Teacher Preparation Certificate Program: A Candidate Guide

The TEACH-NOW® Teacher Preparation Certificate Program is your pathway to state teaching licensure. In 36 weeks, you'll complete 8 courses, earn 24 graduate credit hours, and finish with a 12-week hands-on clinical practicum in a real classroom. This guide walks you through what the program is, what you'll learn, and exactly what each course covers.

Program at a Glance

What You'll Be Able to Do When You Graduate

By the time you complete the program, you will be equipped to:

• Develop and manage effective classroom environments with clear norms, rules, and procedures

• Meet the needs of multilingual learners and students with special needs in diverse settings

• Collect, evaluate, and use data to drive instructional decisions

• Identify students' learning and behavioral strengths and areas for growth

• Design dynamic, collaborative learning experiences that help every student succeed

• Apply research and evidence-based practices to create innovative teaching methods

• Apply the science of reading and academic literacy across all subject areas and grade levels

Your Course-by-Course Journey

The program is structured as a sequence of 8 modules that build on each other — from foundational knowledge to classroom practice to full clinical teaching. Here's what each course covers:

ED 501: Program Orientation

1 week | 1 credit hour | 15 contact hours

Your first week is about getting oriented. You'll explore the platform, meet your cohort, and learn how you'll work together throughout the program. You'll also be introduced to the InTASC standards — the national framework that guides how teachers are assessed — and set up your web portfolio, which you'll use to document your learning journey.

ED 502: The Culture of Schooling

3 weeks | 2 credit hours | 30 contact hours

This course gives you the big picture of teaching. You'll examine the laws and policies that shape education, analyze student demographic and performance data, and explore what it means to teach in a diverse classroom. Topics include understanding race, gender, language, socioeconomic backgrounds, special abilities, and disabilities — and how to differentiate instruction to meet every student's needs. You'll also be introduced to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and foundational concepts in reading, phonology, and phonemic awareness.

ED 503: The Learner and Learning in a Digital Age

4 weeks | 3 credit hours | 45 contact hours

Here, the focus shifts to your students — how they learn, and how technology can deepen that learning. You'll explore innovative digital tools and design student-centered learning experiences. Through case studies, you'll practice applying these strategies to real classroom situations. You'll also study language development stages and learn how to support multilingual learners using their home language as an asset. UDL remains a central lens throughout.

ED 504: Managing the Learning Environment

6 weeks | 3 credit hours | 45 contact hours

This is the longest course before the practicum — and for good reason. Managing a classroom effectively is one of the most critical skills a teacher needs. You'll build tools and strategies for managing class time, transitions, procedures, and student behavior in a positive and productive way. Using video as an observation and reflection tool, you'll analyze what effective classroom management looks like in practice and design your own classroom management plan — ready to use when you begin your clinical practice.

ED 505: Student Assessments

4 weeks | 3 credit hours | 45 contact hours

Assessment is how you know your teaching is working. In this course, you'll explore different types of assessments and learn how to gather, analyze, and act on student data. You'll practice differentiating instruction for students with special needs and English language learners, and develop skills in communicating with families to support student success. The course also covers reading instruction foundations — fluency, comprehension strategies, oral language development, vocabulary, and how to use literacy assessments to guide your teaching.

ED 506: Planning and Preparation for Learning

4 weeks | 3 credit hours | 45 contact hours

This course pulls everything together into the art of lesson planning. You'll learn curriculum mapping and how to design standards-aligned unit and lesson plans. You'll analyze and evaluate existing lesson plans, then apply everything you've learned in previous courses to build lesson plans you'll actually use in your clinical practice. Topics also include reading proficiency, metacognitive skills, translanguaging, vocabulary acquisition, and phonological and orthographic instruction.

ED 507: Introduction to Clinical Practice

2 weeks | 1 credit hour | 15 contact hours

This short but important course is your bridge into the classroom. You'll review the TEACH-NOW Clinical Rubric (based on InTASC standards) with your instructor, mentor, and cohort, understand how you'll be evaluated, and prepare your first week of lessons. You'll also revisit classroom management strategies to make sure you're ready to step in with confidence.

ED 508: Teaching Practice and Proficiency (Clinical Practicum)

12 weeks | 8 credit hours | 120 contact hours

This is it — the culminating experience of the program. For 12 weeks, you'll teach in a real classroom alongside a mentor teacher. You'll present evidence of your teaching, discuss student case studies with your cohort, and continually refine your practice through reflection and collaboration. Your proficiency is assessed against all 10 InTASC Standards. You'll track student growth, use data to adjust your instruction, and develop habits of continuous professional learning that will carry you forward in your career.

Full Program Course Sequence

What Comes Next

Upon successfully completing the program, you'll receive a Certificate of Completion and a transcript showing your 24 graduate credit hours. From there, you'll use your state's licensure process to apply for your teaching certificate — your Program Advisor and Moreland's Certification Team will guide you through those steps.

You also have the option to combine this certificate program with a Master's in Education to deepen your expertise in a specialized area such as Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Educational Technology, and more.

Questions about the program or your course sequence? Reach out to your Program Advisor — they are your guide from orientation through graduation.