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Education



Minor

Option I. For students seeking teacher certification. Students seeking certification in the areas for which Dickinson College is accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education will complete the nine credites of coursework in the Education Department sequence, shown below.

Option II. For students seeking Private Academic certificates without completing the minor in Education. Students seeking private school certification only will complete EDUC 121 and EDUC 221. While this option provides limited preparation for the job market, it enables students to earn a Private Academic Certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students may major in any of the disciplines in which the Pennsylvania Department of Education offers Private Academic certification. If students major in one of the disciplines in which Dickinson offers certification, it is recommended that they also complete EDUC 350 and EDUC 352 or 353 or 354 or 355 or 356, and 458.

Important Note: If you become certified in one area it is possible to add other certifications by passing Praxis or ACTFL tests in the additional areas. For example, if you completed certification in Spanish or English you could add Russian or Italian to your certificate by passing the required test. Should you have questions, please consult with your education advisor.

NOTE: Students are responsible for providing their own transportation for all field experiences, internships and student teaching.

Certificate

Upon completion of the Education Program, required PRAXIS series testing, and the baccalaureate degree, students are eligible for Pennsylvania's secondary school (grades 7-12) certification in their major areas. Pennsylvania has reciprocity agreements with 46 other states. The department offers a minor. Specific information about requirements and the program can be obtained from the Education Department, or visit the Education Department web site.

Suggested Four Year Program

First Year: Begin Major Field, Education 121
Second Year: 221; 350
Third Year: 352-356; 458; Application to the Professional Semester
Fourth Year: Professional Semester (459, 460, 461-462)
NOTE: Students going abroad during the junior year should apply to the program before their departure and take 352-356 during their fourth year.

Teacher Certification Program

The teacher education program consists of (1) foundational course work, (2) methods coursework and (3) the professional semester in teacher education. Certification programs include biology, chemistry, earth and space science, English, French, general science, German, Latin, mathematics, physics, Spanish, and social studies (requires a major in history, political science, economics or American Studies with coursework in the other areas). For additional information, visit the Education Department web site.

Foundational Coursework
EDUC 121: Social Foundations of Education; EDUC 221: Educational Psychology.

Methods Coursework
EDUC 350: Teaching English Language Learners in an Inclusive Classroom; EDUC 352: Issues/Trends in Teaching English OR EDUC 353: Issues/Trends in Teaching Foreign Language OR EDUC 354: Issues/Trends in Teaching Social Studies OR EDUC 355: Issues/Trends in Teaching Science OR EDUC 356: Issues/Trends in Teaching Math; EDUC 458: Curriculum Design.


Professional Semester Coursework
EDUC 459: Teaching Special Needs Students in an Inclusive Classroom; EDUC 460: Managing the Inclusive Classroom; EDUC 461-462: Student Teaching (two courses).

Student Organizations

Kappa Delta Pi is an International Honors Society in Education. KDP was founded in 1911 and is one of the oldest discipline-specific honors societies.

Dickinson College strongly supports pre-service teachers in KDP and values their passion and service to their fields. KDP members are vibrant individuals committed to their academic integrity and the field of education.

Education minors can apply for membership in Kappa Delta Pi at the end of the first semester of their sophomore year. Admission to Kappa Delta Pi will be based on academic grade point average and service to the education profession. Kappa Delta Pi members will have the opportunity to apply for Dickinson College sponsored scholarships during their junior or senior years. Those scholarships will provide either full tuition for a ninth semester (one semester beyond graduation) or a stipend during their student teaching semester. In addition the college provides a budget for speakers, conference attendance, and other pre-professional activities for members of Kappa Delta Pi.

Courses

  • 121 Social Foundations of American Education
    An historical perspective on the teaching profession and on purposes of schooling in the United States with a particular focus on the changing demographics of American school children. The range of diversity found currently in American public schools and the issues related to that are explored. Issues related to inclusion, exceptionalities, race, class, gender, and multiple intelligences are explored. The course includes the legal rights and responsibilities of both students and teachers as they relate particularly to special needs students and English Language Learners. In this course, students begin to develop their individual philosophies of education and to reflect on how their beliefs about schooling in the United States compare with those held in the course of American history.
    (1 course credit) This course fulfills the U.S. Diversity requirement for graduation.

