Elementary Education (4 to 6)

Grade Levels:
4-6
Credits:
33

(4 terms)
Degree:
Master of Education

Program Approved:
PR Council on Education

Program Description

This program is geared for students who aspire to teach in public schools or private institutions. Students are prepared with the appropriate skills and knowledge to help them find their first job as a fourth to sixth grade elementary educator. Graduates are career-ready, technologically savvy, and culturally competent to advance social justice causes.

This program is for DEPR recertification only. A valid certificate such as a DEPR teaching certificate in another area or discipline is required.

Learning outcomes

Students learn the principles and knowledge elementary educators need, including teaching strategies for students with diverse abilities and languages in different academic areas. This includes, but is not limited to, working in collaborative learning groups and co-teaching exercises that transfer to the classroom. Students will investigate best classroom practices and creation of teaching reports. Learning is personalized through independent projects that help to prepare the educator for the profession.

Careers

Graduates who have completed this program may request recertification from the Department of Education of Puerto Rico, if they already possess certifications in other areas, and are qualified for employment in public and private schools, and/or to establish elementary teaching partnerships.

For more information, please contact Admissions at 1-800-829-4723.

Curriculum

All courses are taught in Spanish.

Professional Seminar and Project

Credits

Professional Seminar I: Elementary Education

ELE 691 • 2 credit(s)

In this first professional seminar students consider teaching as a field of professional study governed by ethical and professional standards. The pedagogical skills to be demonstrated by all teacher candidates seeking license to teach in our public schools, and the knowledge and skills specific to the field and level of licensure are introduced. Issues encountered in schools (poverty, immigration, homelessness) and their impact on student learning and development are examined. The Universal by Design framework for lesson design, essential questions, and performances of understanding are introduced. Students examine cooperative learning to promote socio-emotional learning and create a community of learners within the classroom. A Universal by Design lesson plan is required. Students identify a topic and research question to frame the Independent Learning Project (ILP). A subscription to TaskStream is required.

Professional Seminar II: Elementary Education

ELE 692 • 2 credit(s)

In this second professional seminar students continue their study of the areas of instructional performance to be demonstrated by all teacher candidates seeking license to teach in our public schools and the knowledge and skills requirements specific to the field and level of licensure. Research-based instructional practices that correlate with student learning gains across the content areas are examined. Instructional practices specific to their chosen discipline of study are also examined. An in-class lesson implementation is required. Students gather data related to the Independent Learning Project (ILP). A subscription to TaskStream is required.

Professional Seminar III: Elementary Education (Initial)

ELE 693N • 2 credit(s)

The Professional Seminar is a signature element of the adult learning model at Cambridge College. It grounds learning in a cohort group of students with a faculty leader licensed in elementary education. This seminar explores ways to create a standards-based curriculum, education evaluation in an inclusive classroom setting. The seminar explores multicultural education, inclusive teaching, assessment strategies, management techniques and parent-community relationships. There is a continuation of planning teaching strategies for language arts, working with math manipulatives, and effective classroom instruction. The seminar leader is the students’ academic advisor and guides them through their graduate program. The cohort continues to study the professional standards and subject matter knowledge for elementary teachers and the requirements for state licensure. The seminar also supports students’ work on their independent learning projects, from identifying topics, to guiding the research and writing, to completion. The seminar leader approves the finished project.

Independent Learning Project: Elementary Education

ELE 800 • 3 credit(s)

The Independent Learning Project is a culminating learning experience that helps educators integrate their personal and formal learning and their professional experiences into a meaningful whole. It reflects the general guidelines for elementary educators and articulates the individual’s educational and administrative philosophy. The project is research- and action-based, on a focused topic chosen by the educator, within the area of licensure. It engages educators in sustained research into educational practice and curriculum development in elementary education.

Courses

Credits

ELE 522 Development of reading and writing skills for early childhood and elementary curriculum in Spanish

Integration of Children's Literature for Elementary Grades 4-6

ELE 621 • 3 credit(s)

The goal of this course is to introduce participants to some of the best literature-children's, young adult, adult and contemporary, and as a result, help children become lifelong learners and readers. Participants acquire knowledge about Puerto Rico's Spanish language arts curriculum framework. They examine the standards and how they relate to reading instruction in the classroom. They look at many genres of literature including fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, poetry, fairy tales, tall tales, multicultural selections, and current favorite authors. Participants will practice integrating literature into other disciplines, including math, science, social studies, and the fine arts. Participants apply the Puerto Rico required professional standards in planning, teaching, and assessing units of instruction in language arts.

