Elementary Education Undergraduate Program
Distinctive Math and Science Component
Students majoring in elementary education will select a concentration of math, statistics, and logic (.doc) or science (.doc). In addition to selecting a concentration area the student will complete required methods courses in all subject areas, with six credit hours in mathematics methods and six credit hours in science methods. A strong emphasis on technology and innovative instructional tools in incorporated into the program.
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The Cohort Model
Students will attend all professional courses in cohorts or teams beginning the junior year. Cohorts will attend all of their professional courses together and will have a common supervisor, who works simultaneously with the students in field placements. Because the cohort must move across the semester together, students must keep up with the cohort.
Blocked Schedule
During the junior and senior year all professional courses are assigned to students, there are no menu or course selection options. Courses are held from 8:00-3:00 pm. This blocked schedule allows students to spend large blocks of time in elementary classrooms and in collaborative groups within the cohort.
Field Experience and Student Teaching
Elementary education students will begin gaining valuable experience in the school partnership network during the spring semester of the sophomore year and will continue with placements through the senior year, culminating with the Student Teaching experience. These experiences will vary in level of contact hours and level of responsibility in order provide a strong foundation for students prior to the Student Teaching experience and final licensure. Throughout all three internship phases students will be supervised and provided feedback through a NCSU supervisor and School Based Teacher Educator (SBTE). The School Partnership Network Coordinator will oversee the internship program.
Sophomore Interns: During the spring semester of the sophomore year students will be assigned to a partnership network school where they will get their first formal experience with the elementary school classroom and the functions of the greater elementary school community (ELM 250). Working in a cohort group, the sophomores will begin the development of a support network while building strong relationships that will allow for collaboration. This experience will include observation in the classroom, teacher interviews, and one full day experience. The goal of this experience is to allow the student to determine if s/he has chosen the most suitable career path by having the experience of seeing the typical day of a classroom teacher. The coursework beyond this point in the elementary education program is structured through the cohort program and requires a true commitment to the elementary educator career path.
See Professional Education webpage for information regarding acceptance to teacher candidacy.
Junior Interns: Junior cohorts will return to the school partnership network during the fall semester where the experience in the classroom and school community will continue to nurture the development of professional knowledge with practical hands-on experiences and weekly cohort seminars (ELM 370 and ELM 375). This experience will include classroom observation, attendance at school level meetings and staff development, and work with students in the classroom. Students will work in pairs during the junior level intern experience to further nurture and support collaboration. In addition, students will be given a specific checklist of tasks that will serve as a guide during the junior internship and the senior Student Teaching experience.
Student Teaching: Seniors will progress through the final of the cohort seminars (ELM 400 and ELM 480), which will include participation in a student teaching experience that will consist of a full-time classroom experience in the student’s licensure area in which s/he is supervised regularly by a faculty member or supervisor from the elementary education program and the SBTE with whom the student is placed. This experience is the culmination of the previous four semesters in the classroom environment, with the student continuing on to teach during spring semester for 10 weeks in the classroom that s/he served in during the Fall of the senior year. The primary objective of student teaching is to provide the opportunity for acquisition and demonstration of instructional competence with beginning professional educators. The student teaching experience has been carefully designed to be as realistic and as intensive as actual teaching. This involves placing student teachers in partnership schools with carefully selected and qualified SBTE.
