SVSU’s Teacher Education Program stands on four tenets. We seek to have all candidates become proficient in basic skills, develop a versatile foundation in the liberal arts, acquire subject matter competency for the K–8 grades, and learn the techniques and methodologies crucial for connecting with and empowering a classroom.
This approach shapes how we structure the Bachelor’s in Elementary Education degree and the curriculum. This degree program takes two forms:
- Elementary Education with a Content Area and Planned Program: This format envisions you instructing a specific subject to an elementary or middle school–level classroom while gaining a comprehensive understanding of the skills needed to teach students at this stage. Content areas include Integrated Science, Language Arts, Mathematics, or Social Studies, all of which allow you to add a subject endorsement to your teaching certificate. Outside of your major, you’ll enrich your knowledge through courses across the other three content areas.
- Elementary Education with a Comprehensive Content Area and a Specialty Area: You’ll take courses across Integrated Science, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social Studies while honing in on a specialty instructional area such as early childhood education, special education, English as a second language, French, or Spanish, all of which can supplement your certification as an endorsement. Considering the program’s goals, you’ll be exposed to practical classroom skills while discovering all there is to know about your content or specialty area and preparing to teach in a range of settings:
- General Education Requirements: Students considering the Bachelor’s in Elementary Education degree are advised to follow the recommended sequence of preparatory subjects encompassing world literature, the arts, mathematics, physical science, history, geography, political science, public speaking, writing, and cultural studies. Additional prerequisite courses in psychology, child development, and introductory teaching skills equip you to handle the program’s rigors. You’ll cover these subjects while fulfilling SVSU’s Basic Skills courses and General Education requirements.
- Professional Studies: This 45-credit progression anticipates what you’ll be doing in the classroom as an elementary or middle school educator. You’ll become familiar with classroom management techniques, age-appropriate health education, teaching subjects from math and science to language arts, and topics related to special education and learning disabilities.
- Student Teaching: Scheduled for your final two semesters, this 500-hour field experience allows you to apply and refine classroom management strategies, uncover your teaching style, and assist with curriculum development, curricular, and extracurricular programs.
