Students who complete VSU's Bachelor of Science in Education in Elementary Education program earn initial Georgia certification in Elementary Education. The program is designed to prepare professional educators who manifest the knowledge, dispositions, and competencies deemed necessary to enhance young children's overall intellectual, social, emotional, and personal growth and development. The design of the undergraduate professional program includes a variety of methods and content courses supported by structured field experiences designed to provide opportunities to meld theory with practice in field-based interactions with children.

Selected Educational Outcomes

  1. Program graduates will demonstrate an acceptable level of content knowledge.
  2. Program graduates will demonstrate an acceptable level of teaching competency for an extended period of time during the clinical practice experience by planning, delivering, and assessing appropriate instruction for students who represent a diverse population and who are in public school settings.
  3. Program graduates will integrate technology into instruction, assessment, and communication.
  4. Program graduates will demonstrate characteristics of reflective practitioners by evaluating the effects of choices and actions on others (students, families, and other professionals in the learning community).

Examples of Outcome Assessments

  1. Teacher candidates in initial teacher education programs will demonstrate content knowledge through passing the state-required content assessment.
  2. Teacher candidates in initial teacher education programs will demonstrate pedagogical content knowledge and knowledge of evidence-based strategies through development of lesson plans identifying use of research-validated procedures and effective content pedagogy.
  3. Teacher candidates in initial teacher education programs will demonstrate skills in assessment, instructional strategies, use of technology, and monitoring and modifying instruction during observed teaching episodes evaluated by a university supervisor and P-5 mentor teacher.
  4. Teacher candidates in initial teacher education programs will demonstrate their ability to positively impact P-5 learning through an Impact on Student Learning project.

Requirements for the B.S.Ed. Degree with a Major in Elementary Education (Face-to-Face Track)

Core IMPACTS (See VSU Core Curriculum)42
Field of Study Requirements 118
EDUC 2120Exploring Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Diversity3
EDUC 2130Exploring Learning and Teaching3
ELED 2500Survey of Science Standards for Elementary Education3
MATH 2008Foundations of Numbers and Operations3
SPEC 2000Serving Students with Diverse Needs3
EDUC 2000Written and Verbal Communication for Education3
EDUC 2999Teacher Education Requirements0
Professional Program Requirements60
Professional Semester 1
ELES 3010Planning for Effective Teaching and Learning4
LITR 3110Emergent Literacy Through Children's Literature and the Arts3
LITR 3120Early Literacy3
MATH 3161Mathematics for Early Childhood Teachers I3
ELES 3100Developmentally Appropriate Practices3
Professional Semester 2
ELES 3020Assessment to Promote Student Learning4
EDUC 3110Integrating Technology in Education2
ELES 3210Introduction to the Management of Learning Environments3
LITR 3130Developing Literacy3
MATH 3162Mathematics for Early Childhood Teachers II3
Professional Semester 3
ELED 3300Mathematics Methods in Elementary Education3
ELED 4400Social Science Methods in Elementary Education3
ELED 4500Science Methods in Elementary Education3
ELED 4690Apprenticeship in Elementary Education2
ELED 4010Differentiated Instruction3
LITR 4120Literacy Assessment and Applications3
Professional Semester 4
ELED 4790Student Teaching in Elementary Education10
ELED 4800Professional Practices Seminar2
Total hours required for the degree120