Liberal Studies/ESOL

The NDMU School of Education strives to prepare teacher candidates to respond to the supply and demand of the teacher education workforce and endeavors to prepare candidates who are highly skilled and equipped to teach children regardless of learning style, differentiated or special needs, and racial or socio-economic status. As such, candidates are encouraged to pursue certification in more than one content area or specialization; e.g, Certification in Biology and Special Education; or in English and TESOL; or in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. In some cases, candidates can even obtain three or four certifications (e.g, elementary, special education, early childhood education and/or TESOL).

Having more than one certification yields several benefits: 1) Most important of all, candidates are exposed to specific content and instructional strategies that may be unique to targeted individuals or groups of students (e.g, second language generation students whose parents speak only in their native language). 2) Candidates acquire a deeper, richer background in the vast variety of instructional strategies that one might employ, irrespective of the student's classification (e.g, a student in a Gifted and Talented class might respond just as readily to a 'reward and praise' technique as would a student with special needs). 3) Candidates find that, when seeking employment, they are more marketable because principals are afforded greater flexibility in assigning them to teaching positions that fit the needs of their school and student population (e.g, if given two equally qualified candidates from which to select, a principal is more likely to hire a candidate who has more than one certification, thereby giving them more flexibility to assign highly qualified teachers to classrooms based on that certification).

In essence, the teacher candidates enter the education profession with a larger and more diverse skill set of instructional strategies and content knowledge to better meet the needs of the school system, where employed, and the children whom they are entrusted to teach.

Pathways to obtain dual, triple, or even four certifications are outlined in the following tables, based on professional courses needed, content areas, programs and degrees.

Elementary Education/Liberal Studies

The Elementary Education/Liberal Studies Major provides a balanced program of liberal arts courses in a variety of academic fields, a planned sequence of professional courses, and practical field experiences that culminate in an extended teaching internship experience. Completion of the program qualifies graduates for Maryland State Department Certification in Elementary Education. Each student works closely with an academic advisor to ensure that the student obtains all the credits needed for the degree, as well as the requirements of the State Department of Education for Certification in Elementary Education. All students must complete the Application for Teacher Education through the School of Education prior to methods courses. Women's College students interested in Elementary Education are encouraged to declare the Elementary Education/Liberal Studies Major in spring semester of the first year.

For students in CAUS, the practical field experiences, including the teaching internship, are the only parts of the Program of Study offered during the day. These must be taken during the academic year when elementary schools are in session. The teaching internship must be completed in the fall semester.

Programs of Study

Required Courses for a Major in Elementary Education/Liberal Studies

Liberal Arts courses in the Major are exclusive of those required for General Education.

          Literature (6)
          American literature and
          World literature

          American and World History (3)
          U.S. History (if World History was selected for general education) or
          Non-U.S. History (if American History was selected for general education)

          Mathematics (9)

          Natural Sciences (8/9)*
          Biological science with lab and
          Physical science with lab

          Social sciences (6)
          Geography and
          One of economics, psychology, political science or sociology

          Fine arts (3)
          ART-208 (if Music was selected for general education) or
          MUS-202 (if Art was selected for general education)

*Women's College students take two four-credit science courses; College of Adult Undergraduate Studies students take three three-credit science courses.

Professional Courses

          EDU-300 Technology for Instruction and Management (3)
          EDU-303 Elementary Reading Materials (3)
          EDU-357 Processes and Acquisition of Reading (3)
          EDU-252 Clinical Field Experience: Elementary (3)
          EDU-301 Educational Psychology (3)
          EDU-307 Social Studies in the Elementary School (3)
          EDU-309 Instruction in Reading (3)
          EDU-310 Mathematics in the Elementary School (3)
          EDU-312 Science in the Elementary School (3)
          EDU-402 American Education in Historical Perspective (3)
          EDU-411 Internship: Teaching in the Elementary School (Internship teaching fee required.) (10 or 16)
          EDU-460 Assessment of Reading (3)
          SPE-326 Special Education for the Classroom Teacher (3)
          PSY-203 Child and Adolescent Development (3)

Transportation is required for methods labs, field experiences and internships.

Certification in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Women's College students in Elementary and Secondary Education Programs of Study who also wish to earn Certification in ESOL complete the following additional courses:

Courses

          EDU-253 Clinical Field Experience: ESOL (3)
          EDU-308 Issues in ESOL (3)
          EDU-346 Methods and Materials ESOL (3)
          EDU-347 Assessing Second Language (3)
          EDU-360 Techniques of Teaching Reading and Writing to Students with Limited English Proficiency (3)
          EDU-409 Internship: Teaching ESOL K-12 (16)
          EDU-440 English Grammar for ESOL Teachers (3)

          The following additional professional preparation courses also are required:

          EDU-300 Technology for Instruction (3)
          EDU-357 Processes/Acquisition of Reading (3)
          EDU-301 Educational Psychology (3)
          EDU-402 American Education in Historical Perspective (3)
          PSY-203 Child and Adolescent Psychology (3)
          SPE-326 Special Education for the Classroom Teacher (3)