Education - Special Education EC-12 and Core Subjects, Early Childhood - with STR and ESL Supplemental, BA

Common Core Requirements (42 hours)

See listing under Common Core Requirements  in this Catalog.

Preparatory Requirements (15 hours)

These courses are requirements for the degree and are in addition to the core curriculum. These courses fulfill the Preparatory Requirements for students in the Special Education EC-12 and Core Subjects Early Childhood-Sixth Grade with ESL Supplemental program.

• BED 3311 - Foundations of Bilingual and ESL Education
• ECH 2312 - The Young Child
• SOSE 3310 - Critical Social Studies Education
• SPED 3301 - Introduction to Special Populations
• SPED 3302 - The Exceptional Child

Academic Major Courses (21 hours)

These courses are preliminary requirements for the degree and are in addition to the core curriculum. These courses fulfill the Academic Major requirements in the Special Education EC-12, and Core Subjects Early Childhood-Sixth Grade with ESL Supplemental program.

• ECH 2313 - The Early Childhood Learning Environment
• MATH 3321 - Math Concepts I
• MATH 3322 - Math Concepts II
• NS 3310 - Physical Science Studies (this course should not be taken during the same semester as NS 3312)
• NS 3312 - Life Science Studies (this course should not be taken during the same semester as NS 3310)
• READ 3305 - Foundations of Literacy EC-12
• SPED 4302 - Classroom Management and the Exceptional Children

Professional Development Sequence (45 hours)

Admission to the Urban Education program, and ability to participate in the professional development semesters is a result of a successful Teacher Candidacy application, and interview.

Gators2 Teachers

The Professional Development (PD)sequence is a four-semester sequence (PD I-PD IV) that requires concurrent enrollment in four specific courses in PD I-III and three specific courses in PD IV. The Gators2Teachers (G2T) program requires one semester of field experience (PD II) and two semesters of student teaching (PD III-IV). Teacher candidates in G2T complete field experience I (PD II), student teaching I (PD III) and student teaching II (PD IV). Professional Development II (PED 4380) requires a minimum of 60 hours of classroom field experience. Student teaching I (PED 4383) requires 2-3 days per week (approximately 40 days) of student teaching. The second semester of student teaching, PD IV represents a full semester, full-day student teaching experience.

Teacher candidates who work as a paraprofessional in a local school district may opt out of the G2T program and complete their field experience at their campus of employment if their assignment meets department criteria. To request permission to use their campus of employment for field experience hours during PD II/PED 4380 and PD III/PED 4381, the paraprofessional assignment must be active by the department deadline; align with the teacher candidate’s certification area; and the district campus administrator must provide written approval. Paraprofessionals who are approved to opt out of Gators2Teachers will complete two semesters of field experience (PD II-PD III) and one semester of student teaching. For the paraprofessional, PD II and PD III both require a minimum of 60 hours of classroom field experience. Professional Development IV represents a full semester, full-day student teaching experience.

To successfully complete each professional development semester, students must demonstrate mastery of the content. Thus, it is required that all preparatory and academic courses be completed before beginning the Professional Development semesters

Please Note:

As state guidelines change, continual program revisions may occur. Teacher education programs are developed in response to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Texas Education Agency (TEA) regulations and guidelines. Thus, course requirements and sequencing are subject to change. All students pursuing teacher certification plans must understand that the advising staff will make every effort to communicate program changes as they occur, but it is the responsibility of each student to stay apprised of any changes that may affect degree plans. Thus constant monitoring of plans is necessary, and students are urged to visit regularly with an academic advisor and to check the TEA website for teacher certification changes (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/).