As an elementary education major at Grace, you will have the opportunity to make meaningful relationships with students and be equipped to provide quality instruction, engaging lesson plans, and differentiation to meet the specific needs of your students.
èצӰ’s School of Education is founded on the ideology of “Teacher as a moral practitioner.” We are deeply committed to instilling the principles of character, competence, and service in our future teachers. This comes from Micah 6:8, which states, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Ultimately, we look to Jesus, the greatest teacher, as our guide.
The first half of the elementary education degree focuses heavily on pedagogy and core educational principles. These classes dive deep into the importance of relationships, student engagement, and classroom environment. Later courses are rich in evidence-based practices for teaching language arts, math, science, and social studies.
The elementary education degree pathway includes a three-course literacy sequence designed to teach students how to teach a child to read and write. You will also complete a methods block to acquire the practices and skills necessary for student teaching.
Effective teaching techniques are modeled in the college classroom. These courses often involve projects rich in collaboration, hands-on and engaging activities, and lots of feedback. You will also spend time dissecting textbooks and curricula that you may use in your future classroom.
Education courses also provide a lot of real-world experience. In your very first teaching class, you will get the opportunity to observe and assist in an elementary classroom for 20 hours. From there, you will continue to accumulate experience in the local schools by completing observations and teaching one-on-one, small-group, and whole-class lessons. Before student teaching, you will have completed more than 200 hours of classroom experience!
After earning your bachelor’s degree in elementary education, you will be able to pursue a teaching license for kindergarten through sixth grade. Ultimately, our desire is for you to love your students well and truly make an impact on lives in whichever school setting God leads you to.
