Education
Teach the Next Generation
Check out our seven specialty majors
to see if one is right for you!
As you grow into your teaching education, you will work with your adviser to put together a plan of study that will allow you to specialize in an area for which you have talent and passion.
What's the Difference?
- Attend classes, meetings and labs within a preK-5 elementary school located right on our campus.
- Learn from DWU’s amazing professors; our low student to teacher ratio provides valuable one-on-one time with your mentors.
- Complete more than 300 hours of classroom experience.
- Design your unique one-semester student teaching capstone.
Education Courses
You will take a wide array of courses providing you with both the fundamentals of classroom teaching and the specific knowledge needed within your chosen specialty. Everyone takes classes like:
SPD 470 Student Teaching in Special Education
3 Hours
Candidates will student teach for 75 school days under the supervision of a certified special education teacher. Candidates are assigned to a school district and supervised by a certified teacher at the elementary level (K–8) and at secondary level (5–12). The student teaching will be divided in half at each level. During this period, they will fulfill obligations and responsibilities similar to those of the cooperating teacher. This course is part of the professional semester and is taken with a two-credit seminar, which is part of the 16 hours for degree candidates. Candidates also meet during the professional semester for seminar requirements. This course is offered Credit/No Credit only. The DWU Student Teacher Handbook and seminar syllabus serve as the course syllabus. Prerequisites: Completion of all coursework required for graduation, 2.6 GPA, admission from the education department faculty, submission of passing Praxis II examination scores for the required tests and approval for student teaching placement. Corequisite: EDU 475.
EDU 465 Classroom Management for the K-12 Educator
3 Hours
This course will involve the study of strategies for creating successful K–12 learning communities, planning for the school year, developing positive relationships with the students, working with families, establishing classroom procedures and rules, maintaining appropriate behavior, preventing, managing and responding to inappropriate behaviors, motivating students to learn and responding to inappropriate behaviors. Different practices of classroom management will be explored. School law, professional practice, and teacher ethics will also be covered. This course requires a field experience. This course is part of the spring practicum experience for elementary education majors. Courses include in the spring practicum for elementary education majors are: EDU 424, EDU 444 and EDU 465. Secondary education majors are strongly advised to take this course at the same time as EDU 424. Prerequisite: EDU 201. Corequisites for elementary education majors: EDU 424 and EDU 444. Corequisites for secondary education majors: EDU 424 or approval of department chair.
EDU 435 Curriculum Standards & Assessment
3 Hours
This course supports an educator’s ability to design and implement assessment practices that promote student learning by first improving instruction and then gauging its success. Emphasis is placed on constructing reliable and valid assessments; connecting classroom assessment to local, state and national standards, providing effective feedback and grading and understanding individual, classroom and cultural differences that impact assessment. Students will incorporate various assessment procedures in standards-based lessons they plan and teach during the course field experience. Prerequisites: EDU 201 Corequisites for elementary education majors: EDU 442 and EDU 443.
EDU 310 Human Relations/Multiculturalism
3 Hours
This course provides candidates with knowledge in the areas of multiculturalism and human relations. Teacher candidates will understand the impact of a changing society on education and human relations. This course provides an understanding of cultural backgrounds and the influences of dehumanizing biases such as racism, sexism and classism and how they affect the lives of students in schools. A field experience is required for this course so there will be related expenses.
EDU 311 Educational Psychology
3 Hours
This course will examine theories of learning and how they may be applied to the classroom. It will include the study of cognitive development, motivation and learning, how knowledge is constructed, constructivism, individual differences in learning, and learning environments. Prerequisites: EDU 201. Non-education majors must have consent of the instructor.
EDU 201 Foundations of Education
3 Hours
This course is an investigation of contemporary education in America and assists candidates in determining their career path, with a special emphasis on the tools and skills necessary to become an effective teacher. Observation experience in a school setting is required. This course is required for all education majors and is taken as the first in the sequence of education courses. EDU 201 is a prerequisite for all other education courses.
EDU 220 Technology for Teachers
1 Hours
This course provides a foundation for integrating technology into the classroom. A primary goal is the development of a mindset intent on exploring, identifying, engaging and applying current, emerging and future technologies in the teaching/learning process. Students enrolled in the course will consider the appropriate relationship of technology to standards and ethical issues. They will design and present technology-enhanced lessons and become skilled, confident users of digital and electronic resources.
Get to Know Your Professors
Become a teacher and learn from our fabulous teachers! Our low student-to-teacher ratio offers valuable one-on-one interaction with professors.
Ashley Digmann, Ed.D.
Education Department Chair | Dean of the Ron and Sheilah Gates College of Business, Education and Social Science
Melissa Weber, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Education | Master of Arts in Education Coordinator
Mindy Childs, M.Ed.
Assistant Professor of Education
Stephanie Gelderman, M.S.
Assistant Professor of Education
Tressa Wede, M.Ed.
Assistant Professor of Education
Student Teaching
You will complete more than 300 hours of classroom experience, so you’ll start your teaching career with confidence. Because our education department is attached to a local elementary school, you will engage in those classroom activities very early in your DWU education. Your one-semester student teaching experience will be the capstone of your time at DWU.
Related Majors & Minors
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Coaching
Become a coach or assistant coach for youth sports. Find a career in various settings after graduation, and work with a recreational team in your community or for a school.
