Curriculum
Alignment with National Standards
The OSU elementary education program strives to meet both Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards and National Council for Teacher Quality (NCTQ) Standards.
Technology
Instructional applications involving technology occur throughout the program. In many courses, students are taught how to use technology for instruction of K-12 students. Students have access to three computer labs representing both the PC and Macintosh platforms and attend class in rooms with state-of-the-art technology that enhance the learning environment and allow faculty to model the use of technology in instruction.
Coursework
The elementary education program emphasizes three broad areas of coursework – general education, college/departmental and professional core requirements.
Degree completion includes 52 hours of general education (English composition, oral
communication, American government and social sciences) and specialization study in
the subject area concentrations (analytical and quantitative thought, cultural dimensions
(including three hours in one foreign language or high school equivalent), arts and
humanities and natural sciences). Students generally complete this course work within
their first two years.
Included in this strand is 25 hours in professional education studies, 13 of which
are field experiences in an elementary classroom.
The pedagogy portion of the specialization strand contains 47 hours of study in discipline-related
courses commonly taught in elementary schools. Since the content structure of each
discipline differs, students take courses in the teaching of science, mathematics
(primary and Intermediate), social studies, literacy (language arts, reading, literacy
assessment, and children’s literature), visual arts, and classroom management and
design. Many of the specialization courses include a field component that allows the
student to observe and practice in an elementary classroom or working with individual
students or small groups what they are reading and discussing about in their college
classrooms.