Elementary Studies, K-6

Master of Education

About This Program | Program Requirements | Admission

About This Program

The Division of Education at Wilmington University reserves the right to change requirements to comply with any licensure/certification mandates by the Professional Standards Board and/or the Delaware State Department of Education.

As a result of a new federal mandate, HOUSSE (Highly Objective Uniform State Standards of Evaluation), and each state's requirement to comply with this legislation, expectations for both beginning and veteran teachers were developed and implemented during the 2005-2006 school year. Very briefly summarized, the law indicates that all children must be taught by "highly qualified" teachers and that each state must define what "highly qualified" means and the appropriate steps needed to achieve that status.

The State of Delaware has essentially determined the components for "highly qualified" status of NEW teachers as someone with a degree in teacher preparation from an approved program and passing scores on the appropriate PRAXIS II test. Therefore, beginning with students who started in fall 2005, the appropriate PRAXIS II test is required.

Program Purpose

The Elementary Studies program prepares teachers to meet the academic and social needs of students. The program is built on a model of the teacher as learner, researcher, and facilitator of knowledge. The program is based on the premises that teachers must be sensitive to varying social demands and expectations; must be able to diagnose and address the individual learning and developmental needs of students, including emotional, physical, social, and cognitive needs; must be able to use technology in all aspects of their profession; must make important decisions about how and what to teach in the face of an overwhelming knowledge explosion; and must reach out more effectively to parents and the community.

Program Competencies

Program Competencies 1-12 are based on the Delaware Professional Teaching Standards. All relate to the Division of Education Conceptual Framework. Teacher candidates will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to:

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

The assessment of outcomes consists of multiple measures. Grades on assignments and for courses are the first level of assessment. The course goals, learning outcomes, and assignments are designed to address measurement of the program competencies as well as the graduation competencies. Other assessment measures include observation of the application of knowledge in practical settings and alumni surveys that query such items as preparation levels for careers and life-long learning activities.

Program Design

The Master of Education degree is designed to meet the standards for certification at the elementary grades K-6 level in the State of Delaware. The curriculum is a nationally recognized alternative route to certification. Although the program is designed for students with bachelor's degrees in fields other than education, the courses will also be available to certified teachers. Wilmington University will accommodate teachers who are already certified with alternative experiences for the clinical semester.

The primary components of the program are the course sequence of 12 courses totaling 33 credit hours and the clinical experiences totaling an additional 15 credit hours.

Program Requirements

Students are expected to complete all requirements associated with the Master of Education degree with a concentration in Elementary Studies, including both course work and clinical experiences. The PRAXIS I: PPST and appropriate PRAXIS II must be passed prior to admission to methods classes. Pedagogical courses, PRAXISI: PPST, and the appropriate PRAXIS II test must be satisfied prior to taking MEE 8800, Applied Assessment and Research in the Classroom concurrently with MEE 8801, Student Teaching. All courses have one or more goals for both diversity in education and writing across the curriculum. Prerequisites include successful completion of 3 credit hours in science content, social studies content, and mathematics content.

Student teaching applications are available in the Office of Clinical Studies in the Division of Education. Students must meet the deadlines for application for clinical experiences. Students must apply to the Office of Clinical Studies for a student teaching placement for the fall semester by March 1 or for the spring semester by October 1. Applications to the Office of Clinical Studies do not take the place of registration. Registration and payment for practicum and student teaching are still necessary.

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 MEE 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. MEE 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 clinical portion of the graduate program. These surveys are: "Inventory of Beginning Teacher's Dispositions Survey," administered during MEE 7996, Practicum I, and "Multicultural Inventory - Form A," and "Multicultural Inventory - Form B", administrated during student teaching. To measure the teacher candidate's changes in values and dispositions over the length of the graduate experience, as well as the quality of the program, teacher candidates are given the Multicultural Inventory during their culminating clinical experience (MEE 8801).

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