Teacher Education Doctoral Handbook

During the pre-comprehensive exam phase, you must:

1. Work with your advisor to form a Doctoral Committee;
2. Work with the Doctoral Committee to get an approved Program of Study (required coursework) by the end of the second year;
3. Satisfactorily complete required coursework and meet standards of work (including required checkpoints); and
4. Pass the Comprehensive Exam.

Advisor

Upon initial admission you will be assigned a faculty member to serve as your advisor based on student and/or faculty preferences, compatibility in research interests, and faculty workloads.

Doctoral Committee

Your advisor should help you in forming a Doctoral Committee of at least 4 people meeting the following requirements:

• Chair/Advisor: Your advisor is the chair of your doctoral committee. The chair must be a full-time faculty member in your doctoral program who has Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank.
• Optional co-Chair: You can have a doctoral committee co-chair who either meets the requirements for chair or is from another program or department. Co-chairs from other departments must have Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank or Conditional Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank in the Department of Teacher Education.
• In addition to the chair, at least 2 members must be full-time faculty from Teacher Education who have Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank (this could include the co-chair).
• One of the members may be from another department or from outside of Ohio University if they have Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank or Conditional Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank in the Department of Teacher Education (this could be the co-chair).

You should schedule annual meetings with your Doctoral Committee to discuss your goals, review your progress, and to develop and/or revise your Program of Study.

Typically, the Doctoral Committee will guide the student through coursework and the Comprehensive Exam. However, if the student or the advisor determines that a different advisor and/or committee makeup would better serve the student’s needs, then students can change advisors and/or the makeup of the committee. See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on the Assignment and Change of Advisor for more information.

Program of Study

The program of study is your approved set of coursework and establishes the contractual agreement regarding required courses for the doctoral degree.

Your Doctoral Committee will guide you in developing a program of study over the first two years of the program. Ideally, your Program of Study will be approved and on file in the Patton College Office of Graduate Student Affairs by the end of your second semester, and it is expected to be filed by the end of your fourth semester.

The Program of Study can only be changed by Doctoral Committee action.

Practicum Hours: All TE doctoral programs require 6 credit hours of EDTE 7920 Curriculum and Instruction Practicum. Practicum experiences must be discussed with your Doctoral Committee as part of your annual Program of Study meetings. See Appendix: Practicum Hours for additional detail.

Transfer of Credit: See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on Transfer of Credit for information on transferring credits and how this may affect your Program of Study.

Complete Coursework and Meet Standards of Work

You must complete all courses in your Program of Study (apart from dissertation hours) with a grade of B or higher and you must maintain a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) or better. See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on Standards of Work for more information.

Checkpoints: Each required core Teacher Education course will include an evaluation using the Doctoral Rubric (see Appendix: Checkpoints and Rubric for additional detail). These courses are:

• EDTE 7150 Theories of Curriculum and Curriculum Change
• EDTE 7160 Observing Instruction and Assessing Learners Outcomes in Classrooms and Other Settings
• EDTE 8000 Advanced Dynamics of Human Learning
• EDTE 8040 Writing for Publication

Comprehensive Exam

In addition to the department-specific requirements below, students must follow all college requirements for the Comprehensive Examination detailed in the PCOE Graduate Handbook.

Completed Coursework: While the college requires completion of a minimum of 75% of the courses listed on a student’s Program of Study, Teacher Education requires that generally all coursework be completed. In rare circumstances, with the approval of the Doctoral Committee, students may advance to the Comprehensive Exam if they have one uncompleted course.

Use of Doctoral Rubric: It is recommended that committee members use the TE Doctoral Rubric when evaluating the written portions of the exam falling under their purview.

Appealing the Results: As stated in the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on the Comprehensive Exam, students can only appeal the result of the Comprehensive Examination in the case of an Unsatisfactory; No Opportunity for Re-examination outcome.

In the Department of Teacher Education, students who wish to appeal the result of the comprehensive examination have 2 weeks from the date of the oral examination to submit a letter to the Chair of the Department Graduate Committee with a copy to the chair of the student’s doctoral committee and the Chair of the Department of Teacher Education. The letter should provide a rationale for why the student believes the Unsatisfactory; No Opportunity for Reexamination outcome of the comprehensive exam should be reconsidered. The Graduate Committee, in consultation with the Department Chair, reviews the appeal and provides a written response to the student within one month of the submission of the appeal (excluding holidays, semester breaks, and summer break).

During the post-comprehensive exam phase, you must:

1. Form a Dissertation Committee;
2. Enroll in dissertation hours;
3. Write and defend your Dissertation Proposal; and
4. Obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for any research involving human subjects.

