Instructor Accreditation FAQ

Applying for Registered

1. Do I need to own a TWSS Seminar Workbook before I apply for accreditation?

Yes. It is required that every accredited instructor own the Second Edition Teaching Writing: Structure and Style® Seminar Workbook (SW) because it's so important to faithfully teach Structure and Style® with the core teacher's resource on hand. It is neither possible to master the teacher-training course nor to perfectly fulfill the practicum assignments’ Composition Checklists without studying the syllabus. The First Edition of the SW may not be used for application for accreditation.

We are certain that you will appreciate the investment, for the purposes of advancing your skill as an instructor of our wonderful Structure and Style writing method and ultimately of benefiting your students' writing abilities. The Seminar Workbook is the treasury from which you will glean all the nuances ... so that you can stay one step ahead of your students, who will ask you so many questions!

2. What needs to be turned in for first-time accreditation at a certain level? Do I turn in drafts, KWO, and final drafts?

Registered: (check the Accreditation Checklist)

All practicum assignments: KWOs, Composition Checklists, rough drafts, and final drafts. Turn in everything that was required on each checklist. Perfectly observe the respective Composition Checklists. Submissions that do not fulfill a checklist’s requirements (I for incomplete) will need to be resubmitted until the revision is A for approved or accepted.
Submit the $50.00 accreditation fee

Certified: (check the To-Do List)

Complete the practicum assignments from the Registered Level.
Send in a course overview and six student samples (not by your own children) from the past two years. Compositions include each student’s beginning-of-year piece and an end-of-year piece. The accreditor needs to view students’ progress. “The proof is in the pudding.”
Instructors intending to teach Levels B, C, and higher education must submit at least one 5-paragraph essay, Units 8 or 9, that obviously corresponds to the applicant’s Course Overview.
"Samples that correspond to your Course Overview" means that if your Course Overview shows that you taught, say, Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons, the students' samples should be written from that course's source texts. They cannot be random compositions.
When applying for accreditation at the Certified Level, instructors intending to teach only Level A must submit at least one 5-paragraph Unit 7 essay.
Two letters of recommendation: one from a parent, one from a student.
Submit the $100 accreditation fee.

3. Can the KWOs and rough drafts be typed?

Yes. Legibility is key.

4. When Mr. Pudewa does part of the assignment on the board, can that KWO/paragraph be copied?

It can be copied, unless directed otherwise on the checklist.

5. May my friend (colleague, classmate, fellow teachers, etc.) and I work together as a group and then send in the group’s work?

You may help each other generate key word outlines, yes.

No, duplicate practicum assignments from multiple applicants will not be accepted. No exceptions. When the time comes to write the assignment, each individual must do it on his or her own.

The privilege of becoming an IEW® Accredited Instructor is earned by individuals; it is not awarded to groups. People in the videos, whom we see experiencing the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style® course, take the class as a group and might even "work together" comprehending Structure and Style and generating outlines, but they then complete the assignments individually.

When we at IEW hear that someone is "working together," never is it understood to mean that a pair or a team is writing a single product, but rather that they are helping one another during the process.

IEW's reputation is on the line when we accredit an individual; we are in essence saying that the individual has proven his or her understanding of the Structure and Style system. By allowing duplicate submissions of two candidates for accreditation, we would be undermining the integrity of the accreditation program.

6. Do I have to follow the practicum checklist exactly, or do you allow variations? Why or why not? Are some items on the later units’ checklists optional? They’re hard.

Use standard Composition Checklists that are given in the Seminar Workbook Second Edition or in the Course Completion Packet. Submissions using altered checklists will not be considered for accreditation.

In order to become accredited, applicants need to observe the practicum checklists exactly. The point of becoming accredited is to demonstrate a precise understanding of IEW’s Structure and Style method and the intention to teach the system with fidelity. This is achieved by impeccably fulfilling the checklists and all coursework requirements.

Line items on Composition Checklists are not optional. Show the accreditor that you are fluent with the structural units and all of the stylistic techniques.

Indicate the stylistic techniques the way they are supposed to be indicated, i.e., the way the Composition Checklist says to do them. When in doubt, carefully study the pages behind the Seminar Workbook’s Stylistic Techniques tab (pp.169–188).

Perfectly observe the respective Composition Checklists. Submissions that do not fulfill a checklist’s requirements (I for incomplete) will need to be resubmitted until the revision receives A for approved or accepted.

7. Do I have to upload the registration and practicum assignments, or can I mail them in?

For practicum assignments, you are welcome to either submit those and pay via the website or send it in via snail mail. This is explained on the to-do list.

For renewal forms (continuing education), this is done and paid via the website.

8. Does it make me a bad person if my Registered Level application is not approved?

Never! Our accreditation team will work with applicants and help them toward success. You aren’t just left out on your own.

