Mar 19, 2024  
Undergraduate Bulletin 2015-2016 
    
Undergraduate Bulletin 2015-2016 [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Elementary Education - B.A.


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: School of Education

The major in elementary education prepares students for teaching children in regular education classrooms, grades 1 through 6. The major requirements for the elementary program include foundational and professional courses. Foundational courses focus on building understanding in areas such as child growth and development, learning theory, diversity from multiple lenses, and educational philosophy. Professional courses are designed to integrate the subject matter of the elementary classroom that includes reading and writing, language arts and literature, mathematics, science, social studies, health, physical education, and the fine arts. The professional courses provide a solid foundation in learning specific methods of teaching unique to each subject matter and the development of materials and resources needed to implement lessons and units of study.

Dominican University teacher candidates who major in elementary education will have the unique opportunity to experience a comprehensive clinically-based program that includes the liberal arts and sciences core curriculum, foundational courses within the School of Education, and extensive supervised clinically-based courses that focus on the development of practices essential to beginning teachers.

Upon entering the undergraduate BA degree program, students take the university general education core curriculum requirements that develop a broad liberal arts and sciences education, with an introduction to elementary education in a foundational education course (EDUC 220 ) and a philosophy of education course (EDUC 310 ). After completing the first year of coursework, students in good standing  who meet requirements for acceptance into the Teacher Education Program can matriculate into the elementary education program with candidacy and begin intensive licensure program coursework and fieldwork.

Major Requirements

Optional Courses


The following optional courses provide first- and second-year students additional support in meeting academic requirements for the program:

Additional Requirements:


All course for the major, including core content courses, must be completed with a grade of C or higher.

Optional Pathways


Students in the elementary education program have the option to complete a minor or an endorsement program in one of the following four high-need areas:

Reading Education


The elementary education program enables each candidate to complete three courses toward the Reading Teacher endorsement as a pathway for the full completion of the Reading Teacher endorsement. Candidates can choose to complete the remaining required classes as undergraduate electives or can complete them upon graduation.

Required course for the Reading Teacher endorsement (24 hours):

*Courses required for and completed in the Elementary Education Program

Special Education


The elementary education program enables candidates to complete one course ( SEDU 322 - Exceptional Students: Characteristics and the Special Education Process ) toward the Learning Behavior Specialist I endorsement. Five additonal courses are required for the LBS I endorsement. Candidates can choose to complete the subsequent required classes as undergraduate electives or can choose to complete them upon graduation. The following sequence of courses are required for a candidate to earn an LBS I endorsement:

Required Courses for the LBS1 Endorsement (19 hours):

  •  *
  • SPED 526: Psycho-Educational Diagnosis (Ages 3 to 21) (4 hours)
  • SPED 649: Psychology and Characteristics of Students with Disabilities (3 hours)
  • SPED 654: Academic Methods for Early Childhood-Elementary Level Students with Disabilities (3 hours)
  • SPED 659: Managing Challenging Behavior (3 hours)
  • SPED 664: Curriculum and Methods for Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities (3 hours)

*completed as part of the elementary education program

English Language Learners


The elementary education program enables each candidate to complete three courses toward the bilingual/ESL endorsement (indicated below) as a pathway toward completion of the bilingual and/or ESL endorsement. Candidates can choose to complete the subsequent three required classes as undergraduate electives or can choose to complete them upon graduation.

The following sequence of six courses are required for a candidate to earn her/his bilingual and/or ESL endorsement. A bilingual candidate also must successfully pass the Target Langauge Proficiency (TLP) test.

Required Courses for the Bilingual Endorsement (18 semester hours):

*Courses required in the elementary education program

Required Courses for the English as a Second Language Endorsement (18 semester hours):

*Courses required in the Elementary Education Program

**Course is required in the elementary education program. EDUC 386 Diversity, Language, and Culture is also offered as a summer global course in which students travel abroad and work with ESL education in developing countries.

Mathematics Education


The elementary education program enables each candidate to complete one course toward the courses required for a mathematics endorsement. Candidates can choose to complete six additional math courses (beyond what is required for the major) to earn a mathematics endorsement; the courses also satisfy the requirements for a mathematics minor .

Required Courses for the Mathematics Minor and Endorsement (24 semester hours):

*completed as part of the elementary education program

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: School of Education