Teacher shortages in the United States have resulted in the development of alternate route teaching programs to better provide teachers, especially in difficult to staff schools such as those in rural communities. In order to address rural teacher shortages, the Mississippi State University College of Education implemented a fully online,…

New teachers who are prepared to teach through alternative certification pathways may find the transition to a new career stressful and tumultuous. There are techniques that can be used to help make the transition easier on new teachers as they begin their new careers. This article explores several strategies for new teachers, which include…

New teachers who entered the profession through alternative pathways often teach in high-need urban environments, which means there may be a significant number of English Language Learner (ELL) students in their classrooms. In order to best support these students, techniques can be employed to best facilitate learning for students who do not have…

Mathematics and science education has increasingly become more important for students in our globally competitive society. New alternative certification teachers, particularly in mathematics and science, need to support student learning in these areas in order for the United States to stay globally competitive. This article presents some ideas…

The purpose of this paper is to share a description of the process used by Fort Hays State University (FHSU) as a self-study of the FHSU alternative certification program, known as Transition to Teaching. Team members used the Quality Indicators designed as a part of a Department of Education Transition to Teaching Grant called the KNOTtT Project.…

This essay presents the background for understanding why defining alternative certification has been made a difficult matter, and proposes an operational definition of the term.

Alternative certification programs continue to increase as school districts, institutions of higher education, and commercial companies share common educational expectations. In Kansas, a state-wide collaborative of eleven partner institutions, governed by an advisory board, designed a conceptual framework, a standards-based program, curriculum,…