  • 221 Educational Psychology
    An examination of physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and moral developmental theories as well as theories of learning and the teaching and assessment practices in middle-school and secondary classrooms derived from those theories. The course also provides an introduction to designing, delivering, and adapting instruction for special needs students with a range of disabilities and for English Language Learners. The course includes an introduction to standardized tests and teacher-made assessments. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and to reflect on how their beliefs about learning, teaching, and assessment compare with those of major theorists. The course includes a 20-hour field-experience in an area secondary school that requires students to obtain PPD tine test, FBI Background Check, Child Abuse Clearance, and Criminal Background Check at the students' expense.
    Prerequisite: 121. (1 course credit)

  • 350 Teaching English Language Learners in an Inclusive Classroom
    An examination of language systems, acquisition of multiple languages, differences between academic language and social language, communications between school personnel and families of English Language Learners, and collaboration among personnel responsible for the education of ELL's. In addition, the course includes planning for and implementing standards-based instruction and assessment in a linguistically diverse setting. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221 and to reflect on how their beliefs about teaching English Language Learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of English Language Learners. This course includes a 15-hour field experience.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221. (.5 course credit)

  • 352 Issues and Trends in Teaching English
    An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching English in middle and secondary schools. The course also addresses adolescent literature, the reading and writing processes useful within the content area as well as the use of instructional technology in the middle/secondary English classroom. In addition, the course includes planning, instructional, and assessment practices that provide for the full integration of special needs students into the middle/secondary English class while meeting the needs of students without special needs. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221 and to reflect on how their beliefs about the place of English in the overall curriculum, about the teaching and assessment of English, and about the role of English teachers in accommodating the needs of all learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of English. The course includes a 20-hour field experience in a middle or secondary English class. It also includes a 20-hour Lab focused on teaching special needs students and a 3-hour lab focused on teaching English Language Learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350. (1 course credit)

  • 353 Issues and Trends in Teaching Foreign Languages
    An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching foreign languages in middle and secondary schools. The course also addresses the reading and writing processes that are useful within the content area as well as the use of instructional technology in the middle/secondary foreign language classroom. In addition, the course includes planning, instructional, and assessment practices that provide for the full integration of special needs students into the middle/secondary foreign language class while meeting the needs of students without special needs. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221 and to reflect on how their beliefs about the place of foreign languages in the overall curriculum, about the teaching and assessment of foreign languages, and about the role of foreign language teachers in accommodating the needs of all learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of foreign languages. The course includes a 20-hour field experience in a middle or secondary Foreign Language class. It also includes a 20-hour Lab focused on teaching special needs students and a 3-hour lab focused on teaching English Language Learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350. (1 course credit)

  • 354 Issues and Trends in Teaching Social Studies
    An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching social studies in middle and secondary schools. The course also addresses the reading and writing processes that are useful within the content area as well as the use of instructional technology in the middle/secondary social studies classroom. In addition, the course includes planning, instructional, and assessment practices that provide for the full integration of special needs students into the middle/secondary social studies class while meeting the needs of students without special needs. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221 and to reflect on how their beliefs about the place of social studies in the overall curriculum, about the teaching and assessment of social studies, and about the role of social studies teachers in accommodating the needs of all learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of social studies. The course includes a 20-hour field experience in a middle or secondary social studies class. It also includes a 20-hour Lab focused on teaching special needs students and a 3-hour lab focused on teaching English Language Learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350. (1 course credit)

  • 355 Issues and Trends in Teaching Science
    An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching science in middle and secondary schools. The course also addresses the reading and writing processes that are useful within the content area as well as the use of instructional technology in the middle/secondary science classroom. In addition, the course includes planning, instructional, and assessment practices that provide for the full integration of special needs students into the middle/secondary science class while meeting the needs of students without special needs. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221 and to reflect on how their beliefs about the place of science in the overall curriculum, about the teaching and assessment of science, and about the role of science teachers in accommodating the needs of all learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of science. The course includes a 20-hour field experience in a middle or secondary Science class. It also includes a 20-hour Lab focused on teaching special needs students and a 3-hour lab focused on teaching English Language Learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350. (1 course credit)

