The Elementary Education major, which leads to a B.S. degree, is intended to provide a strong liberal arts education for future elementary education teachers. Core requirements build upon students’ experiences in General Education to provide both breadth and depth in the arts and humanities, English, math, sciences, and social sciences. Required courses provide support in each area of the Colorado Academic Standards.

Students completing a major in Elementary Education are required to complete a minor in education, which will be added to students’ programs once they are fully admitted to Education.  To complete the program, students must meet all other requirements outlined by the School of Education for traditional licensure programs.

Program Goals

At CSU Pueblo, teacher education is a campus wide responsibility, and overall program goals reflect components of both the Elementary Education major and Education minor. It is the purpose of the Elementary Education major to assure that students will develop breadth and depth of knowledge of the liberal arts, and it is the responsibility of the Education minor to assure students become proficient at transforming this knowledge into curriculum and instruction for young children.

Program Design

The program is planned as a coherent whole, with three components:

General Education

Specific General Education courses form the foundation of knowledge for all students with this major. These courses fulfill CSU Pueblo graduation requirements and are essential to meet many of the content standards for elementary teachers. Courses in the arts and humanities, English, math, history, sciences, and social sciences contribute to the General Education core.

Liberal Studies Core

Liberal Studies Core requirements build upon students’ experiences in General Education to provide both breadth and depth to the program to meet both content and pedagogical standards.

Education Minor

All students must complete a minor in Education. The Education minor, which has been developed to coordinate with the major, requires completion of 38-40 credit hours. Courses provide pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, as well as practical experience in the field.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Acquire a broad knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences including the significant ideas, concepts, structures, and values within disciplines, including theoretical, ethical, and practical implications.
2. Master content knowledge in all areas taught in elementary schools.
3. Balance a breadth of knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences with depth of knowledge within a discipline.
4. Construct knowledge demonstrating habits of thinking, analytical skills, independent thinking, reasoned judgement, mature values, and imagination by utilizing the tools of inquiry to understand and evaluate ideas.
5. Develop habits of critical intellectual inquiry, including self-direction and self-reflection.
6. Make connections from different intellectual perspectives and multiple viewpoints to form cross-disciplinary connections.
7. Utilize research skills of the liberal arts and sciences, including library and data retrieval skills, to study and evaluate information.
8. Communicate knowledge effectively by writing clearly in a variety of academic and practical formats, speaking in a variety of settings, and utilizing technology as a tool to inform and communication.
9. Apply knowledge using multiple representations and explanations of disciplinary concepts using different viewpoints, theories, and methods, evaluating curriculum for comprehensiveness, developing and using curricular that encourage students to see and interpret ideas from diverse perspectives, and creating interdisciplinary learning experiences that allow inquiry from several subject areas.

Outcomes Assessment Activities

• Performance documented in students’ eportfolios.
• Scores on standardized tests of general education and content knowledge.
• Ratings of proficiency on program standards by K-12 classroom teachers, University faculty, and student teacher supervisors based on direct observation of teaching.
• Self-evaluations/ ratings of proficiency on program standards by program completers and graduates one year after teaching.
• Ratings of proficiency by K-12 supervisors after graduates have taught for one year.

Specific Program Requirements

Program Overview

Requirements for admission and retention in teacher education are included in the description of the Teacher Education Program in this catalog and in the Teacher Education Handbook.

Students must receive a grade of C or greater in all courses listed as requirements; a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.500 in courses completed in the major at CSU Pueblo Pueblo is required for admission to student teaching.

General Education Requirements

Specific Major Requirements

Students are not allowed to count the same courses completed for general education requirements as course requirements in the Elementary major.

Specific Requirements for the Elementary Teaching Endorsement/Minor

CSU-Pueblo requires the student interested in Elementary Education to complete a Liberal Studies major in addition to the courses in Education listed below.

¹

Admission to the School of Education required (e.g. cumulative GPA of 2.600, good standing, etc.)

²

Approved application to student teaching required.

Planning Sheet

Disclaimer: The Planning Sheet is designed as a guide for student's planning their course selections. The information on this page provides only a suggested schedule. Actual course selections should be made with the advice and consent of an academic advisor. While accurately portraying the information contained in the college catalog, this form is not considered a legal substitute for that document. Students should become familiar with the catalog in effect at the time in which they entered the institution.

Note: Students are not allowed to count the same courses completed for general education requirements as course requirements in the Elementary Education major, including those in concentrations. In addition, student completing a major in Elementary Education are required to complete a minor in Education and meet all requirements outlined by the School of Education.