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3-Teired Licensure

New Mexico Tech is unique in that it offers an alternative pathway to secondary teaching licensure for both graduates and undergraduates. The Alternative Licensure Program (ALP) ensures that candidates have a thorough understanding of how to be a successful classroom teacher through providing instruction in classroom management, diversity and differentiating instruction, planning and implementing curriculum, effective use of assessment, teaching communication skills, collaboration, integrating technology, reflection, and professional development.   

The Education Office is located in Cramer 110.

Phone:  575-835-6165

Director:  Brenda K. Becker

E-Mail:  bbecker@nmt.edu

The vision of the ALP at New Mexico Tech is to prepare teachers who enter the profession feeling confident they can and want to teach; who will positively influence their students, schools, communities, and profession through their disposition to be self-motivated life long learners, thorough content knowledge, involvement in a community of active learners, and their belief that all students can learn.

Our mission is to provide schools with teachers who have the tools they need to engage all their students in meaningful learning and who bring excitement and enthusiasm for the teaching profession into their schools.

The ALP is based on the belief that all students can learn.  There are two essentials for durable learning:  engagement and understanding. (Tomlinson 1999)  In order to engage learners and ensure understanding, teachers must know their students.  Students differ in experience, readiness, interest, intelligences, language, culture, gender, and mode of learning.  The diversity in today’s classrooms requires teachers to be responsive to the needs of individual students. In order for all students to learn, teachers must have the knowledge, skills and disposition to:

1. Create an environment in the classroom that is conducive to learning for all students - a community of learners where students feel safe, challenged, curious, and valued.
2. Differentiate instruction to respond to the needs of all learners including those differing in experience, readiness, interests, intelligences, ability, language, culture, gender and mode of learning.
3. Respond to the academic as well as emotional, physical, and social needs of special education students in an inclusive classroom.
4. Plan a challenging and engaging curriculum that is relevant and ensures meaningful learning for all students; and implement it in a manner that develops reasoning and critical thinking skills.
5. Use a variety of assessment techniques to meet the needs of diverse learners and provide prompt feedback designed to increase student learning and promote self-assessment.
6. Teach students to work collaboratively and communicate effectively (speaking, listening, reading, and writing).
7. Work collaboratively with students, teachers, administration, parents and the educational community as a whole to ensure success for all students.
8. Reflect on their own teaching practices, grow and develop professionally with the attitude that teachers are life long learners.
9. Incorporate technology into all aspects of preparation, presentation, and student use.

It is our goal in the ALP to develop challenging and engaging curricula that enables teacher candidates to become proficient in each of these nine essential teaching outcomes.