Degrees and Requirements
PreK-4 Education
A major in PreK-4 Education is meant to prepare students for a career as a highly qualified PreK-4 teacher in Pennsylvania. To earn state teaching certification, students must meet all of the teaching competencies and certification requirements set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
To successfully complete the PreK-4 Education Major, the following coursework is required:
- 79 credits of Required Coursework
- 37 CORE Credits
- 4 General Elective Credits
- A minimum number of 120 credits are required for the degree, the last 30 of which, and 50% of the major must be earned at La Roche University. Developmental course work does not count toward the minimum number of required credits for graduation
NOTE: Education majors enter La Roche as a candidate for the teaching certification programs. In order to become an Official Education Major, students must complete the following requirements by the time they earn 60 total credits (including transferable credits):
- Overall GPA of at least 3.0
- Security Clearances within the past six months
- PA Child Abuse History Clearance
- PA State Police Criminal Record Check
- FBI Fingerprinting Check
- Basic Skills Requirement
- Passing scores for Reading, Writing, and Math exams (could include eligible scores from SAT, ACT, PAPA, and CORE)
Summary of Requirements
Education Requirements: 39 credits
EDEL2000
Credits (Min/Max): /
EDSP2015INTRO TO HIGH INCIDENCE
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course provides students an opportunity to explore foundations of special education in the United States including: characteristics of each disability category, legislation, over-representation of diverse students, academic and functional needs of students with disabilities, individual learning differences, least restrictive environment, implications for a Standards Aligned System, collaboration and transition. Students will develop an understanding of Accommodations and Adaptations for inclusive environments.
EDSP2025LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
PREREQUISITE: EDSP2015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This course will introduce students to behavior and misbehaviors of students in the school setting, types of misbehavior roles, establish a classroom management plan that will reflect their consideration of students with disabilities, problem solving, conflict resolution, assessing appropriate and problematic behaviors while establishing opportunities for students with diverse backgrounds to interact and share in cooperative learning groups, problem solving to achieve common goals. "Application Models" will be the framework used to demonstrate the approaches used by pioneers as well as 21st century researchers and educators.
EDUC1010INTRO TO EDUCATION AND FIELD
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is designed to deepen understanding of the professional world of education and recognize the responsibilities of an effective and ethical educator. Students will become familiar with the teacher expectations outlined in the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators and the PA Educator Discipline Act. Completing observations in diverse classrooms and school settings will provide students the opportunity to connect course topics to real-world teaching. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to reflect upon their decision to become a teacher by explaining how their learning will impact their future pedagogy
EDUC2000
Credits (Min/Max): /
EDUC2010INITIAL FIELD EXPERIENCE
Credits (Min/Max): 2/2
PREREQUISITE: EDUC1010, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This initial field experience course will provide students with the opportunity to observe and reflect on elements within various classroom environments. This experience will allow the student to interact with the learners in a variety of ways, develop knowledge of effective educational practices, and demonstrate professionalism in an educational setting. Seminars will be included with this course in which students will assess, evaluate, and discuss the field experience.
EDUC2015INTEGRATING THE ARTS THROUGHOUT
Credits (Min/Max): 1/1
PREREQUISITE: EDUC1010, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This course will present strategies and teaching techniques for integrating the arts throughout the curriculum. Students will develop an understanding of elements and principles of the arts. Students will consider how a classroom environment can support the arts and humanities.
EDUC2020TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
PREREQUISITE: EDUC1010, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This class focuses on effective instructional strategies for teaching social studies in an inclusive classroom. Students will become familiar with the learning standards and thematic strands of social studies identified by the National Council for the Social Studies, which include the disciplines of geography, history, economics, and civics and government. Emphasis will be on organizing subject matter and translating it to children through a variety of instructional methods. An integral part of the course will be a field experience placement, which will allow the student to connect theory to practice.
EDUC2025CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
EDUC2030INTEGRATING HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Credits (Min/Max): 1/1
PREREQUISITE: EDUC1010, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This course will present strategies and teaching techniques for integrating health, safety and physical activity throughout the curriculum. Students will develop an understanding of the elements and principles of health and wellness. Students will consider how a classroom environment can support the physical, motor and social-emotional development of children.
MATH2000
Credits (Min/Max): /
PSYC1021INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This survey course introduces students to several critical areas of psychology. Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on the scientific method, its application to psychology, and the insights gained from scientific research. The interactions among biological processes, cognitive and emotional responses, sociocultural forces, and behavior are examined. Included are such diverse topics as: health, stress, and coping; consciousness, sleep and dreams; effects of psychoactive drugs on behavior and health; psychological disorders; social psychology; types of learning and behavior management, information processing approaches including memory, encoding and retrieval; and the relationship of the nervous system to thought, feelings, and behaviors.
PSYC2022CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the field of developmental science with emphasis on the period from conception through middle childhood. The course approaches development by making use of both historical and contemporary scientific theory and investigates the major domains of development--biological, cognitive, social and emotional-from a chronological perspective.
