Early Elementary/Special Education, B.S.

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The Early Elementary/Special Education program provides enrolled students with the knowledge, skills, and experience to be an effective educator of students in both general and special education settings. Courses in the Early Elementary/Special Education program focus on cognitive, social, and emotional development and are designed to facilitate an understanding and appreciation of individual learner differences so enrolled students can best support the development and academic achievement of learners with disabilities in special education settings, both separate and inclusive. Students enrolled in the Early Elementary/Special Education program become transformative classroom teachers able to support diverse populations of learners in general education classrooms grades Prekindergarten through 4 and in special education classrooms grades Prekindergarten through 12.

Degree Requirements

Institutional Degree Requirements

Program-Specific Degree Requirements: To be eligible for graduation, students majoring in Early Elementary/Special Education must complete a minimum of 128 credits. Students must achieve a 3.0 or higher in each of the following six courses: FCO 105 , EDU 260 , MAT 115 , MAT 150 , ECH 201 , and ECH 220 and demonstrate satisfactory progress on identified professional and personal dispositions. Students majoring in Early Elementary/Special Education must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher in order to be determined eligible for PreProfessional Educator Status and in order to enter the Professional Semester and to obtain Pennsylvania teacher certification.

Students seeking certification in Early Elementary/Special Education are required to have a minimum of 190 hours of Field Experience prior to the Professional Semester and must meet specific requirements as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

General Education Requirement

First Year Seminar

FYS 100 First-Year Seminar 3 credit hours
FYS 102 Common Hour 0 credit hours

Foundations Requirements

Communication course:

FCO 105 Rhetorical Communication 3 credit hours

Advanced Communication course:

Satisfied by major (EDU 260 )

Quantitative Fluency course:

Satisfied by major (MAT 115 or MAT 150 )

American Citizenship course:

PS 101 American Government and Citizenship 3 credit hours

Global Citizenship course:

G 100 World Regional Geography 3 credit hours

Disciplinary Perspectives Requirement

Humanities course:

LIT 200 Introduction to Literary and Textual Studies 3 credit hours

Arts course:

Satisfied by major (EDU 230 )

Social and Behavioral Sciences course:

PSY 100 General Psychology 3 credit hours

Natural and Physical Sciences course:

BIO 204 Exploring Biology 3 credit hours

Constellation Requirement

The Constellation requirement is met when a student completes four courses from a minimum of three disciplines within the Constellation requirements. Students who transfer in 60 credits or more at the time of admission to the college will be waived from the Constellation requirement, except for Education majors. Education majors are required to complete the Transformation: Children, the Family, and Development across the Lifespan Constellation as part of their General Education requirements.