics related to ESL, Cultural Awareness and Understanding, Portfolio Development, Brain Research and How We Learn, Curriculum Alignment, Diagnostic Reading, Integrated Curriculum, Math and many others. Most are two- to three-hour sessions and are provided after school or during professional development days.

The Bachelor of Science degree program is based upon the latest research and current best educational and classroom practices. The educational faculty design courses to incorporate the cultural strengths of the children of the CNMI and teach how to match those strengths to teaching practices.

The SOE endorses and follows NCATE and affiliate standards as program guidelines—Development, Learning, and Motivation; Curriculum; Instruction; Assessment and Professionalism.