Students who wish to be elementary teachers are required to select a major in elementary education as well as a major in the liberal arts or sciences. A major in liberal arts or sciences is a requirement of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Students must apply for admission and be accepted into professional education after completion of ELED 220 Introduction to Elementary Education and before the professional semester. ELED 220 is the only required education course in which students can enroll prior to official acceptance into a professional education program.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires three Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL) for Elementary licensure: Communication and Literacy, General Curriculum (Elementary) and the Foundations of Reading. All three of these exams must be passed as a prerequisite to professional semester courses.
All matriculated undergraduate elementary education degree seeking students must take the professional semester as a block of courses and must register with the department. These courses are usually taken the semester prior to student teaching.
All undergraduate students seeking licensure must consult the section of this catalog entitled College of Education and Allied Studies for information pertaining to admission to a professional education program and the State Regulations for the Licensure of Educational Personnel and important institutional deadlines.
Students must complete 80 hours of prepractica experience. A 40-hour experience is attached to the course ELED 220 . An additional 40 hours is attached to the professional courses. Undergraduates who are not taking these courses together in a professional block must meet with their professor to plan appropriate prepractica experiences.
After completing all education methods courses, students must complete a full‑time, semester-long student teaching experience in a local school under the joint supervision of a university supervisor and a supervising practitioner.
Students successfully completing the program are eligible to apply for initial Massachusetts licensure in elementary education (Grades 1-6).
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.
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