Middle Grades Education, B.S.ED.

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Total number of hours for program: 120

(Depending on the concentrations selected as well as the hours taken in the major that also count for Liberal Studies).

Admission to the Middle Grades Education Program

Students seeking admission to the Middle Grades Education Program must declare their major, declare their academic concentrations and earn and maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPA before being admitted. In order to be admitted students must complete an application for admission in EDCI 201 and achieve minimum required scores in Reading, Writing and Mathematics on PRAXIS I. Students will also complete a personality trait survey in EDCI 201 which will be viewed prior to admission (See Admission to Teacher Education Program). Students admitted to the program must maintain a 2.75 GPA or better to continue in the program. Middle Grades education majors must earn a grade of C or better in all required courses (including SAC courses). This C or better requirement includes EDCI 201, ENGL 101, 202 and MATH 322. If a student scores below a C on any course in the professional education sequence or within the major twice, the student is withdrawn from teacher education. If a student’s overall GPA falls below 2.75 the student will be removed from the program and must improve their GPA and reapply for admission. If a student receives an F in any course in the professional education sequence or major, the student must retake the course when it is offered and earn a grade of C or better. If a student does not successfully complete internship they may be withdrawn from the program and will be ineligible for licensure.

Admission to the Professional Education Sequence in Middle Grades Education

Students in the Professional Education must be admitted to the Teacher Education Sequence and are subject to all of the teacher education requirements. EDCI 201 is the only course in the professional education sequence that may be taken prior to admission to teacher education. The middle grades professional education sequence includes: EDCI 201, PSY 323, SPED 339, ELMG 484, ELMG 485 and ELMG 495.

Continuation in the Middle Grades Education Program

The requirements for continuing in the program are (1) a GPA of at least 2.75 on hours attempted (2) behaviors and dispositions which adhere to the code of ethics of the profession and (3) satisfactory participation and completion in the required professional field experiences which are a prerequisites to internship. An evaluation of each field experience assignment will become a part of the teacher candidate’s professional record. Any dismissal from a field experience or internship will automatically result in a grade lower than a C and will make the teacher candidate ineligible for licensure.

Liberal Studies Hours: 42

Liberal Studies Program Requirements

Major in Middle Grades Education BSED Degree

Liberal Studies (42 hours including 3 hours of Freshman Seminar)
Middle Grades Concentration: Must complete 2 academic concentrations consisting of 24 to 25 hours from the four concentrations of Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts

Middle Grades Major Course Requirements

The major requires 16 hours in core courses as follows:

EDMG 410 - The Middle School Child and Curriculum Credits: (3)
EDMG 411 - Differentiated Instruction in Middle Grades Education Credits: (3)
EDMG 420 - Responsive Assessment & Classroom Management Credits: (3)
EDMG 466 - Digital Literacy Methods Grades 6-9 Credits: (3)
EDRD 335 - Content Reading for Intermediate Grade Learners Credits: (3)
ELMG 201 - Seminar for Teacher Leadership Credits: (1)

Two concentrations from the options below:

Each concentration area must have a minimum of 24 hours in the discipline area and must include at least one “methods” course in the area.

NOTE: Science concentration has 25 hours, including the methods course.

Language Arts: 24 hours

Students with an academic concentration for Middle Grades Language Arts must take the following courses:

EDRD 467 - Adolescent Literature Credits: (3)
EDMG 415 - Language Arts Methods Grades 6-9 Credits: (3)
ENGL 202 - Writing and Critical Inquiry Credits: (3)
ENGL 312 - Grammar for Teachers Credits: (3)
ENGL 414 - Fundamentals of Teaching Composition Credits: (3)
ENGL 231 - The Interpretation of Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 319 - The Teaching of Grammar Credits: (3)
or
ENGL 416 - Teaching English as a Second Language Credits: (3)

Select:

The remaining 3 hours of course work from any 200 level and above ENGL literature course. The following list of courses represent current and appropriate “200 level and above ENGL literature courses:”

