Elementary Education Major

This course prepares the candidate for admission to Teacher Education. Course content includes the characteristics of the Greenville College Teacher Education Program, a survey of the legal, social and ethical issues involved in public school education, an introduction to Live Text and program portfolio development, and a correlation of psychological principles to varied learning styles and milieus. This course is conducted on campus and includes 70 hours of field experience in school settings that have a large minority population. This course will give students the opportunity to determine whether they want to persist in the Teacher Education Program. (Offered fall semester for transfer students and students with special needs by permission of instructor, and offered every Interterm for freshmen.)

The purpose of this course is to explore race and poverty issues that impact the classroom environment. Candidates will search for effective strategies to better meet the needs of underserved populations. The hidden rules of economic class and characteristics of generational poverty will be studied, with emphasis on the impact this has on instruction. Students spend 40 hours assisting in a classroom which serves a high minority and low socioeconomic population. Meets the general education cross cultural requirement. Except for those students completing the requirements for the elementary education major, this course also fulfills the general education sociology requirement. Students who take EDU 202 and then change to a non-education major will need to take a course with a SOC prefix to graduate.

A study of children whose intellectual, physical, or emotional development deviates from the norm and of techniques to modify school programming to accommodate them. Focus is on the identification of exceptionalities and creating appropriate teaching/learning strategies. The legal basis for the education of exceptional children, as well as the historical and social foundations of special education, is studied. Thirty hours of field experience required.

The content of this course focuses on using art, music, and movement to enhance student learning in the elementary classroom core curriculum. The course includes the study of tools, techniques, and technology of art, music, and movement. It provides candidates an understanding of the educational, communicative, and aesthetic values of dance, music, and visual arts and the role fine arts plays in reflecting history and culture. Field experiences required.

A course in the reading sequence designed to acquaint candidates with a variety of reading programs and approaches used in contemporary elementary and middle school classrooms. Emphasis is on the reading process and product from the early stages of readiness through middle school. Field experiences required.

Focus will be on informational assessments, such as miscue analysis, for the identification of word recognition problems and determination of current use of strategies as well as for asessing comprehension monitoring, general comprehension, and inferencing. Specific "best practice" strategies will be examined for instruction of word recognition and comprehension at the elementary and middle school levels. Prevention of reading problems through early intervention is also addressed.

The application of learning theory to the management of both exceptional and regular school populations. Field experiences required.

This course is designed to explore classroom evaluation of student growth as an integral part of instruction. Candidates explore the purpose of evaluation as it relates to planning instruction. Professional, social, ethical, and philosophical considerations related to teaching/learning are also explored.

This course explores methods and materials used in the teaching of the language arts at the elementary and middle school levels. Emphasis is placed on speaking skills, critical listening skills, using literature across the curriculum, and the writing process which includes grammar, spelling, handwriting, and word processing. The integration of technology, diversity in the classroom, critical thinking skills, and assessment and evaluation are also examined. Field experiences required.

This course explores methods, materials, and techniques used in the teaching of social studies at the elementary and middle school levels. Emphasis is placed on the social studies goals, writing objectives and lesson plans, assessment procedures, and the integration of other curricular areas. Critical and creative thinking skills are examined as they apply to the goals of social studies and planning. Cultural diversity, the integration of technology and small group activities are also explored. Field experiences required.

The course examines effective teaching strategies for teaching mathematics to elementary and middle school students. It emphasizes placing students in a role where they actively think, reason, problem solve, and make sense of an inquiry-oriented, problem solving classroom environment. Students will examine children's strategies for making sense of various mathematical concepts and consider means of facilitating the development of these strategies. Fifteen hours of field experience is required and will allow the student to practice some of the strategies discussed in class.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Teacher Education Program and an appropriate mathematics course which may be taken concurrently.

This course examines strategies for teaching science to elementary and middle school students. The students will be exploring the nature of inquiry and strategies for promoting, supporting, and assessing students' scientific inquiry. This course will seek to provide students with instructional tools to help children develop conceptual understanding of scientific concepts. Students will examine strategies for questioning, sequencing of lessons, assessing students' understanding, meeting students' needs in multi-ability settings, and involving more girls and minorities. Fifteen hours of field experience is required and will allow students to practice some of the strategies discussed in class.

After admission to the professional internship, candidates receive student teaching placements. Candidates work with their cooperating teachers during the first week of school. Five days of clinical experience required.

Focus is on the role of the elementary and middle school teacher within the community, school, and classroom. Relationships with school personnel, parents and community persons and agencies are covered. Methods and techniques of classroom management, lesson planning, student assessment, and parental interviewing and reporting are also considered candidates work with P-8 clinical instructors. Professional ethics and organizations are also covered.

The course is designated to help students understand the integrative nature of learning as candidates draw from their coursework in sociology, psychology, history, English, religion, and education as well as their lifetime personal experiences in and out of the public schools. Successes and concerns involving classroom management, interpersonal relationships, student development, parental involvement, curriculum, and testing are some of the topics shared with the group.

For candidates completing the K - 9 program. Ten weeks of student teaching are required.

A comprehensive survey of the various types of poetry and prose for children, with considerable attention to the significant historical and folklore backgrounds. Meets the general education literature requirement for early childhood, elementary, and special education majors.

Study of why the world works the way it does, how its unique regions have taken shape, and how those regions are increasingly interconnected.

Curriculum, evaluation, administration, and an understanding of child characteristics as related to motor learning.

Designed to provide prospective teachers with experience in formulating individualized performance objectives, key teaching and therapy skills, and programming for specific problems in organization and administration of students with disabilities. Provides a brief review of the legislative and history of adapted physical education.

People, ideas, and institutions in American history from English colonization to the present.

This is the first mathematics course where the content of graders K-5 is carefully studied. Fundamental properties underlying the structure of numeration systems and various algorithms for computation are stressed. Basic algebra and problem solving is also reviewed and examined. This course is required of early childhood, elementary, and special education majors. This course does not count towards the mathematics major, and both MTH 143 and 144 are required in order to fulfill the general education quantitive reasoning requirement. 

This is the second mathematics course where the content of grades K-5 is carefully studied. Topics including geometry, measurement, problem solving, probability, and statistics are stressed. This course is required of early childhood, elementary, and special education majors. This course does not count towards the mathematics major, and both MTH 143 and 144 are required in order to fulfill the general education quantitive reasoning requirement. 

A wealth of information has been collected on our Sun and Solar System, surprising us with the richness and variety of geological environments scattered among the planets and their moons. In-depth studies of our Sun reveal a dynamic cauldron of hot plasma that in many ways astronomers are just beginning to understand. In exploring questions about lifecycles of our Sun and Planetary System, students will gain an awareness of both the power and limitations of scientific inquiry. In the laboratory section of this course, students will be introduced to night sky observing, becoming familiar with star maps, the constellations, and basic telescope operation. Two hours of lecture and two hours of evening lab each week.

Examines structures, functions, and policies of the national government.

The transitional years of human development from puberty to early adulthood form the focus of this course. Emphasis is placed upon the developmental tasks and choices through which adolescents develop mastery and a sense of self-competence.