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Updated September 22, 2021
Education Concentration
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Credits:
18
Concentration Description
Students in the undergraduate concentration in Education hone their own academic skills that they will later teach to others, and they take methods courses that lay a good foundation for teaching. The bachelor’s degree provides opportunity to explore and build a strong knowledge base in the area in which graduates aim to teach.
A Key Element in Your Bachelor’s Degree. The Education concentration is accepted in any Cambridge College bachelor’s degree, as open electives. It is often of interest to students doing a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies and heading for a teaching career. It also provides valuable understandings to students in other fields whose work touches on schools or teaching children.
Program Outcomes:
Students will understand current theories and practices within K-12 education, including:
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Social foundations of education
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Psychology of learning and strategies for teaching
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Classroom management, discipline and inclusion
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Teaching language arts and reading
Careers and Further Study:
Graduates find employment in schools and as educators in community organizations. The concentration is not designed to meet licensure requirements but as preparation for a subsequent master of education program for teacher licensure.
Curriculum
Classroom Management and Discipline
EMC 300 • 3 credit(s)
This course is designed to support prospective teachers in the exploration of student differences in the classroom and how it impacts teaching and learning, specifically in regards to issues of classroom management and discipline. The course will focus on issues such as classroom management techniques, group dynamics, teacher/student interrelations, leadership styles, peer group dynamics, appropriate punishment, crisis control, coping with special students, teacher/ student rights, teacher authority, and communication with parents and administration. A primary objective is to examine how well-organized and managed classrooms set the stage for student learning and achievement. This course, as such, explores both the theory and practice in the field of classroom management to provide students with a theoretical foundation and personal strategies that can be effectively implemented in the elementary classroom.
Integrated Language Arts & Reading
EMC 301 • 3 credit(s)
Students investigate the reading process and the rationale for integrating listening and speaking, reading, writing, and critical thinking by practicing all of these elements. Focus is on the principles and practice of language acquisition and activities that encourage creativity and methods of developing, linking and expanding a child’s encounters with literature.
Successful Inclusion in the Classroom
EMC 318 • 3 credit(s)
Students will learn about different techniques and models that promote the successful inclusion of all students in elementary and early education classrooms. Students will gain knowledge about existing federal and state laws, how to adequately understand and develop individualized education plans, plan collaboratively with other teachers to meet students’ needs, and enrich the learning environment for all.
Social Foundations of Education
EMC 319 • 3 credit(s)
The social foundations of education course is an exploration and analysis of the underlying issues within contemporary educational policies, practices, and theories. It is an attempt to ground the day-to-day realities of the classroom within larger philosophical, historical, anthropological, political, legal, and sociological contexts. Such an interdisciplinary perspective will allow students to begin to reflect upon the structures and practices of American education and provide a foundation from which to continue becoming reflective and critical educational practitioners.
Strategies for Teaching
EMC 420 • 3 credit(s)
This course introduces students to the field of education as an entrance into the challenges and opportunities of becoming a classroom teacher. The course provides a general overview of best practices in teaching and student learning within the context of how American education is organized. This course serves as a foundation for becoming an effective and moral teacher, and, as such, emphasizes understanding of national and disciplinary standards as well as overarching codes of ethics of being a teacher. In particular, the course uses the NCATE standards to highlight the need for a teacher to possess specific content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and dispositions. The course is applicable for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and will make use of both content-independent and content-specific pedagogical methods to demonstrate and apply applicable best practices.
Psychology of Learning
PSY 310 • 3 credit(s)
The conditions of learning are explored, from the prenatal through adolescence and early adulthood, emphasizing cognitive and emotional development. Current views of behavioral change and the learning process are introduced. The theoretical models of Piaget, Pavlov, and Erickson are covered. Students formulate original ideas and incorporate established theories to develop a better understanding of concepts and assist with transferring theory into practice. Topics include the nature-nurture controversy, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, effects of prenatal development on learning, cultural and environmental effects of development, and multicultural awareness.
