Nov 23, 2024  
Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2022-2023 
    
Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2022-2023 [ARCHIVED CATALOG] See drop-down menu above to access other catalogs.

Elementary Education, BSE


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Department: Elementary and Early Childhood Education

Students who select the Elementary Education, BSE, wish to be elementary teachers and are pursuing a public school teaching license for grades 1-6. Students are also required to select a second major outside of the Elementary and Early Childhood Education Department. A second major is a requirement of Bridgewater State University. Students who successfully complete their Elementary Education major and a second major are then eligible to apply for an Initial License with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Elementary Education (Grades 1-6).

Students must apply for admission and be accepted into Professional Education after completion of ELED 220 - Introduction to Elementary Education  and in order to enter Education Cluster I in their junior year. This requires a formal application to the College of Education and Health Sciences, a cumulative 2.8 GPA and successfully passing the Communication and Literacy Skills Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL).

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires three Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL) for Elementary licensure: Communication and Literacy Skills, General Curriculum (made of two subtests: Multi-Subject and Mathematics) and Foundations of Reading. All three of these exams must be passed in order to enter ELED 492 - Supervised Teaching in Public Schools: Elementary , which is a full-time, semester-long student teaching experience in a local school under the joint supervision of a university supervisor and a supervising practitioner.

All undergraduate students seeking licensure must consult the Educator Preparation and Licensure Policies and Procedures  section of this catalog for information pertaining to admission to Professional Education and the state regulations for the Licensure of Educational Personnel and important institutional deadlines.

Students will complete a series of field experiences (prepractica) throughout their Foundation courses and Education Cluster courses. Students will be asked to authorize a Criminal Offender Record Inquiry (CORI) as a requirement for access to schools and agencies during their prepractica and practicum. Additional criminal background checks, including Statewide Applicant Fingerprint Identification Services (SAFIS), are required for field placement in schools and agencies according to Massachusetts laws and regulations. Students who are rejected for field placement by public school districts or other educational institutions due to CORI or SAFIS results or professional dispositional concerns may be unable to successfully complete the Elementary Education, BSE, at BSU.

This program has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and includes licensure reciprocity with signatory states under the Interstate Certification Compact.

Learning Outcomes: CAEP Standards, Massachusetts Professional Standards for Teachers, Massachusetts Subject Matter Knowledge Requirements and Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

Grade Requirement


A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 is required for acceptance into the professional education program, and it must be maintained throughout the program.

Course Requirements


Education Cluster I (7 credits)


Students must have junior status and be admitted to Professional Education, which requires a formal application to the College of Education and Health Sciences, a cumulative 2.8 GPA, completion of ECED 230 or ELED 220 or SPED 202, and successfully passing the Communication and Literacy Skills Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL).

Practicum (12 credits)


Students must be admitted to student teaching, which requires a formal application to the College of Education and Health Sciences, a cumulative 2.8 GPA, completion of all prerequisite course work for education, and successfully passing all required Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL). Students should be finished with all other undergraduate course work to proceed into student teaching (consideration for an exception to this should be sent to the Elementary and Early Childhood Education Department practicum coordinator).

Cognate courses (13 credits)


Total minimum credits: 58


Core Curriculum Requirements


A minimum of 120 earned credit hours is required for graduation. These earned hours include the Core Curriculum Requirements as specified in the Core Curriculum section of this catalog and at the Core Curriculum website, www.bridgew.edu/corecurriculum. For additional graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog.

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