Dissertation Committee

After satisfactorily completing the Comprehensive Exam, the Doctoral Committee is dissolved and you must form a Dissertation Committee, which will guide you in completing your dissertation study.

The Dissertation Committee may include many of the same members of the Doctoral Committee. It is typically four to five (4-5) people, and it must meet the following requirements (also see the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on Forming a Dissertation Committee):

• Chair/Advisor:
  • The dissertation chair will become your advisor. For many students your current advisor continues in this role, but for some this is a natural point to change advisors, especially if your interests have evolved.
  • This must be a full-time faculty member in your doctoral program with Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank.
• Optional co-Chair: You can have a dissertation co-chair who either meets the requirements for chair or is from another program or department. Co-chairs from other departments must have Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank or Conditional Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank in the Department of Teacher Education.
• In addition to the chair, at least 2 members must be full-time faculty from Teacher Education who have Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank or Conditional Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank (this could include the co-chair).
• One or two of the members may be from another department or from outside of Ohio University if they have Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank or Conditional Doctoral Graduate Faculty Rank in the Department of Teacher Education (this could include the co-chair and/or the dean's representative).
• Dean's Representative: The committee must include a member from outside the student's department who is approved by the dean's office to serve as the dean's representative (see the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on Forming a Dissertation Committee for more detail).
• All members are subject to approval by the Department Chair.

Dissertation Hours

Enrollment in dissertation hours is reserved for students who have completed the comprehensive examination. In extenuating or special circumstances, and only under the committee's discretion, a student may enroll in dissertation hours before completing the comprehensive exam.

Dissertation Proposal

Before doctoral students begin their dissertation research, they must prepare a dissertation proposal following guidelines established by their dissertation committee. The student's official dissertation committee reviews and approves the dissertation proposal during a specially scheduled meeting in which the student defends the proposal.

See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on the Dissertation Proposal for additional information and requirements.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Upon successful completion of the proposal defense, if the research involves human subjects, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training must be completed and Ohio University Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval of the research (with the student as the primary investigator) must be secured. IRB approval must occur before any participant recruitment or data collection. The IRB is responsible for reviewing and approving all research involving human subjects by students and faculty at Ohio University.  For more information about the IRB process, visit the IRB website.

The student is responsible for providing the Office of Student Affairs with a copy of the IRB approval upon receipt. The final dissertation defense cannot be scheduled without an approved IRB on file (See Approval of Proposal for Dissertation on the PCOE Forms page).

During the dissertation phase, you must:

1. Conduct your dissertation research;
2. Write your dissertation;
3. Successfully complete the Final Dissertation Defense;
4. Complete the College and University submission processes; and
5. Apply for graduation.

Dissertation Research

See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on the Dissertation Process for an overview of how to approach your dissertation.

Dissertation Format

See the Dissertation Format section of the PCOE Graduate Handbook for requirements.

At the beginning of the dissertation writing process, all students should become familiar with the Ohio University Graduate College Thesis and Dissertation (TAD) website. Additionally, students must ensure that they use the current Patton College template, found on the Thesis and Dissertation (TAD) website, to create and continue to write the dissertation. Students who write over several years must ensure that the current template has been implemented at the time of final defense and submission.

Final Dissertation Defense

In addition to the department-specific process below, students must follow all college requirements for the Final Dissertation Defense detailed in the PCOE Graduate Handbook.

Appealing the Results: As stated in the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on the Final Dissertation Defense, students can only appeal the result of the Dissertation Defense in the case of an Unsatisfactory; No Conditions for Remediation Offered outcome.

In the Department of Teacher Education, students who wish to appeal the outcome of the Dissertation Defense have 2 weeks from the date of the dissertation's final defense to 20 submit a letter to the Chair of the Department Graduate Committee with a copy to the chair of the student’s dissertation committee and the Chair of the Department of Teacher Education. The letter should provide a rationale for why the student believes the Unsatisfactory; No Conditions for Remediation Offered outcome of the dissertation defense should be reconsidered. The Graduate Committee, in consultation with the Department Chair, reviews the appeal and provides a written response to the student within one month of the submission of the appeal (excluding holidays, semester breaks, and summer break). 

Dissertation Submission Process

See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on Dissertation Submission Process for a description of the process you must follow for submitting to the college and then through the Graduate College’s Theses and Dissertation Services (TAD).

Apply for Graduation

See the PCOE Graduate Handbook section on Graduation.

Teacher Education Graduate Funding

Learn more about Teacher Education doctoral funding opportunities.

