TWU knows that until you see something in real life, classroom lessons don’t always register. Texas Woman’s University offers hands-on teaching experiences before you set foot in a classroom. TWU believes in providing hands-on experiences — through the TeachLIVE lab, which enables students to “practice” teach on realistic, responsive avatars and gives them the opportunity to analyze what works and what doesn’t before they begin teaching actual students, or through the Summer Reading Program, which draws children from throughout the community to a weekly session with books and crafts selected and supervised by TWU students.

Classrooms are a reflection of their communities, with diversity in culture, languages and socioeconomic status. Whether TWU students seek to teach all subjects in the lower grades, specialize in a subject such as math, science or English, or become certified in special education, bilingual education or English as a Second Language, TWU will prepare teachers to meet the needs of all students.

When you’re ready to begin student teaching, TWU’s Professional Development Center will pair you with a school where you will observe and work with a highly accomplished teacher. In this role, you become an important and integral part of the host school system under the direction of a certified classroom teacher and a university supervisor in area school districts. The Professional Development Center maintains relationships with schools and related education settings for student teaching placements in early childhood through grade 12. All Texas Woman’s placements go through the PDC to ensure that proper procedures are followed for district placements.

TWU Teacher Education graduates as first-year teachers have the highest retention rate among 56 universities in Texas served by the Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education (CREATE), according to Performance Analysis for College Education (PACE) data. When analyzed by school levels, TWU graduates as first-year teachers also have the highest retention rates across all public elementary, middle and high school levels. TWU believes this shows that its graduates not only are well-prepared for the classroom, but that mentorship beyond graduation plays an important role in teacher retention. TWU faculty continue to mentor their students after graduation, both individually and through the New Teacher Academy.