Principles of Teaching 1

Enrollment Message

Available for August 2025 Enrollment. A minimum of 20 hours of field experience is required for successful completion of this course. Field experiences will be organized and arranged between the student, the student's school counselor, and an off-site institution agreed upon by these parties. The student is responsible for securing transportation to and from field experience. Indiana Online is not responsible for organizing or arranging field experiences, required clearance or background checks, the safety of the student either while in transit to or from or while participating in classroom observation experiences.

Course Description

Available for August 2025 Enrollment

A minimum 20 hour classroom observation experience is required for successful completion of this course.

This course provides a general introduction to the field of teaching. Students will explore educational careers, teaching preparation, and professional expectations as well as requirements for teacher certification. Current trends and issues in education will be examined.

• Counts as a directed elective or elective for all diplomas

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students will…

• describe the personal qualities, responsibilities, and ethical standards required to be a professional educator.
• identify the steps and requirements for teacher licensure in Indiana and compare them with licensure processes in other countries.
• explore diverse career options in education, including opportunities for international teaching and professional preparation programs.
• complete a minimum of 20 hours of supervised field experience and reflect on how it informs your professional goals, strengths, and development.
• explain how schedules, routines, and transitions can be used to support effective classroom management and promote student learning.
• describe curriculum and instructional models, and analyze how different teaching strategies influence student learning.
• differentiate between types of assessments—formative, summative, traditional, and authentic—and explain their role in instructional planning.
• explain and apply the principles of differentiated instruction and heterogeneous grouping to meet the needs of all learners.
• describe instructional methods, materials, and accommodations appropriate for students with high and low incidence disabilities.
• recognize how cultural, family, and environmental factors influence student learning and identify strategies to build respectful family-school partnerships.

Indiana Academic Standards

• Next Level Programs of Study Competencies

Units of Instruction

• Field Experience Reference Module
• Unit 1 The Teaching Profession
• Unit 2 Critical Thinking and Assessments
• Unit 3 Standards and Lesson Plans
• Field Experience Checkpoint 1
• Unit 4 Teaching Methods, Strategies, and Differentiation
• Unit 5 Classroom Management
• Unit 6 Factors that Impact Learning

Grading/Evaluation

Indiana Online does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school of record can also access this score within the Student Information System, Genius. The final score will be shown as a percentage in Canvas and Genius. The student’s school of record will determine the letter grade based on their specific grading scale.

Students must complete at least 70% of the course and take all parts of the final exam(s) to have a score reported to their school of record. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a score of 0 reported to the school of record.

Assessments

Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, teacher-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments. The course includes the minimum number of assessments

• 8 Discussions
• 13 Assignments
• 9 Quizzes

The assessments for this asynchronous course are weighted as follows

Teacher Contact Response Time

Students can use email or the private message system within Genius or Canvas to access highly qualified teachers when they need teacher assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside Canvas. The Teacher Information page of their course may describe additional communication options.

The teacher will respond to student inquiries (email, text, call) within one business day. Assignments will be graded and posted within two business days.

Expectations for Academic Conduct 

Student Handbook 

It is your responsibility to read the student handbook to understand all aspects of taking an online course including expectations for academic conduct. Contact your teacher if you have any questions. 

Assistance for Students with Accommodations

Indiana Online supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, reasonable accommodations can be arranged.

Technology

Technology Requirements 

Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. Please review the Indiana Online’s Technology Requirements.

Technical Skills Needed 

Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to

• download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• download and install software
• use a messaging service similar to email
• communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• open attachments shared in messages
• create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• save a file as a .pdf
• copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• insert images or links into a file
• search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• use presentation and graphics programs
• follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• create and maintain usernames and passwords

Technical Questions?  Please contact the Indiana Online Helpdesk.