Education - Elementary Education Major

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The Department of Education offers state-approved academic and field experiences that prepare students to enter the teaching profession. State approved program completers are eligible for professional teacher certification in the state of Florida.

Students can major in Elementary Education (grades K-6).

Students must apply for admission to the Teacher Education Program as soon as they declare an Elementary Education major. Students can find and file applications (I-S Form) on the Department’s website. The Director of Teacher Education notifies applicants of acceptance or reason for denial.

Students who complete the required academic course and field work, maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher, and have their Expanded Teacher Education Portfolio (ETEP) approved before and during Student Teaching will meet the requirements for the Elementary Education major.

Florida requires that students have a passing score on the General Knowledge test (GK) of the Florida Teacher Certification Exam (FTCE) to be admitted to any state-approved program.

Students who meet the requirements for the Elementary Education major and submit passing scores on the General Knowledge (GK) test, Professional Education (PED) test, and Subject Area Exam (SAE) prior to graduation will be Florida State Approved Program completers, and immediately eligible for Professional Teacher Certification.

Major Requirements

All students completing the Elementary Education major must take a college math course unless they have achieved a grade of C or higher in high school calculus. Students also need a course in U.S. History. Consult with an advisor in the Department of Education for assistance meeting these requirements.

Elementary Education majors must complete all the following:

foundation courses in professional education,
elementary or secondary course sequence, and
clinical experiences, including student teaching.

Foundation Courses (4)

Sociological Foundations

EDU 271 School and Society and

EDU 280 Diversity in American Education

Psychological Foundations

EDU 272 Educational Psychology

Curriculum Foundations

EDU 324 Curriculum and Educational Assessment with Diverse Learners

Required Courses

*These courses require concurrent registration: EDU 406 , RED 409 , and RED 409L .

#These courses require concurrent registration: RED 309 and RED 369 .

RED 309 - Fundamentals of Reading Credit(s): #
EED 319 - Integrated Arts in the Elementary School Credit(s):
EED 363 - Social Studies for Elementary Schools Credit(s):
EED 364 - Science for Elementary Schools Credit(s):
EED 367 - Health and Physical Education for Elementary Schools Credit(s):
EED 368 - Math for Elementary Teachers, Content, and Methods Credit(s):
RED 369 - Research Based Practices in Literacy and Instruction Credit(s):
RED 371 - Diagnosis of Reading Difficulties Credit(s):
EDU 406 - Strategies for Instruction, Learning & Classroom Management in Diverse Elementary Schools Credit(s): *
RED 409 - Differentiated Literacy and Content Area Instruction Credit(s): *
RED 409L - Reading Field Experience Credit(s): *

Electives Courses

EDU 310 - Teaching in a 21st Century Classroom Credit(s):
EDU 385 - Teaching Children with Exceptionalities Credit(s):
RED 311 - Teaching Writing in Elementary Schools Credit(s):
EDU 345 - Orientation to International Studies Credit(s): One semester hour *
EDU 346 - International Field Study Credit(s): *
EDU 347 - Global Perspectives of Education Credit(s):
*EDU 345 is a prerequisite to EDU 346.

Student Teaching

All students seeking a major in Elementary Education must complete a teaching internship in their major or minor field. Graded on a credit/nocredit basis, Student Teaching involves full time participation for fifteen (15) weeks in an approved area school. Students are not permitted to take additional coursework during the student teaching semester and are discouraged from working beyond student teaching.

Juniors may apply for Student Teaching only after meeting the following requirements:

completion of prerequisite coursework for EDU 490 , Student Teaching, and
overall GPA of 2.5.

Undergraduates must submit applications for Student Teaching to the Director of Field Internships by:

February 20 for fall placement or September 20 for spring placement.

After approval for Student Teaching, seniors enroll in the following courses concurrently:

Additional Requirements

Prior to Student Teaching, students must successfully complete the initial ETEP review. Prior to graduation, students must successfully complete the final ETEP review.

Any student not approved for Student Teaching has the right to appeal to the Education Review Committee. In exceptional cases when a student needs to take a course during student teaching, the student must submit a written appeal explaining the circumstances. This appeal must be submitted to the Director of Field Internships at the same time as the student teaching application.

All Elementary Education majors must successfully complete the coursework required for the Florida English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement. Coursework for Elementary Education majors includes EDU 271 , EDU 280 , EDU 324 , EDU 406 , RED 409 , RED 409L , and EDU 490 . These courses are part of the already existing state approved teacher certification programs in Elementary Education.