PREREQUISITES:
PSYC1021 or PSYC1021H
PSYC2061EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
PREREQUISITE: PSYC1021 OR PSYC1021H This course provides an introduction to educational psychology, the science of learning and teaching. Students will be exposed to the research methods used in psychological science, theoretical approaches to cognitive development and learning, and applications of those theories to understanding student behavior in the context of the school environment.
PREREQUISITES:
PSYC1021 or PSYC1021H
SOCL3027FAMILY RELATIONS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
A sociological analysis of the family with emphasis on historical trends and contemporary family life in the United States. The study includes family relationships and functions, family disorganization and change, with an overview of the family as a major social institution.
Education Requirements: Official Major Status Required: 40 credits
EDEL4075STUDENT TEACHING & SEMINAR
Credits (Min/Max): 6/6
PREREQUISITE: EDUC4005, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This course provides PreK-4 teacher candidates with the opportunity to incorporate various strategies and techniques learned from the methods courses to implement effective instruction for all learners during an eight-week supervised student teaching placement in a PreK-4th grade classroom. Under the direct supervision of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor, the student teacher will have the opportunity to teach in all the subject areas and demonstrate the instructional practices and methods related to the developmental level of their students, based on a standards aligned system. The student teacher will reflect on their experiences and participate in student teaching seminars.
EDSP3010LITERACY INSTRUCTION AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course provides the foundation for teaching reading according to PA learning standards for students with a broad range of abilities and diverse cultural backgrounds. The course emphasizes research-based instructional approaches and interventions for Middle and Secondary level students including word level instruction, text level comprehension, reading-writing connection, and assessment. A field experience is a required component of this course.
EDSP3040EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
PREREQUISITE: EDUC1010, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This required course for all education majors will explore the instructional purposes for a variety of assessment strategies, such as: authentic, screening, diagnostic, formative, benchmark, and summative assessments. Future teachers will learn how to interpret assessment data, such as standardized test scores and norms, and will practice how to communicate assessment results to educational stakeholders, while considering legal and ethical issues related to assessment data, such as maintaining confidentiality. Future teachers will also create sample assessments that target academic standards and assessment anchors within subject areas, in order to measure mastery of the curriculum in more than one way.
EDSP4015DEVELOPMENT OF THE IEP AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
PREREQUISITE: EDSP2015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER The focus of this culminating course is to prepare the student teacher with a realistic overview of teaching special education in Pennsylvania. The student will create an IEP, become familiar with Inclusion and collaboration, write reflections based on current issues/trends in special education, participate in discussions, create useful artifacts, discuss significant court cases, and understand Transition. The student will also comprehend the special education continuum of services available to the identified student.
EDUC3005PRIMARY LITERACY METHODS AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course provides the foundation for teaching literacy aligned with the Pennsylvania Standards for students in the primary grades with a broad range of abilities and cultural backgrounds. The focus is on evidence-based literacy instruction around the essential components of literacy: oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. An integral part of this course will include a practicum in a primary grade (PreK-2nd grade) classroom.
EDUC3010PRIMARY MATH METHODS AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course provides an exploration of the principles for teaching primary math concepts according to guidelines provided in the Pennsylvania Standards and by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Teacher candidates will become proficient in using math manipulatives to help students learn mathematical concepts. An integral part of this course will be a practicum, where teacher candidates will be placed in a primary classroom (PreK-2nd grade) in order to connect theory with practice.
EDUC3020INTERMEDIATE LITERACY METHODS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course provides the foundation for teaching literacy aligned with the Pennsylvania Core Standards for students in the intermediate grades with a broad range of abilities and cultural backgrounds. The focus is on evidence-based literacy instruction around the following essential components of literacy: phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. An integral part of this course will be a practicum, where teacher candidates will be placed in an intermediate classroom (3rd-6th grade) in order to connect theory with practice.
EDUC3025INTERMEDIATE MATH METHODS AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course provides an exploration of the principles for teaching intermediate math concepts according to guidelines provided in the Pennsylvania Math Standards and Assessment Anchors and by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Teacher candidates will become proficient in using math manipulatives to help students learn mathematical concepts. An integral part of this course will be a practicum, where teacher candidates will be placed in an intermediate classroom (3rd-6th grade) in order to connect theory with practice.
EDUC3030INQUIRY BASED SCIENCE METHODS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The goal of this course is to prepare teacher candidates with an understanding of science content related to the Pennsylvania Science Standards and provide experience with using an inquiry-based approach to plan and teach science lessons. An integral part of this course will be a practicum, where teacher candidates will be placed in a classroom within their certification grade span in order to connect theory with practice.
EDUC4005EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is designed to prepare teacher candidates for student teaching and employment in the field of education. Teacher candidates will finalize professional documents, engage in professional development,identify school, district, and community resources, participate in service learning, and research best practices to set professional goals. Assignments will provide an opportunity to share information with multiple stakeholders to support families and children in meaningful and culturally responsive ways. Teacher candidates will demonstrate aspects as outlined in the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators, the PA Educator Discipline Act and the MCEE Code of Ethics.