ENGL 240 - Research, Literary Criticism & British Literature Credits: (3).
ENGL 241 - Formalism & American Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 242 - Cultural Studies & Non-Western World Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 333 - Introduction to Shakespeare Credits: (3)
ENGL 350 - The Renaissance Credits: (3)
ENGL 351 - The Beats, Radicals, and Avant-Garde Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 352 - The Journey in Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 353 - Stories Retold Credits: (3)
ENGL 366 - Literature of American Immigration Credits: (3)
ENGL 367 - Appalachian Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 368 - Film Genres Credits: (3, R6)
ENGL 378 - Motion Picture Histories Credits: (3)
ENGL 390 - The Bible as Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 394 - Film Adaptation Credits: (3, R6)
ENGL 411 - History of the English Language Credits: (3)
ENGL 420 - Chaucer and His Age Credits: (3)
ENGL 421 - Fairy Tale Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 430 - English Literature of the Renaissance Credits: (3)
ENGL 431 - Shakespeare and His Age Credits: (3)
ENGL 440 - Milton and His Age Credits: (3)
ENGL 441 - The Age of Pope, Swift, and Johnson Credits: (3)
ENGL 450 - Major Writers Credits: (3, R6)
ENGL 451 - Nineteenth-Century British Writers Credits: (3)
ENGL 461 - The “Long 19th Century” in American Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 463 - Contemporary Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 464 - Native American Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 469 - Directors/Screenwriters/Stars Credits: 3, R6
ENGL 470 - Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Postcolonial Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 471 - Studies in Poetry Credits: (3)
ENGL 472 - Studies in Fiction Credits: (3)
ENGL 473 - Studies in Drama Credits: (3)
ENGL 475 - Modernism Credits: (3)
ENGL 477 - Literature and Gender Credits: (3)
ENGL 478 - Film Theory Credits: (3)
ENGL 479 - Studies in Literature Credits: (3, R6)
ENGL 480 - Studies in English Credits: (1-3, R6)
ENGL 498 - Senior Seminar in English Credits: (3)
ENGL 419 - Medieval Literature Credits: (3)
ENGL 465 - Topics in African American Literature Credits: (3)

Mathematics: 24 hours

EDMG 419 - Mathematics Methods Grades 6-9 Credits: (3)
MATH 146 - Precalculus Credits: (4)
MATH 170 - Applied Statistics Credits: (3)
MATH 311 - Informal Geometry Credits: (3)
MATH 321 - Theory of Arithmetic I Credits: (3)
MATH 322 - Theory of Arithmetic II Credits: (3)

Select one of the following:

MATH 140 - Introductory Calculus Credits: (5)
or
MATH 153 - Calculus I Credits: (4)
(plus one hour elective)

Science: 25 hours

AST 103 - The Solar System Credits: (3)
BIOL 103 - Environmental Biology Credits: (3)
BIOL 140 - Principles of Biology I Credits: (4)
(plus lab)
CHEM 132 - Survey of Chemistry I Credits: (4)
(plus lab)
EDMG 416 - Science Methods Grades 6-9 Credits: (3)
GEOL 150 - Methods in Geology Credits: (4)
(plus lab)
PHYS 130 - Introductory Physics I Credits: (4)
(plus lab)

Social Studies: 24 hours

EDMG 417 - Social Studies Methods Grades 6-9 Credits: (3)
HIST 222 - European History Since 1517 Credits: (3)
HIST 341 - North Carolina History Credits: (3)
(meets upper level perspective requirement)

South America and Europe

Select two from the following:

GEOG 350 - Economic Geography Credits: (3)
HIST 327 - Modern Russia Credits: (3)
PSC 215 - European Political Systems Credits: (3)
PSC 219 - Latin American Political Systems Credits: (3)

Africa, Asia, and Australia

Select two from the following:

ANTH 477 - Cultures of subSaharan Africa Credits: (3)
GEOG 440 - Regional Geography Credits: (3, R12)
(Asian or African topic)
GEOG 444 - Political Geography Credits: (3)
HIST 373 - Modern Asia Credits: (3)
HIST 375 - Middle East since Mohammed Credits: (3)
HIST 411 - Western Imperialism, 1500 to the Present Credits: (3)
PSC 216 - Politics of Developing Areas Credits: (3)
PSC 317 - Politics of Asia Credits: (3)

World History

Select one from the following:

ANTH 361 - World Prehistory Credits: (3)
ANTH 363 - Human Origins Credits: (3)
ANTH 431 - North American Prehistory Credits: (3)
HIST 107 - World Cultures in Historical Perspective Credits: (3)
HIST 182 - The Ancient Empires Credits: (3)
HIST 311 - Ancient Greece and Rome Credits: (3)
HIST 312 - The Heroic Age Credits: (3)
HIST 313 - The High Middle Ages Credits: (3)
HIST 317 - History of Twentieth-Century International Relations Credits: (3)

Professional Education Sequence (24 hours):

EDCI 201 - Teacher Leadership in a Diverse Society Credits: (3)
ELMG 484 - Supervised Internship I Credits: (3)
ELMG 485 - Supervised Internship II Credits: (9)
ELMG 495 - Seminar for Student Teachers Credits: (3)
PSY 323 - Psychology Applied to Learning and Teaching Credits: (3)
SPED 339 - Designing Classrooms as Responsive Learning Communities Credits: (3)

Additional requirements:

No grade lower than C on all program requirements, including all courses with prefix of: EDMG, ELMG, EDRD, and courses in the middle grades areas of licensure will be accepted for graduation.

Visit the department’s website at http://www.wcu.edu/5406.asp to view the 8 semester curriculum guide.