Patton College of Education Graduate Handbook

The following policies and procedures are detailed in the PCOE Graduate Handbook:

• Adding Degrees or Certificates
• Registration
• Tuition and Billing
• Financial Aid
• Academic Integrity, Grievance Procedure, and Leave of Absence
• The following can be found in the Doctoral Program Requirements section. You must scroll down and expand the relevant sub-section:
  • Standards of Work
  • Assignment and Change of Advisor
  • Program of Study
  • Transfer of Credit
  • Time Limit
  • Credit Hours
  • Residency
  • Comprehensive Examination
  • Forming a Dissertation Committee
  • Dissertation Proposal
  • Dissertation Format
  • Dissertation Process
  • Final Dissertation Defense
  • Dissertation Submission Process 

There are four checkpoints where doctoral students are evaluated with the rubric detailed below. These checkpoints occur in each of the four core Teacher Education courses:

• EDTE 7150 Theories of Curriculum and Curriculum Change
• EDTE 7160 Observing Instruction and Assessing Learners Outcomes in Classrooms and Other Settings
• EDTE 8000 Advanced Dynamics of Human Learning
• EDTE 8040 Writing for Publication

Each checkpoint follows this process:

• The instructor will share the rubric and what assignments it will be used with.
• Doctoral students will fill out the rubric first as a self-evaluation.
• Instructors will complete the rubric by the end of the semester and share it with students.

Graduate faculty in the department will use this and student progress in other areas to periodically evaluate the academic progress of students in the program.

Teacher Education Doctoral Rubric

Below is a summary of the content on the rubric. Your instructor may make course-appropriate modifications. They will use a document that is formatted as a table.

On each item you will receive qualitative feedback on Areas for Improvement and/or Evidence of Meeting or Exceeding. The rubric will also note which Assignment(s) is being used for each criterion. There is also space for general feedback on each section and overall feedback at the end. 

Depth and Integration of Knowledge

• Exhibits an understanding of the subject matter, pertinent literature, and the relationships among material obtained from all cited sources.
• Arguments are developed and supported by relevant evidence and sources.
• Demonstrates understanding of theoretical concepts and their relationships.
• Analyzes and critiques relevant research literature. All points are addressed individually and linked appropriately.
• Synthesizes literature by appropriately interconnecting and extending key ideas from all sources.

Sources and APA Format

• Appropriate use of APA; no formatting errors. This includes correct headers, in-text citations, references lists, figures, and tables.
• Appropriate use of citations to justify claims and/or situate arguments in the literature, theory, and/or policy.

Structure and Organization

• Includes all required sections.
• Structure and organization are clear.
• All paragraphs are focused and contribute meaningfully to the overall argument or purpose.
• Overall development is logical and clear to the reader.
• Paper flows from one issue to the next and has consistent and appropriate transitions and headings.

Writing Style, Grammar, and Mechanics

• Sentences are consistently clear, concise, and direct.
• Paragraphs have clear topic sentences.
• The tone is appropriate for the task and audience.
• Writing has no errors in grammar and mechanics.
• Demonstrates the use of inclusive language and does not have problematic, stereotyped, or biased terms and phrases.

All TE doctoral programs require 6 credit hours of EDTE 7920 Curriculum and Instruction Practicum. Decisions about the kind of experiences that doctoral students can pursue to satisfy practicum hours should be made based on the professional goals of the student and their area of specialization. Practicum experiences must be discussed during Program of Study (POS) meetings. It is recommended that practicum hours be used to satisfy teaching and research purposes. To clarify the roles and responsibilities of faculty and students during practicum hours, it is recommended that instructors of record, with input from students, develop a syllabus that includes outcomes, topics, expectations, assignments and products, a calendar, and due dates. A few examples of potential practicum experiences are provided below.

Teaching Practicum: Doctoral students can teach or co-teach undergraduate courses in the Department of Teacher Education under the supervision of a graduate faculty member who is the instructor of record for the EDTE 7920 course. Sample products for college teaching practicum hours include course planning documents, video-based analysis of practice papers, a practitioner article highlighting an innovative strategy or approach, an analysis of student learning paper, and an evidence-based reflective journal. Teaching practicum hours can also be used to develop curriculum materials or design other solutions for formal and informal educational agencies.

Depending on professional goals and with input and approval of the doctoral committee, students who have limited K-12 teaching experience can use practicum hours (up to 3 credits) to engage in a clinical experience in a preK-12 classroom (e.g., observe, teach, and work with students, teachers, and administrators). Doctoral students should not make independent arrangements for experiences in preK-12 settings. These must be discussed with their advisor first, who will ensure all appropriate college-level requirements are followed.

Research Practicum: Doctoral students can collaborate with graduate faculty on new or existing research. The purpose of the research practicum is to provide students with a mentored opportunity to conduct empirical research that potentially results in published manuscripts and/or presentations.