Education

Bachelor of Science

About This Program | Early Care and Education (Birth-Grade 2)
Elementary Education K-6 and Special Education 1-8* (Grades K-6)
Middle Level Education (Grades 6-8)

The Bachelor of Science degree programs in Education are approved by the State Department of Education. Any changes that are mandated or legislated will be implemented as soon as possible. Students will be notified of any changes that affect program requirements.

About This Program

Purpose

The purpose of the Bachelor of Science degree in Education is to prepare students for teaching positions from birth to grade 8. Students choose a teaching concentration that leads to certification in either Early Care and Education (Birth through Grade 2), Elementary Education (Grades K-6), or Middle Level Education (Grades 6-8).

Program of Study

The three programs available in the Bachelor of Science program in Education combine rich and varied course offerings with extensive, supervised field experiences. Many faculty members are current practitioners (teachers, counselors, content area specialists, administrators); all faculty members have had professional experience in public schools. General Studies core courses, required of all Wilmington University undergraduates, provide a well-rounded academic foundation. Supervised field experiences are an integral part of the teacher preparation program. Field experiences begin during the student’s first year and continue through the final, clinical semester. All methods courses have fieldwork components. Starting Fall 2007 students must pass all sections of the PRAXIS I and the appropriate PRAXIS II test prior to admission to the first methods course.

Program Competencies – BS in Education

Program Competencies are based on the 1998 Delaware Professional Teaching Standards. All relate to the Division of Education Conceptual Framework.

1. Create learning experiences that make content meaningful to students and reflect an understanding of the core concepts and structure of education.
2. Provide learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of students based on an understanding of childhood development and learning.
3. Adapt instruction for diverse learners based on an understanding of how students differ.
4. Demonstrate proficiency in oral and written communication.
5. Create a learning environment that fosters active engagement, self-motivation, and positive social interaction by understanding individual and group behavior.
6. Design instruction based upon knowledge of the disciplines, students, the community, and Delaware’s student content standards to demonstrate knowledge of instructional planning.
7. Apply a variety of instructional approaches that promote student thinking, understanding, and application of knowledge.
8. Use multiple assessment strategies for the continuous development of students.
9. Pursue opportunities to improve teaching and thereby enhance professional growth.
10. Collaborate with colleagues, parents/guardians, and other members of the community to support student learning and well-being and demonstrate knowledge of the role of the school in the community.
11. Use educational technology as an instructional and management tool.
12. Understand and maintain standards of professional conduct guided by legal and ethical principles.
13. Exhibit enthusiasm, vigor, strength of inner self, humor, fairness, and concern for students.
14. Obtain and retain successful employment in the profession of education.

Outcomes Assessment

Assessment of knowledge components and performance competencies is accomplished through satisfactory attainment of specific course objectives; successful completion of assignments linked to program competencies and graduation competencies; practicum evaluations from advisors and mentors; student teaching evaluations from clinical advisors, supervising teachers, and mentors; the completion and presentation of a professional portfolio; and post-graduation surveys.

Clinical Requirements

Applicants for student teaching must meet required application procedures and deadlines. Applications for student teaching must be submitted to the Office of Clinical Studies; for a New Castle County, DE; Kent, Talbot or Cecil County, MD; Pennsylvania or New Jersey placement to the New Castle campus, and for a Kent or Sussex County, DE; Caroline, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s Wicomico, or Worchester County, MD placement to the Dover Campus. Applications are due by October 1 for spring semester placements, or by March 1 for fall semester placements. Applications for student teaching are available at all sites, in all advising offices, and may be downloaded from the Wilmington University website. Applications for student teaching do not replace the need to register for each course. Registration and payment of all fees, including laboratory fees for student teaching, are still necessary. The following are also required:

1. A cumulative GPA of 2.5 before receiving a student teaching placement
   (ECE 450 or EDU 451)
2. A portfolio documenting achievement of program competencies for graduation

PRAXIS I Requirements

All students must meet Delaware minimum score requirements on all three sections of the PRAXIS I and the appropriate PRAXIS II test prior to registering for any of the following courses in the Bachelor of Science program:

ECE 203, 204
EDU 402, 403, 404, 405, 407, 408, 409, 410
RDG 401

Teacher Dispositions and Values

A significant element of programs for the preparation of teacher candidates deals with their proficiency in working with students from diverse backgrounds and exceptionalities to ensure that each student has an opportunity to learn. The required clinical experiences in the BS program are designed to encourage candidates to interact with exceptional students and students from different socioeconomic, gender, racial, language, geographic and ethnic groups.

A second area of importance for teacher candidates is the realization that they work with students, families, and communities in ways that reflect the dispositions expected of teachers as delineated in professional, state, and institutional standards. BS candidates must recognize, develop, and model dispositions that are expected of professional educators.

In order to assess a teacher candidate’s initial dispositions and multicultural values, the Division of Education administers three (3) inventories during the first clinical course
(EDU 390) of their undergraduate program. These surveys are: "Inventory of Beginning Teacher’s Dispositions," "Multicultural Inventory-Form A," and "Multicultural Inventory-Form B." To measure the teacher candidate’s changes in values and dispositions over the length of the undergraduate experience, as well as the quality of the program, teacher candidates are given the same inventories during their culminating clinical experience (ECE 450/EDU 451).

Because of the importance accorded to these surveys, teacher candidates are expected to participate fully and to comply with these tasks as assigned.