Welcome to Theory and Practice in Teacher Education
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s
Teacher Education Department
Advancing equity through excellence in education
As an education department at a land-grant institution, our mission is to benefit local, regional, national, and global communities by preparing teachers, educators and education researchers and through our engagement in educational outreach.
Our Degrees, Minors, and Areas of Study
American Sign Language; art education; English as a Second Language education; secondary English education; secondary social science education; VolsTeach math; VolsTeach science; world language education
Applied Behavior Analysis; Educational Studies (non-licensure); Professional Internship (Post-Baccalaureate) (initial licensure); Practitioner (Job-Embedded Program) (Initial Licensure) (Distance Education)
Specialist in Education (EdS) degrees in:
Applied Behavior Analysis; art education; educational technology (available via distance education); elementary education; English education; literacy education; mathematics education; practitioner (available via distance education); science education; social science education; special education; world/ESL language education
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in:
Special education / Deaf education / Interpreter education; Literacy Studies; Teacher education
Graduate Certificate / Additional Endorsement Programs in:
American Sign Language education; art education (K-12); Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (PreK-12); educational technology; elementary education; English as a Second Language (PreK-12); gifted education (PreK-12); literacy specialist; rehabilitation counseling for the Deaf; secondary English education; secondary mathematics education; secondary science education; secondary social science education; social justice education; special education comprehensive (K-12) and interventionist (K-8) & (6-12); STEM leadership; urban education; world languages (PreK-12)
Concentration and Specialization Areas of Study:
- elementary and secondary education – in several specialization areas, including: English, English as a Second Language (ESL), art, mathematics, science, social sciences, and world language education
- audiology and speech pathology
- cultural studies in educational foundations
- Deaf studies: American Sign Language (ASL) education; education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; educational interpreting; and rehabilitation counseling for the Deaf
- literacy education / studies: children’s and young adult literature; literacy education; literacy specialist
- social justice education
- special education (interventionist 6-12 and comprehensive K-12);
- STEM education: educational technology; mathematics (including middle grades math); science (including middle grades science); STEM leadership; VolsTeach secondary (biology, chemistry, math or physics)
Teachers prepared by UT
Tennessee PreK-12 students taught by our graduates annually
UT’s teaching graduates employed by Tennessee public schools in their first year
Of these, teachers who continue in the public school system the following year
UT prepared teachers who continue to teach in Tennessee public schools for at least three years
Of those who completed UT’s preparation program in the past three years said they agree/strongly agree that it prepared them for the teaching profession
UT teacher graduates who, in the classroom, received ratings of level 3 (at expectations) to 5 (significantly above expectations) on the Teacher Level of Effectiveness scale
UT teacher and leadership candidates passed all required content area examinations for licensure (edTPA and Praxis School Leaders Licensure assessments)
Sources: 2021 Teacher Preparation Report Card; University of Tennessee, Knoxville News, February 2021
Students – please be sure to check with your instructor in the first instance for any questions you may have about your TPTE-related classes.
Additionally, please be sure to check the university’s Coronovirus website for all of the latest updates and information.