Graduate Initial Teacher Certificate/Elementary Education

This course is designed to provide an orientation to the primary components of the Graduate Initial Teacher Certificate. Students will be introduced to the program's progression and completion requirements. Clinical experience, electronic resources, clinical practice, and the teacher performance assessment/teacher work sample will be discussed.

This course examines the strategies used in managing a positive classroom environment within the framework of today's diverse student population. Topics include comparing classroom management and discipline models, establishing expectations and procedures, motivating students, parent communication, managing disruptive students, and materials management and record keeping. The course focuses on helping teacher candidates develop an individual classroom management plan appropriate for their targeted grade levels and needs. Candidates will reflect on their dispositions and motivations to teach and explore basic philosophies, professionalism, and legal and ethical ramifications in education.

This course focuses on the theoretical models that underlie teaching and learning. Teacher candidates analyze the most effective teaching strategies to encourage students to develop a deeper understanding of content and to promote critical thinking. Teacher candidates also examine teaching methods and learn to effectively use students' prior knowledge to develop lesson plans.

This course provides an overview of the categories of exceptionality for school-age students with special needs. The course focuses on differentiated methods and techniques used for the identification, assessment, and instruction of diverse populations. Historical perspectives and information related to special education law, and current policies and practices are examined.

This course addresses legal and historical foundations of Structured English Immersion (SEI), the identification and assessment process for English learner eligibility, and culturally relevant instruction. The Arizona Language Development Approach and SEI models are introduced, including language development and acquisition learning theories. Students examine the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and their application in lesson planning. Additionally, students explore appropriate intervention practices and differentiation strategies to support English learners in elementary settings. This course is designed to meet the standards set by the Arizona Department of Education.

This course provides the teacher candidate with the methodology to assess student learning effectively. The focus is placed on providing teacher candidates with the tools necessary to use, interpret, and evaluate student growth in order to inform instruction. Teacher candidates explore a variety of assessment tools and construct objective and performance assessments.

This course focuses on the most current research, theory, methods, and instructional strategies related to the science of reading and structured literacy. This focus includes phonological awareness, systematic phonics and spelling, vocabulary and oral language, and text reading fluency, all leading to reading comprehension and literacy development. Effective literacy assessment, intervention strategies, and differentiation techniques are also explored.

This course focuses on the application of the most current research, theory, methods, and instructional strategies related to the science of reading and structured literacy. Teacher candidates will enhance their content knowledge of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary to prepare comprehensive research and standards-based lessons and integrated units of instruction. The continuous use of assessment to identify students' literacy levels, guide instruction, and monitor progress, and the best practices for integrating reading and writing instruction are also examined.

This course focuses on the methodology and assessment strategies that enhance learning at the elementary level. Integrated content, interdisciplinary teaching, and curriculum and assessment issues are emphasized. Multiple perspectives of students as learners of elementary content, along with current research on pedagogy, are explored. This course provides teacher candidates with an opportunity to develop the ability to use and evaluate instructional and curricular materials and appropriate assessment strategies.