Teacher Preparation

Undergraduate students aspiring to teach at the elementary level earn both their bachelor's degree and the recommendation for state certification within CEHHS. Undergraduate students seeking secondary certification earn their bachelor's degree from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, while completing professional coursework in CEHHS leading to recommendation for certification. Students who already have obtained a bachelor's degree can pursue certification in CEHHS in various ways. Specifically, post-baccalaureate "certification-only" tracks for elementary (COE) and secondary (COS) are available. In addition a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) graduate program comprises another option for students seeking secondary certification. Please visit CEHHS' teacher preparation programs on the Undergraduate Programs page. See the list below for the full selection of CAEP approved (2020-2026) initial and advanced certification programs we offer.

The faculty of the Department of Education has adopted Teaching for Understanding (TfU) as a core element of its approach to educating future teachers. In accord with decades of psychological research on human learning, TfU posits that knowledge is constructed—as learners assimilate and interpret new information in relation to prior knowledge and experience and thus create their own knowledge and meaning—rather than simply copied and reproduced. To facilitate meaningful learning TfU includes a variety of approaches to discourse and social interaction, creating classrooms in which:

• students and teachers acquire and construct knowledge collaboratively
• orthodoxies of pedagogy and "facts" are continually challenged
• conceptual understanding of subject matter is the goal
• teachers function as guides, coaches and facilitators by posing questions, challenging thinking and leading in the examination of ideas and relationships between concepts and experience.

Using the TfU approach, courses in the Department of Education promote active student learning and the construction and development of knowledge through lectures, readings, small and large group discussions, small group activities and projects that require the application of knowledge. The Department of Education also promotes field-based learning through practicum placements in the certification programs. Through practica and other field experiences, candidates are encouraged to cross boundaries of race and class in order to have experiences that differ from their own and challenge their preconceptions about people from non-dominant groups, who speak different languages and who have different experiences. We strive to place candidates throughout the metropolitan area in districts that represent the full range of diversity in socio-economic and racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Elementary Teacher Certification Programs

Secondary Teacher Certification Programs

Teaching Major and Minor Endorsements

Advanced Programs

All initial teacher certification and advanced educator professional education programs in the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) through 2026 and approved by the Michigan Department of Education.