  • 356 Issues and Trends in Teaching Mathematics
    An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching mathematics in middle and secondary schools. The course also addresses the reading and writing processes that are useful within the content area as well as the use of instructional technology in the middle/secondary mathematics classroom. In addition, the course includes planning, instructional, and assessment practices that provide for the full integration of special needs students into the middle/secondary mathematics class while meeting the needs of students without special needs. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of education begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221 and to reflect on how their beliefs about the place of mathematics in the overall curriculum, about the teaching and assessment of mathematics, and about the role of mathematics teachers in accommodating the needs of all learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of mathematics. The course includes a 20-hour field experience in a middle or secondary mathematics class. It also includes a 20-hour Lab focused on teaching special needs students and a 3-hour lab focused on teaching English Language Learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350. (1 course credit)

  • 391 Topics in Education
    This course is organized around several research topics, such as: literacy and numeracy, schooling in cities, the history of Western educational thought, the liberal arts curriculum, systems of schooling in European and Asian countries, graduate and professional schools, the testing industry, political education, and the Supreme Court and public schooling.
    Open to juniors and seniors.

  • 458 Curriculum Design
    An introduction to the historical and theoretical underpinnings that inform contemporary curriculum design with a particular focus on unit and course planning. Students design an integrated unit that includes a rationale for the unit within both program and course structures. The unit will reflect the individual student's particular philosophical stance, a complementary design approach, appropriate student learning outcomes, the organization and sequencing of appropriate teaching strategies, and assessment methods with particular emphasis on meeting the needs of a diverse student population while engaging all learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350, 352-356. (1 course credit)

The Professional Semester

Requires a 3.5 week block of intensive coursework and 12 weeks of full-time supervised student teaching.

  • 459 Teaching Special Needs Students in an Inclusive Classroom
    A focus on the use of collaborative consultative skills and models in providing optimal learning experiences for students with special needs. The course also emphasizes effective monitoring of student progress and communicating that data to the appropriate parties in order to continually adjust both instruction and assessment. In this course, students continue to develop their individual philosophies of teaching begun in EDUC 121 and developed in EDUC 221, 350, 352-356, and 458 and to reflect on how their beliefs about teaching special needs learners compare with current thinking about best practice in the teaching of special needs learners.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350; 352 or 353 or 354 or 355 or 356; 458 and Admission to the Professional Semester. Co-requisites: 460, 461, 462. (1 course credit)

  • 460 Managing the Inclusive Classroom
    A focus on providing an optimal learning environment for all students through the management of the physical classroom environment as well as the establishment of appropriate classroom rules and procedures. The course includes an examination of a variety of models of classroom management that support the maintenance of a positive learning environment. Students will develop a classroom management plan that they will implement during their student teaching experience. In addition, students will continue to develop their philosophy of teaching in their discipline by integrating their beliefs about classroom management and reflecting on how their own beliefs compare to those of various management theories.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350; 352 or 353 or 354 or 355 or 356; 458 and Admission to the Professional Semester. Co-requisites: 459, 461, 462. (.5 course credit)

  • 461-462 Student Teaching
    Students teach full-time for 12 weeks in the cooperative assignment. Both the college supervisor and the cooperating teacher provide observation and evaluation of student teacher performance in teaching. Part of the assignment involves teaching students with special needs and working cooperatively with resource personnel in providing optimal learning experiences for those students. Included as part of the course are several evening seminars on preparing to enter the teaching profession. Preparation for entering the profession includes developing a professional portfolio that includes the final development of their individual philosophies of education based on their student teaching experiences. Travel and personal expenses incurred are the responsibility of the student.
    Prerequisites: 121, 221, 350, 352 or 353 or 354 or 355 or 356, 458, and admission to the professional semester. Co-requisites: EDUC 459 and 460. (3 course credits)