What You Bring to APPLE: Experience, Growth, and the Journey Ahead

Every learner who begins APPLE arrives with a unique story. Some have spent years as paraprofessionals, working alongside classroom teachers and learning the rhythms of school life from the inside. Others have served as substitute teachers, stepping into unfamiliar classrooms with confidence and adaptability. Some are experienced teachers of record seeking formal licensure for a calling they have been living for years. And some are making a genuine career change, drawn to WELS public ministry from a different professional path entirely.

What unites all of them is not what they already know. It is why they are here.

Experience Is an Asset, Not a Shortcut

Prior classroom experience genuinely enriches learning in APPLE. Learners who have spent time in schools bring a practical frame of reference that makes methods courses come alive. When a course asks them to design a lesson or analyze an instructional strategy, they are not imagining an abstract classroom. Instead, they are drawing on real students, real moments, and real challenges. That connection between academic content and lived experience is one of APPLE’s distinctive strengths as a program.

Prior experience also builds confidence in one of the most distinctive features of APPLE coursework: micro-teaching recordings. Learners who are already comfortable in a classroom setting often find the micro-teaching requirement less daunting than those who are newer to teaching. For learners who are not yet in a formal school setting, finding an appropriate student audience is sometimes the bigger challenge. APPLE learners are already connected to a WELS congregation, and Sunday School or Vacation Bible School programs can provide a natural and appropriate setting for micro-teaching. The Director of Field Experiences is also available to help learners connect with WELS schools in their area earlier in the program if needed.

But experience, however valuable, does not replace the degree. APPLE is a full bachelor’s degree program requiring 120 credits of rigorous coursework. The program is not a rubber stamp for years of service; it is an academic credential that prepares called workers with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors their students and congregations deserve. Even the most experienced classroom teacher will find that APPLE asks them to think more deeply, reflect more honestly, and grow in ways that years of practice alone cannot produce. The teaching profession, at its best, is a lifelong journey of learning. APPLE is designed for teachers who understand that.

Transfer Credits and Prior Coursework

Learners who have completed college coursework before entering APPLE are encouraged to have their transcripts sent to MLC as part of the application process. Transcripts are reviewed automatically during admissions, and general education courses that align with MLC’s curriculum are often accepted toward the 120-credit requirement. Learners who have completed methods courses from another teacher preparation program may also have those reviewed, though acceptance is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and cannot be guaranteed.

This means that for many learners, prior academic work does count. The ability to transfer courses reduces the total number of credits remaining. The conversation about transfer credits begins at admissions, so learners enter the program with a clear picture of where they stand and what lies ahead.

Your Faculty Mentor Meets You Where You Are

Whether you are an experienced teacher of record or someone stepping into education for the first time, you do not navigate APPLE alone. Your faculty mentor is more than an academic advisor for course registration. They are your ally, your tutor, your success coach, and your cheerleader. They know your background, understand your goals, and walk alongside you through every term of the program.

APPLE is not designed for a single type of learner. It is designed for any returning adult learner who has answered the call to serve in WELS public ministry and is ready to do the work that calling requires. Whatever you bring to the program, there is room to grow and someone beside you for every step of the journey.