Elementary Teaching Major
Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.
Foundational Disciplines (10 units)
- 2 natural sciences courses 1
- 2 empirical and deductive reasoning courses2
- 2 historical studies courses3
- 2 ethical and evaluative thinking courses
- 2 literature and arts courses4
Selected courses from Weinberg College and professional schools across the University fulfill distribution requirements. A meeting with the student’s academic advisor is required prior to registering for distribution requirement courses.
Overlay Notes:
- 1
Please speak to academic advisor before choosing natural sciences courses to make sure elementary teaching licensure requirement is met. Please visit the Elementary Teaching Extension Courses guide for more information. Note that the two of these science classes that count as Natural Science foundational disciplines requirements must be chosen from the science cluster list below. You must take 1 course from each of the following groups: Physical Science, Life Science and Earth & Planetary Science.
- 2
Please speak to your academic advisor before choosing empirical and deductive reasoning courses to make sure elementary teaching licensure requirement is met. Please visit the Elementary Teaching Extension Courses guide for more information. Note that one of these classes that count as Empirical and Deductive Reasoning foundational discipline requirements must be a math or statistics course and must be chosen from the Math/Statistics cluster list below.
- 3
One historical studies foundational discipline must be a US history class.
- 4
One literature and arts foundational discipline must be a literature course.
SESP Core (8 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Understanding Knowledge | |
| Human Development: Childhood and Adolescence 3 | |
| Introduction to Statistics and Research Methodology | |
| Field Research Methods | |
| Student Teaching: Elementary |
- 3
SESP 201 has a few alternatives. SESP 351-0 Special Topics (Child and Adolescent Development) and PSYCH 244-0 Developmental Psychology are both substitutions, however please note that PSYCH 110-0 Introduction to Psychology is a prerequisite for PSYCH 244-0.
Foundations Courses (6 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Schooling in America | |
| Social, Cultural, and Linguistic Contexts of Education | |
| Foundations of Learning in a New Language | |
| Educating Exceptional Children | |
| Linguistics Informed Approaches to Literacy | |
| Theory & Practice of Teaching in Multiling. & Multicult. Contexts: Elementary |
Concentration Cluster Courses
Please visit the Elementary Teaching Extension Courses guide for more information. Students will be notified by their advisor if there are any changes to this list.
All Elementary Teaching students take the following as a part of their cluster requirements:
Sciences (1 unit)*
One from the Physical Science cluster, one from the Life Science cluster, and one from the Earth and Space Science cluster.
Some courses will fulfill more than one cluster, but credit will only be applied once to one cluster. Students still need to complete 3 units, one in each cluster.
Please note that two of these science classes will count as Natural Science foundational disciplines requirements when chosen from this list. You must take 1 course from each of the following groups: Physical Science, Life Science and Earth & Planetary Science.
*2 units met by foundational disciplines by the Foundational Disciplines overlay.
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Physical Science | |
| Fundamentals of Chemistry I | |
| Fundamentals of Chemistry II | |
| Chemistry of Nature and Culture | |
| Earth Science for the 21st Century | |
| The Ocean, the Atmosphere & Our Climate | |
| Fantasy Worlds – How to Build Your Own Planet | |
| Earth Systems Revealed | |
| Earth System History | |
| Ideas of Physics | |
Any level Physics course; please speak with your advisor. | |
| Life Science | |
| Diversity of Life | |
| The Nature of Plants | |
| Human Genetics | |
| Earth Science for the 21st Century | |
| The Ocean, the Atmosphere & Our Climate | |
| Earth System History | |
| Earth: A Habitable Planet | |
| The Health of the Biosphere | |
| Science Content for Teachers | |
Any level Biological Sciences course; please speak with your advisor. | |
| Earth and Planetary Science | |
| Modern Cosmology | |
| Milky Way Galaxy | |
| Solar System | |
| Highlights of Astronomy | |
| Earth Science for the 21st Century | |
| The Ocean, the Atmosphere & Our Climate | |
| Fantasy Worlds – How to Build Your Own Planet | |
| Earth Systems Revealed | |
| Earth System History | |
| Science Content for Teachers | |
Math and Statistics Overlay
Please note that this unit is fulfilled by one of the Empirical and Deductive Reasoning (FD-EDR) foundational discipline requirements when the class is chosen from the following list:
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| MATH 100-0 | Quantitative Reasoning |
| MATH 202-0 | Finite Mathematics |
| Any level Math course; please speak with your advisor. | |
| STAT 210-0 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics |
| TEACH_ED 314-0 | Math for Elementary Teachers |
| TEACH_ED 318-0 | Teaching Math: Geometry |
| TEACH_ED 319-0 | Teaching Math: Statistics and Probability |
| TEACH_ED 373-0 | Topics in High School Math |
Social Sciences (2 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| TEACH_ED 334-0 | Social Science Content for Teachers |
The other unit can be fulfilled with any of the following:
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| POLI_SCI 220-CN | American Government and Politics |
| POLI_SCI 230-CN | Law in the Political Arena |
| ECON 201-0 | Introduction to Macroeconomics |
| ECON 202-0 | Introduction to Microeconomics |
Methods (4 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Elementary Science Methods and Content | |
| Elementary Methods for Teaching Science and Social Studies II | |
| Elementary Literacy Methods & Content | |
| Elementary Math: Methods and Content |
Equity and Education (3 Units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Designing and Supporting Discourse-Rich Environments for Learning | |
| Culture and Cognition | |
or LOC 214-BR | Culture and Cognition: SESP Leadership Institute |
| Community Based Research Methodologies: Educational Justice | |
| Critical Issues in Literacy | |
| Dynamics of Middle School Curriculum | |
| Race and Education | |
| Civic Engagement 1- Participatory Policymaking | |
| Civic Engagement 2: Participatory Budgeting | |
| Civic Engagement 3: Organizing, Gathering & Policy implementation | |
| Race, Adolescence, and School Discipline | |
| Trauma and Atrocity: Holocaust Memory, Memorial and Museums | |
| Magic Monsters & the Holocaust | |
| Holocaust Education Design | |
| Cognition and Culture in Teaching and Learning | |
| Design of Learning Environments | |
| Identity and Motivation | |
| Special Topics in Social Policy (Impacts of Education Policy on Teachers) |
Electives (8 units)
Additional units of elective coursework must be taken to complete the 42-unit degree requirement. Students are encouraged to discuss their elective plans with the teacher certification manager.
Middle Grade Endorsement (optional)
- 7 courses in competency areas:
- Science
- English
- Spanish
- Math
- Social Science
- 1 Middle Grades Methods and Techniques course:
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| TEACH_ED 366-0 | Middle Grades Methods & Techniques of Teaching: English |
| TEACH_ED 367-0 | Middle Grades Methods & Techniques of Teaching: Mathematics |
| TEACH_ED 368-0 | Middle Grades Methods & Techniques of Teaching: Science |
| TEACH_ED 369-0 | Middle Grades Methods & Techniques of Teaching: Social Sciences |
English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingual Education Endorsements (optional)
- Most requirements for these endorsements are met through other course work in this degree. To complete the endorsements students are encouraged to take the following courses:
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| TEACH_ED 320-0 | Designing for Linguistically and Culturally Sustaining Instruction |
| TEACH_ED 332-0 | Assessment of Linguistically Diverse Students |
| or MS_ED 432-1 & MS_ED 432-2 | Assessment of Linguistically Diverse Students I and Assessment of Linguistically Diverse Students II |