Developmental Psychology

ELE 510 • 3 credit(s)

This course explores basic theories and concepts in cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development from childhood to adolescence; and the characteristics and instructional implications of moderately and severely disabling conditions. These theories are then applied to instruction, with emphasis on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Students explore multiple theories of intelligence and learning, and strategies for a curriculum reflecting the diverse intellectual needs of children as learners. The stages and characteristics of child development are introduced and students apply this knowledge to the classroom through the use of integrated curriculum. Participants investigate methods of systematic observations and recording of child behavior in light of child development theories, and utilize this information in their planning and implementation of instruction. Formulation of a developmentally appropriate Individual Educational Plan is required. Pre-practicum hours of directed field-based training required.

Teaching Numeric and Geometric Structures 4-6

MAT 623R • 3 credit(s)

This course covers the teaching pedagogy of the basic foundation of the mathematics grades 406 curriculum in terms of its numerical and geometric structures. Major topics include: number sense, numeration, estimation, mental math modeling operations using concrete objects, geometry, spatial sense and measurement. Aligned with Puerto Rico Department of Education standards.

Classroom Management with Models ofTeaching

ELE 630 • 3 credit(s)

In this course students learn the basic components of an effective inclusionary program. Participants learn strategies and techniques to fully include all students into the regular classroom. Students observe, analyze, and discuss a variety of teaching models including information processing, group investigation, social inquiry, inductive models, non-directive teaching models and problem-solving. Emphasis is on interpersonal relations, arrangement of space, management of time, working with individual students, small group and large group structures and working with content and process. The Massachusetts Frameworks and teacher licensure competencies are taught to fully support teacher/student learning and instruction techniques. Course assignments including lesson plans connect theories to classroom practice. Pre-practicum hours of directed field-based training required.

Teaching Science & Technology 4-6

ELE 654 • 3 credit(s)

Each student will learn a variety of methods for making elementary science a "hands-on" learning experience for their students. The primary objective of the course will be to provide each participant with the knowledge, tools and desire to make science an exciting learning experience. Special emphasis will be placed on alignment of curriculum with the Puerto Rico Frameworks in Science and Technology. Students will also learn how to develop lesson plans that address student experimentation and design techniques. A standards-based approach to science education will serve as the template for the students' lesson development. Examples of open-response questions used on the Puerto Rico state test at grade five will be examined.

Teaching Reading and Writing Skillsfor Elementary Grades 4-6

ELE 522 • 3 credit(s)

This course will emphasize the development of children's reading and writing skills in upper elementary grades and the learning environment that supports the development of such skills. The course reviews and analyzes relationships between theories and current research on emergent literacy, oral language, vocabulary development, comprehension, the reading and writing process, and assessment. Participants review and discuss whole language, balanced literacy, effective teaching strategies, use of research-based literacy programs, literature-based instruction, use of different assessment tools to inform instruction, standards-based instruction, federal funding, culture, and democracy.

Teaching Soc.Sci. Hist. & Multicul. Early Childhood & Elementary Curr.

ELE 656 • 3 credit(s)

This course prepares candidates to teach social studies that includes the multicultural contributions of the world. They gain a basis for researching issues in social studies and history that give their students more universal perspectives. The materials chosen are appropriate to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks/Common Core Standards in history and social studies. Educators will gain the basic information and know the principles for teaching social sciences, history and geography as outlined in the Massachusetts regulations for educator licensure. Candidates produce and implement well-structured lessons that center of core disciplinary ideas in the K-12 social studies curriculum, utilize primary source materials, and reflect knowledge of formative assessment, differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, and the role of academic feedback, and questioning to support higher-order thinking. Pre-practicum hours of directed field-based training required.

Teaching Phonological and Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

ELE 500

This course is a prerequisite for ELE521. This course will emphasize the development of children’s phonemic awareness, phonological awareness and phonics skills and the learning environment that supports the development of such skills. It will also cover concepts of print, explicit/implicit instruction, analytic/synthetic methods, word analysis skills, the alphabetic principle, and language development.

Assistive Technology: Modifying the Curriculum for Diverse Learners

ESP 615 • 3 credit(s)

How do we as educators implement the mandated requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that calls for assistive technology to be considered in each Individualized Education Program (IEP)? Candidates examine assistive technologies and the federal laws impacting the education of students with disabilities and investigate assistive technologies addressing seating and positioning, access to the technology, augmentative and alternative communication (low-tech and high-tech). Candidates examine curriculum modifications using technology, and software that addresses these modifications and individual learning styles. The course provides a comprehensive understanding of the various augmentative and alternative communications (AAC) methodologies, including the appropriate use of aids and devices. Course assignments connect assistive technologies to classroom practice.

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Senior Instructor

Joyce Hope Scott

Joyce.Hope@go.cambridgecollege.edu

William Hoyt

(617) 873-0770William.Hoyt@go.cambridgecollege.edu

Joseph Huff

(617) 873-0157joseph.huff@go.cambridgecollege.edu

Peggy Ingram

Peggy.Ingram@go.cambridgecollege.edu

Hulon Johnson

Hulon.Johnson@go.cambridgecollege.edu

Patricia Johnson

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