Elementary Education, BS

Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education

OVERVIEW

As an education student at Saint Joseph’s, you’ll get experience working with teachers and children in the classroom all four years. No waiting until senior year when it’s time to student teach.

The primary goal of Saint Joseph’s education department is to prepare competent teachers. The program operates on the premise that theory becomes internalized when learned in context and applied. This objective is possible because of early, sequential, and extensive field experiences. As a sophomore, you will complete a semester practicum. As a junior, you will complete a full year of internship, followed by student teaching in your senior year.

At a Glance

• Student-teaching supervisors are well acquainted with students and their teaching styles.
• Student teaching is done in local schools, allowing for seminars and on-campus opportunities for inquiry.
• Students work with public school students from the first year they arrive.
• Methods courses are kept small by design; students have multiple opportunities to practice teaching skills during the semester.
• Through grants and partnerships, students can work with inner-city children through Project Wet and Project Wild.

CURRICULUM

The elementary education major at Saint Joseph’s College is a Maine-approved program comprised of liberal studies, education methodology, and a continuum of field experiences.

Students complete a concentration in English, math, science, history, or special education. This concentration consists of six courses and leads to “highly qualified” status for certification in a subject area, in addition to a “highly qualified” status in elementary education. Students need to pass the Praxis series (I and II), which is required for state certification in elementary and secondary education. All students in education programs must pass Praxis I prior to senior student teaching. Students wishing to teach at the middle school and high school levels can choose from biology, physical sciences, math, history, or English.

Hands-On Experiences: What to Expect

Freshman Year
You will have the opportunity to work in a local school district providing reading activities to students needing extra support.

Sophomore Year
You’ll have a full-semester practicum. You’ll observe, write reflective journals, and work with small groups of students.

Junior Year
You’ll have two teaching internships for two days a week for the entire year. In your first semester, you’ll take part in K-3 experience and during the second semester, a 4-8 experience. You’ll write lesson plans and teach.

Senior Year
You’ll spend an entire semester student teaching, giving you a full-time, intensive experience in the classroom. Our professors will supervise you in the classroom, and will run seminars once a week to debrief and discuss your experiences.

Partnering with Elementary Schools

Through a Maine Campus Compact grant and part of community-based learning, education students put together a curriculum about pollinators. They worked in groups, each responsible to develop and teach one lesson plan to six classes at a local elementary school.

“They had to discover what worked and what didn’t. More so than getting the lesson right the first time, they needed to critically reflect and realize what went wrong. Many of their lessons included lots and lots (and lots!) of materials. When those materials were put on the table with kids, it influenced the elementary students’ engagement. That discovery will help them achieve one of the most important outcomes of this course: they discovered the impact of distraction. ”

—Dr. Patricia Waters

CAREER MOVES

RELATED PROGRAMS

• Physical Education/Teacher Preparation
• Special Education