Elementary Education
The Elementary Education program is designed to prepare students to teach in grades 2-6. The program consists of a general liberal arts background, professional educational training and preparation in a variety of public school settings.
The following are in PDF Format
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Goals and Student Learning Outcomes
1. Elementary Education teacher candidates will possess thorough and accurate knowledge of the content they teach. 1.1 Teacher candidates will possess thorough and accurate knowledge of the content they are preparing to teach.
2. Students develop and plan curriculum and instruction addressing goals and learning outcomes using best practices for the certification area. 2.1 Teacher candidates will be knowledgeable of human development, learning theories, instructional strategies, diverse learners, and educational psychology.
2.2 Teacher candidates will achieve a mean score of 2, indicating Satisfactory or better performance on Domain 1, the Planning Domain of the E-Portfolio.
2.3 Teacher candidates will achieve a score of 2.0, indicating Satisfactory performance level, on elements related to the Artifact Description section of the E-Portfolio, indicating proficiency with standards-based lesson planning for PK-12 students.
3. Students effectively present instruction and manage diverse classroom environments, communicating effectively and professionally with adults and students. 3.1 Teacher candidates will achieve a minimum score of 3.0 “Proficient” or higher on all elements of the ADEPT Directed Student Teaching rubric.
3.2 Teacher candidates will achieve a minimum score of 3.0 “Proficient” or higher on the elements of the ADEPT rubric specifically focused on delivering instruction to PK-12 students, specifically instructional strategies, teaching content to students, and assessment of students.
4. Students demonstrate the ability to collect and analyze assessment data and engage in self-reflection to support student learning and growth. 4.1 All teacher candidates will achieve a score of 3 on the TWS “Evidence of Impact on Student Learning” element of the Analysis of Student Learning component.
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The curriculum is planned to follow a continuum. Block I courses are intended to provide a foundation for classroom management, assessment, educational theories, early literacy, incorporating the arts and the importance of using a variety of instructional strategies.
Block II courses will build upon this foundation while addressing the various elementary curriculum areas: Language arts, science, math and social studies. Student Teaching provides the opportunity for students to practice all that was taught for the previous two semesters. In order to ensure this continuum, instructors are committed to working together, communicate often, and continuously monitor the success of the program.
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The Elementary Education Program prepares teacher candidates for classroom teaching in second through sixth grades. Many of our graduates are able to obtain employment in the schools they have been placed for student teaching or early field experiences.
We invite a variety of school districts to a "Share Fair" to talk to student teachers at the end of their program, and we announce when other school districts are having career fairs. Many of our graduates go on to graduate school and become lead teachers, curriculum specialists, school counselors, or higher level administrators.
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There are three internships built into the elementary education program. They afford students an opportunity to get into the schools as mentors, clinical students, and student teachers.
After being admitted into the professional education program, students will take Clinical I in Elementary Education, Clinical II in Elementary Education, and Directed Teaching in Elementary School and spend a prescribed amount of time teaching and learning in the public schools. The schools are Cleveland Academy, Lone Oak Elementary, and Boiling Springs Intermediate. The student teachers teach in many schools across the seven Spartanburg School districts, Greenville, and Anderson.