9. How long does it take to be approved for Registered, Certified Levels?

The usual time frame is within just a few days. During the peak months of June, July, and August, however, approval might take up to a month. That window holds for renewals as well as first-time applicants.

10. How am I notified when I'm approved?

You are emailed from an accreditor with your status. Information also will include copyright and trademark info, instructions on how to access the logo, your accreditation's renewal date, and how to find your name on our instructor list.

11. Can I become accredited at Registered and Certified Levels at the same time?

Please examine the accreditation process and just how involved it is. In the event that you have done your homework and are ready, you can submit your Registered Level application followed by your Certified Level application. Approval at Registered Level is prerequisite for consideration at Certified Level.

Our team will need to work on both applications, so applicants need to complete and pay for both.

There really is no benefit to applying for both levels concurrently; for the applicant it might even be less stressful to send one level at a time.

Applying for Certified

12. If I decide to apply for Certified Level when my Registered Level accreditation is about to expire, do I have to first renew at the Registered Level and then apply for Certified Level? In other words, do I need to be a current Registered Level instructor to apply for the Certified Level?

Yes, an instructor should be currently accredited at Registered Level when applying for the higher level. If he/she wants to continue to advertise classes as IEW classes in the interim of accreditation, they need to be currently accredited at either the Registered or Certified Level.

13. Do the student samples need to be samples from when I was accredited? Or can they be from before I was accredited?

Samples of students’ compositions need to have been written within the last two academic years. That means that the Course Overview must reflect a class that was taught within the last two years (see question #2, Certified: 4).

14. I work on a different schooling schedule because I am in another country. Can the “two years” be pulled from the most recent two “school years,” or is it strictly from the calendar (two years from submission)?

This is specific to students’ school year.

15. Why should I become accredited at Registered, Certified Level? (What are the benefits to each level?)

Registered Level instructors

Gain IEW’s corporate formal endorsement that they are qualified to teach the Structure and Style writing method
May market themselves and their courses, using IEW’s corporate brand
Are entitled to use specially designed logos with the IEW Registered trademark, exclusively designed for use by Registered Instructors for promoting their classes and validating their relationship with IEW
Gain valuable promotional support, such as Registered Instructor’s contact and course offerings information posted on IEW website (optional)
Receive discounted tuition fees for teacher- and parent-training events hosted by IEW

Certified Level instructors

Gain IEW’s corporate formal endorsement that they are qualified to teach the Structure and Style writing method, and at the more rigorous Certified Level of instructorship
May market themselves and their courses, using IEW’s corporate brand
Are entitled to use specially designed logos with the IEW Certified trademark, exclusively designed for use by Certified Instructors for promoting their classes and validating their relationship with IEW
Gain promotional support, such as Certified Instructor’s contact and course offerings information posted on IEW website (optional)
Receive discounted tuition fees for teacher- and parent-training events hosted by IEW
Receive a 10 percent discount on all products purchased via IEW website

16. Is it necessary to become accredited at the Certified Level?

It is not necessary to become accredited at the Certified Level; however, if teachers would like the perk of receiving 10 percent off of products, which can be passed on to their students’ families, it’s worth the effort!

17. Do I work for IEW if I am accredited? Will I have a cubicle?

Cubicles, unfortunately, are not part of the benefits of accreditation and neither is being part of IEW’s employee list. However, accredited instructors are welcome to consider themselves as part of the IEW instructor community! Welcome to the club.

18. How long might it take an instructor to become accredited at the Certified Level?

In order to become accredited at the rigorous Certified Level, most instructors need two years in order to gather all the pieces. Many students cannot work through all nine structural units in one academic year.

Renewal

19. If an accreditation lapses, how long before I need to redo the assignments instead of the six hours for renewal?

If it has been ten years or more since your accreditation expired, you must do all of the practicum assignments in order to be considered for renewal of accreditation at the Registered Level. The Second Edition of the Seminar Workbook must be used.

20. What needs to be turned in for renewal?

Registered: (check the renewal page)

Show evidence of continued IEW education* by listening/watching six hours of IEW audio recordings/live workshops/webinars.
Submit the $50 renewal fee.

*If it has been ten years or more since your accreditation expired, you must redo all of the practicum assignments in order to be considered for renewal of accreditation at the Registered Level. The Second Edition of the Seminar Workbook must be used.

Certified: (check the renewal page)

Renewal requirements are the same as the initial submission (see #2 above), plus six Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Submit course overview, six student samples (not from their own children).
Two letters of recommendation from the past two years: one from a parent, one from a student
Show evidence of continuing IEW education by listening/watching six hours of IEW audio recordings/live workshops/webinars.
Submit the $100 renewal fee.

21. How long will my renewal application take?

Please allow a 1-month window of time for your accreditation renewal to be processed. Our accreditation team works diligently and as quickly as we are able to review instructors' applications for renewal. Applicants who submit documentation early are not shortchanged and will still be granted two years from their original expiration date.