NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course title:  Introduction to the Teaching Profession   

Course prefix, number, and section number:  EDUC 1301.0340

Semester/Year of course:  FA/2025

Semester start and end dates:  08/25/25– 12/13/25

Modality (Face to face/Synchronous or Asynchronous online/Hybrid):  Asynchronous online

Semester credit hours:  3

Course description:

An enriched, integrated pre-service course and content experience that provides active recruitment and institutional support of students interested in a teaching career, especially in high need fields. The course provides students with opportunities to participate in early field observations at all levels of P-12 schools with varied and diverse student populations and provides students with support from college and school faculty, preferably in small cohort groups, for the purpose of introduction to and analysis of the culture of schooling and classrooms. Course content should be aligned as applicable with State Board for Educator Certification Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities standards; and the course must include a minimum of 16 contact hours of field experience in P-12 classrooms.

Course prerequisites:

None

Required course materials:

Those Who Can, Teach

Ryan et. al

15^th edition

Cengage

Physical Book: 9780357518441 ebook 9780357711293

Name of instructor:  Mrs. Dawn Watts

Office location:  Corinth Campus – Room 204

Telephone number:  940-498-6223

E-mail address:  dwatts@nctc.edu

Office hours for students:

Mondays and Wednesdays:  12:30pm – 3:30pm (office)

Tuesdays and Thursdays:  7:30am – 9:30am (online)

SYLLABUS CHANGE DISCLAIMER

The faculty member reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of this class.  Any such changes will be announced as soon as possible in person and/or writing.

SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

List of graded assignments:

Course Orientation                                                          25 Points

Discussion Board Assignments                                      75 Points

Teaching & Learning Research Projects                      250 Points

Curriculum & Instruction Presentation                      100 Points

Educational Psychology Assignments                         100 Points

Philosophy of Education Paper                                    100 Points

Field Experience (Required to Pass Course)              150 Points

Tests (2 x 50 Points)                                                       100 Points

Midterm Examination                                                    50 Points

Final Examination                                                            50 Points    

Total Points Possible                                                       1,000 Points

Final grade scale:     

A = 900 – 1,000 Points

B = 800 – 899 Points

C = 700 – 799 Points

D = 600 – 699 Points

F = 0 – 599 Points

Late work policy:

• Late work is not accepted in this course.  Assignments cannot be made up or turned in late for any reason.  Students are given a generous amount of time to complete all assignments by the due dates.
• Students cannot pass this course without completing all of the field experience requirements by the due dates.  There are no exceptions to this requirement for any student for any reason whatsoever.
• Students will complete their required field experience observations by viewing all of the assigned videos from The Teaching Channel.  There are no exceptions to this requirement for any student for any reason whatsoever.
• Students must submit a field experience time log by the due date to pass this course.  There are no exceptions to this requirement for any student for any reason whatsoever.
• The Module 4 Unit Test:  Final Examination cannot be made up or turned in late by any student for any reason whatsoever.

SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.

COURSE POLICIES

Academic Integrity Policy:

Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation and collusion.  Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty.  See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct
([FLB(LOCAL)]”.  

Consequences for academic dishonesty may include:
1. Receiving an F on a specific assignment or in the course. 
2. Being reported to the Chair/Dean for disciplinary action. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy
All assignments must be written entirely in your own words and reflect your personal understanding of the topic. Use of AI tools to generate, rephrase, or rewrite sentences, paragraphs, or entire essays is prohibited. This includes tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, Claude, Jasper, Quillbot, and AI-powered rewriting features in Grammarly. Students may use limited support tools—such as Grammarly for spelling, grammar, and style suggestions (words/phrases only), built-in spell/grammar checkers, and citation generators (e.g., EasyBib, Zotero, Purdue OWL)—provided these are used only to revise and format your own writing. AI-generated research may be used as a source in the same way as a search engine, but it must be cited in correct APA format. Any unapproved use of AI, in whole or in part, will be considered a violation of academic integrity and result in a grade of zero. The instructor may request a writing sample or meeting if submitted work does not match the student’s demonstrated writing ability.

Attendance Policy:

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  Attendance in an online course is measured by submitted work. All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies.  It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval by the faculty member.  Approved college sponsored activities are also excused absences.  The instructor is responsible for judging the validity of any reason given for an absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor.  A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.  Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

Withdrawal Policy:

A student may withdraw from a course on or after the official date of record. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a Withdrawal Request Form.

Last day to withdraw from the course with a “W” is:  NOVEMBER 3, 2025.

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify current issues influencing the field of education and teacher professional development.
2. Analyze the culture of schooling and classrooms from perspectives of language, gender, socioeconomic, ethnic, and disability-based academic diversity and equity.
3. Provide examples from classroom observations and course activities that demonstrate understanding of educational pedagogy and professional responsibilities of teachers.
4. Evaluate personal motivations, educational philosophies, and factors related to educational career decision making.
5. Recognize the various multiple intelligences/learning styles in order to be able to implement instructional practices that meet the needs of all students.

Associate of Arts in Teaching Programmatic Objectives:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the teaching profession’s main tenets.
2. Identify the major ideas and influences of major educational theorists.

COLLEGE POLICIES