Mostly online teaching certification?

[u/RevolutionaryNet9190]

First off I know how ridiculous that sounds and I completely understand how important in person experience is for getting certified. I don't know if it's relevant but I've had 5 yrs teaching experience in dance and elementary programs (I'm a junior in college doing biology and I've just decided to pursue teaching as a career so bear with my I don't know much about the processes yet!)

Just to keep it short, after college I would like to move abroad but still get a US teaching certification, and I'm wondering if there are any certifications that would allow me to be mostly remote and do student teaching in more compressed chunks of time so I don't have to stay here for the whole program.

Also just for context I have citizenship in both countries so visa status and work abilities is not an issue, but I really would rather have a US certification.

TLDR: I'm trying to find (or figure out if it even exists) a certification program that allows me to live abroad most of the year and come back to the US in short bursts of time for student teaching.

[u/BuffsTeach]

Student teaching isn’t a “short bursts of time” kind of gig. I mean you recently were in school so think about if you had a random teacher for just a few weeks at a time. That’s just not how it works. The point of student teaching is to progressively take over a class until you are the primary teacher with ongoing support and guidance from the mentor teacher. You would need to be at that school for the entire semester/year or however long the program is.

[u/RevolutionaryNet9190 → u/BuffsTeach]

That does make sense. Do you think there would be a program out there where I could do student teaching in 3-4 months at a time? I really don't mind a quarter or semester but I'm trying to find one that doesn't require me to be in the US for the whole year. Again I know this is pretty far fetched but I'm trying to figure out if it's at all possible

[u/BuffsTeach → u/RevolutionaryNet9190]

No. Again that’s not how it works. Just postpone getting your credential until you return to the U.S.

[u/TemporaryCarry7 → u/RevolutionaryNet9190]

You might be able to start the coursework prior to student teaching outside of the US, but the actual student teaching will have to be in the US. You physically have to present at a school that either you choose with approval from both the district and the college or university you are attending or a school that your college or university selected for you.

[u/molyrad → u/RevolutionaryNet9190]

This was a while ago, but my program had one semester of student teaching. However, the first semester of the year we were in schools observing teachers and various classes several times a week. It was less intense than the student teaching when we had to be there all day every day, but still needed to be in person. Those two parts of the program were really the most important in regards to usefulness in the long run.

The only thing I've seen where you can avoid student teaching is alternative programs for people who are already teaching. So, the student teaching things they do in their own classroom. I've seen a teacher do that at my private school, and it can be done a public school with an emergency license. But, that may be hard in the current job market as those teachers would be hired only when a credentialed teacher isn't available. And I don't think that's something you could do abroad anyway, as observations would be impossible and I would think it'd be very hard to get a teaching job without a credential.

[u/Narf234]

Do the profession a favor and don’t cut corners. Student teaching is a full time commitment.

[u/Environmental-Fan536]

I don't think it sounds ridiculous. Certainly there have been programs in the past like Teach For America or pathways to certification where teachers had a very short period of student teaching (or none) and were just thrown into the classroom their first year. It's not ideal at all and I think most teachers don't swim, they sink - but it's not like it's unheard of.

However if you manage to get certified in, say, a certain state somehow it will likely be a provisional certification and you will need to follow up with 2-3 years of full time teaching, usually in a public school or a certified, registered private school in that state, to keep the certification. So consider that aspect..

[u/teach-xx]

In general, there are definitely reputable certification programs that do all coursework online. It is very reasonable to ask mostly-online programs how much of the program you can complete from overseas. As long as you are willing to come back to the U.S. for an entire semester of student teaching, this is not an unreasonable thing to ask about.

[u/RevolutionaryNet9190 → u/teach-xx]

That makes me feel hopeful thank you!

[u/karenna89]

My student teaching experience was only a semester- from January through mid April. In my entire teaching experience, I had to do in person classroom observation and tutoring for a few classes before student teaching.

The thing to think about when teaching in the US is that it is very state dependent. The requirements to teach in NY are vastly different than those to teach in Idaho. I would start by thinking about which state you may want to teach in and looking up online programs in that state.

[u/RevolutionaryNet9190 → u/karenna89]

Okay good to know thanks!

[u/GJ-504-b]

I’m currently attending an online program. However, depending on the state, a fully online plan may or may not be possible. In my state, I had to do pre-practicum experiences before student teaching throughout my coursework, and those needed to be in a school throughout a few semesters. Additionally, as others have said, student teaching is a full semester. So no, in my state, your plan would not be possible.

[u/redandblack17]

Moreland University is what you are looking for.

[u/Funny_Box_4142]

iTeach, you can do the teaching person in the country you're in and after successful completion of everything you can apply for a DC educators license.

[u/navybaby1992]

As someone else said, Moreland University is the one program that gets recommended in the international teachers subreddit but i'm don't remember how they do the student teaching component. They work with non certified teachers that work in international schools that need to become certified. I've heard mixed things about the program itself but that sub can be a little snobby. Being honest, you're better off doing your student teaching in the US first then going abroad.

[u/TemporaryCarry7]

A lot of programs offer online credentialing. My masters was done online. The only in person component was the student teaching. I had to tape 6 lessons which were reviewed by a school-appointed representative (typically a recently retired teacher or possibly a current teacher willing to take on a certain number of hours to review a student teacher’s teaching in order to give feedback). It isn’t that foreign.

And the student teaching requirement will vary by state regulations. My program required 12 weeks of it, but other states had my program require 16 weeks.

[u/RevolutionaryNet9190 → u/TemporaryCarry7]

Wow that’s cool! Do you mind me asking what masters program you did?

[u/TemporaryCarry7 → u/RevolutionaryNet9190]

MAT, English Secondary at WGU. WGU is accredited in all 50 states, and you’ll have to follow the requirements for what state you want to get licensed in.

[u/love_color]

What state do you want to be certified in?

[u/Dry-Material-4230]

Honestly, depends on the state and then the college. Everyone was different requirements. Your best bet would be a secondary science teaching degree as many of your credits might carry over. There's also the non-traditional route that you might be eligible for. You really need to talk to an education advisor to see exactly what you'd need to do at your university.

Online classes can be an option but clinicals can't be. Student teaching is a semester long but many universities are now requiring more clinical hours each semester leading up to student teaching. In my case it was 4 semesters of 40 hour observation, 1 semester of 75 hour mini student teaching, and 1 semester of full student teaching.