Bowdoin Teacher Scholars Program

Program Description

The Bowdoin Teacher Scholars are a highly select group of Bowdoin College undergraduates and graduates who seek to affect social change by becoming teachers through a rigorous scholarly and classroom-based preparation.

The Teacher Scholars:

  • Complete a full-time, 14-week, student-teaching practicum in a public school.
  • Participate in an introspective weekly seminar during which they critique their colleagues’ as well as their own teaching.
  • Develop a professional portfolio and “defend” the contents of that portfolio before a group of Bowdoin College faculty.
  • Receive a Maine State Department of Education Public School Teaching Certificate, making them eligible to teach in any public school in the United States.
  • Gain access to the Boston, New York, and Philadelphia Teacher Induction Programs sponsored by the Consortium for Excellence in Teacher Education.

Pathways

Bowdoin Teacher Scholars follow one of two pathways. In the first, students participate in the program as undergraduates during the spring semester of their junior or senior year.  In the second, they participate in the program during a spring semester within two years following their Bowdoin graduation.

Undergraduate Pathway

By the end of the fall semester of their junior or senior year, Teacher Scholars:

  • Complete prerequisite coursework (101, 203, 301 and 303).

During the spring semester of their junior or senior year, Teacher Scholars:

  • Complete a full-time, 14-week, student-teaching practicum (students receive course credit for this practicum through ED 302—Student Teaching Practicum).
  • Enroll in ED 215—Adolescents in Schools.
  • Enroll in ED 304—Seminar: Analysis of Teaching and Learning.
Post-Graduate Pathway

By the time they graduate from Bowdoin, Teacher Scholars:

  • Complete prerequisite coursework (101, 203, 301 and 303).

During a spring semester and within two years of their Bowdoin graduation, Teacher Scholars:

  • Complete a full-time, 14-week, student-teaching practicum (students receive course credit for this practicum through ED 302—Student Teaching Practicum).
  • Enroll in ED 215—Adolescents in Schools (if not taken prior to this time).
  • Enroll in ED 304—Seminar: Analysis of Teaching and Learning.
  • Tuition will be waived for all post-graduate Teacher Scholars.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for the Bowdoin Teacher Scholars are listed below. The Education Department considers these an essential foundation for success in the program.

  • Junior or senior standing.
  • A major in a subject area of certification offered by Bowdoin College with State of Maine endorsement: mathematics, life science, physical science, English, foreign language, or social studies (government, history, psychology, economics, and anthropology).
  • A 3.0 grade point average in ED 301 and 303.
  • A cumulative 3.0 grade point average at the end of the semester prior to the beginning of their student-teaching practicum.
  • Status as a community member in good standing.
  • Submission of a three- to five-page essay in which candidates answer the question: How do you define “good teaching” and how have you prepared yourself to engage in good teaching in the future?
  • Resume.
  • Interview with Education Department members.
  • The deadline for submitting these materials is October 12, 2012.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Additional requirements for social studies candidates include:

  • Two United States history courses.
  • Two world history courses.
  • One economics course.
  • One government course.
  • Please note: Advanced Placement courses do not count toward program requirements for any subject area.

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

If a candidate does not meet the admission requirements, he/she must also submit:

  • A written explanation of possible extenuating circumstances prohibiting the candidate from satisfying the admission requirements and a statement explaining how those circumstances will not limit his/her success in the program.
  • The names of two faculty members in the candidate’s major department who will attest to his/her competence in the candidate’s disciplinary major.
  • The deadline for submitting these materials is also October 12, 2012.

APPEALS PROCESS

If a candidate is not accepted into the Bowdoin Teacher Scholars, he or she may appeal to an ad hoc committee comprised of Bowdoin College faculty.
To begin the appeals process, he/she must:

  • Inform, in writing, the Education Department Chair of the desire to appeal.
  • Submit a written justification for the appeal.

The deadline for both of these actions is November 9, 2012. Following a meeting of the ad hoc committee, the candidate will be notified of his/her status.

Reminders

  • As Bowdoin Teacher Scholars who choose the Undergraduate Pathway receive three credits for ED 302, 304, and 305 during the spring semester of their junior or senior year, they may need a fifth course earlier in their college career in order to obtain the 32 credits needed for graduation.
  • Bowdoin Teacher Scholars must be fingerprinted prior to beginning their student teaching practicum.
  • Bowdoin Teacher Scholars must register for and take Praxis I and II.
  • The Education Department provides student teaching field placements only for subject areas in which the Department has State of Maine authorization to certify. These include mathematics, life science, physical science, English, foreign language, and social studies.
  • Bowdoin Teacher Scholars who choose the Post-Graduate Pathway may qualify for a stipend through the Snow Family Fund, which covers program expenses.
  • Students who complete Bowdoin College graduation requirements at the end of a fall semester are considered "December completers" (rather than "graduates") by the College and are therefore considered "undergraduates" for the purpose of Bowdoin Teacher Scholars.

Bowdoin Teacher Scholars Practicum Handbook for 2011 (PDF) PDF