Program Description
The mission of the Middle Grades Education program is the preparation of highly qualified grades 6-9 classroom teachers who demonstrate leadership, know their content/subject areas, facilitate learning for all students, reflect on their practice, establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, promote equity among all learners, and address challenges of 21st century teaching and learning with creativity and respect for human differences.
The Middle Grades Education program offers the following specialty areas to prepare candidates for teaching: Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. The degree program requires a minimum of 120 and a maximum of 128 credit hours of course work and field/clinical experiences. Beyond general education, candidates in this program are required to meet specific program benchmarks, which include completion of general education courses, formal admission into teacher education, a minimum semester and cumulative grade point average, early field experiences in schools or other approved settings, clinical practice, and other requirements for the content/specialty area. Upon successful program completion, candidates become eligible to apply for a North Carolina teaching license in the selected academic area.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful program completion, candidates will demonstrate
- the ability to lead in the school setting;
- knowledge of content in the specialty area;
- the ability to facilitate learning in students;
- the ability to reflect on their practice;
- the ability to establish respectful environments for diverse learners (or maybe knowledge of);
- the ability to promote equity among learners; and
- knowledge of the challenges of 21st century teaching and learning.
Major Requirements
Students select a major academic concentration from the following options: English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science or Social Studies and also select a secondary content area of 15-18 credit hours in any of the other three remaining areas.
Specialized Admission Requirements for the Major
Students wishing to pursue a degree in this program must be formally admitted to the teacher education program by the end of their sophomore year. Requirements for admission follow:
1. Completion of the new General Education requirements.
2. Completion of English, speech, mathematics and laboratory courses with a grade of “C” or better in each course.
3. Completion of EDU 2334 (Education, Culture, and Society) with a grade of “C” or better as part of the new General Education requirements.
4. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) or better for admission into teacher education. Transfer students must bring a 2.5 GPA or earn the required grade-point average during the first 12 credit hours completed at the university.
5. Proof of proficiency in mathematics, reading, and writing as demonstrated on the SAT/ACT or Praxis I exam.
6. Successful completion of a written exam or proof of exemption based on Praxis I essay writing.
7. Application (including professional references) that verifies completion of all of the above requirements. Application for admission is due by the last day of classes of each term. Admission decisions are made at the end and beginning of spring and fall terms.
Progression Requirements
Teacher education candidates must maintain a 2.50 GPA and earn a grade of “C”, or better, in all major courses, including professional and academic concentration courses. All pedagogical core courses numbered above 4000 require admission to the teacher education program and may not be taken until all admission requirements have been met. Some courses have prerequisites that candidates must fulfill before registering for those courses.
Major Courses
Select from the sequence of courses below based on your specialty area choices of major and secondary academic concentrations. All specialty area content courses should have a minimum 24 credit hours.
Second Course of Study
The Middle Grades Education, in addition to major content courses, requires a second academic concentration (15-18 credit hours). Such academic concentration should be included as part of the new General Education requirements.
Other Information
The TEAP-Center professional advisors will assist you in preparing your admission to the teacher education program of your choice.
Plan of Study
The minimum and maximum number of credit hours shall be 120 or 128, based on specialty area choice.
General Education (60 credit hours; they include second academic concentration courses)
Seek guidance from faculty advisor, professional advisor, and academic advisement outline, including new General Education.
EDU 2334 (Education, Culture, and Society)
Middle Grades Content
Select primary and secondary academic concentrations from below. The primary should have a minimum of 24 credit hours and the secondary from 15-18.
English/Language Arts (24 credits)
ENG 2313 – Survey of American Lit I
ENG 2314 – Survey of American Lit II
ENG 3302 – Advanced Composition
ENG 3306 – British Lit I
ENG 3307 – British Lit II
ENG 3321 – Grammars of English
ENG 3348 – Adolescent Lit
ENG 4302 – Composition Theory and Pedagogy
Mathematics (25 credits)
MAT 2302 – Principles of Mathematics
MAT 2316 – Linear Algebra
MAT 2326 – Elementary Statistics
MAT 2337 – Discrete Mathematics
MAT 2410 – Calculus I or MAT 2411- Calculus II
MAT 3320 – Introduction to the Theory of Numbers
MAT 3326 – Geometry I
MAT 3341 – Algebraic Structures
Social Studies (24 credits)
ECO 2312 – Principles of Macroeconomics
GEO 2311 – Principles of Geography
GEO 3336 - World Economic Geography
HIS 2306 – U.S. History I
HIS 2307 – U.S. History II
HIS 3331 – History of Africa
HIS 3356 – Modern Russian History OR
HIS 0000 – African Presence in the Americas
HIS 4308 – History of North Carolina
SOC 2301 – General Sociology
Science (26 credits)
BIO 1301 – Biological Concepts
BIO 1320 – Environmental Biology OR
GEO 2313 – Environmental Geography
CHE 2311 – General Chemistry I
CHE 2111 – General Chemistry I Lab
CHE 2312 – General Chemistry II
CHE 2112 – General Chemistry II Lab
PHS 2337 – Introduction to Planetary Science
PHS 2137 – Introduction to Planetary Science Lab
PHY 2321 – General Physics I
PHY 2121 – General Physics I Lab
PHY 2322 – General Physics II
PHY 2122 – General Physics II Lab
Middle Grades Content Area Pedagogy (9 credit hours)
MGE 3201 – The Middle School & 3101- Practicum I (3 hours)
MGE 3310 – Early Adolescent Learner and Classroom Management
MGE 4201 – Emerging Adolescents in the School Setting & 4101 Practicum II (3 hours)
Pedagogical Core Courses (30 credit hours)
With a few exceptions, the following courses apply to all teacher education programs.
EDU 0000 – Curriculum Instructional Planning and Assessment (3 hours)
SPE 3300 –Exceptional Children in the General Education Setting (3 hours)
EDU 4333 –Responsive Pedagogy (3 hours)
EDU 4338 – Psychological Foundations of Education (3 hours)
EDU 4339 –Integrating Media/Tech P-12 (3 hours)
RED 4362 –Reading in the Content Area (3 hours)
One of the following methods courses based on your first concentration (3 hours):
EDU 4352 –Methods of Teaching Mathematics
EDU 4353 –Methods of Teaching English EDU 4354- Methods of Teaching Social Studies
EDU 4355 –Methods of Teaching Science
EDU 4981 –Observation, Student Teaching, and Practicum (9 hours)
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