Four Stages To A SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION DEGREE

In the course of this program, you will pass through four stages of professional development; each stage will move you out of your "student's seat" and up to the front of the class!

​During years one through three of the program, you will complete your General Education course requirements as well as complete most of your related coursework. You will begin preparing your Inquiry and Analysis Portfolio during your freshman year and complete it in your junior year. Be sure to save all of your work from your History, Economics, Political Science, Geography, and Social Science courses! During stage one, your main responsibility as learner and future teacher is to begin accumulating the essential content and pedagogical  knowledge to teach Social Studies.

In years two and three, you will begin the transition from college student to teacher/educator. This is the time to learn about the psychological and cultural make-up of adolescent students in middle and high school. During this time, you will focus on questions, such as:

(a) Why do adolescent students feel, think, and behave the way they do?;

(b) How do adolescent learners learn?;

(c) How does diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and academic strengths affect adolescents' motivation, learning, and behaviors?;

(d) How do teachers effectively instruct, engage, and manage adolescents with diverse backgrounds? How do you inspire adolescents to become engaged citizens?

During this stage, you will begin observing and working in schools (practicums). Three courses that you will take during this stage:

(1) EDUC413, (Adolescent Development and Educational Psychology),

(2) EDUC419 (Diversity in Secondary Education and

(3) HIST316 (Civic Engagement in America) include practicums in Delaware schools.

You may also need to take and pass the CORE (formerly Praxis I).

Please note: You may be exempt from taking the Praxis CORE exam if you meet certain qualifications such as GPA requirements or achieving a “college ready” score on tests that measure reading, writing and math such as SAT or ACT. The Office of Clinical Studies provides more information.

*Note on education courses: you must complete a PPD test and a Criminal Background check before you can take EDUC419, EDUC413 and HIST491.

For clearance purposes, the most efficient way to complete your  education courses is to take EDUC419 and EDUC413 consecutively (fall-spring, or spring-fall) taking 419 first. EDUC414 does not have a practicum and can be taken at any time during your sophomore or junior year.

​You will take EDUC420 (Reading in the Content Areas), HIST491 (Planning a Course of Instruction) and HIST492 (Integrating Instructional Technology into Social Studies teaching) during the Fall semester of your senior year. HIST491 is your "Methods" course. In this course, you will begin to put the pieces together from stages one and two. You will learn how to create course materials and lesson plans that meet State and National standards. You will develop effective teaching strategies that reflect your acquired content knowledge plus your understanding of adolescents and how they best learn. Through classroom observations, you will also learn more about the learners and classes you will be teaching during the Spring semester. You have now moved to the front of the classroom!

​During the Spring semester of your senior year, after you have completed all of your coursework and have passed your Praxis II exam,  you will spend fourteen weeks student teaching in a middle school or high school classroom EDUC400 (Student Teaching: Social Studies) is your 9-credit teaching practicum. You will work closely with your cooperating teacher, your supervisor, and your Methods professor. At the same time, we will prepare you in your student teaching seminar, HIST493 (Problems in Teaching History and Social Studies), to seek out and get that perfect teaching position---to get a job at last!

Teaching is a full-time job (plus!) that demands your full effort! Please avoid trying to hold part time jobs while student teaching. The more successful you are as a student teacher, the better your job prospects are for the future!

EDUC400 is a 9-credit student teaching experience, which requires 360 hours, with at least 180 hours of actual teaching time.

Observation time is that time when the student teacher is watching someone else do something. Teaching hours are defined as whenever the student teacher is working with or responsible for children. This includes hall duty, cafeteria duty, etc. Most student teachers end their experience with far more actual teaching hours than observation hours.

Student teachers are responsible for recording their time. A self-reporting log form is provided below for recording student teaching time. Student teachers should place the log where s/he will see them on a daily basis and remember to record his/her hours each day. Reconstructing hours, after the fact, is extremely difficult.

Area school districts require those working in their buildings to dress professionally. Review these common sense guidelines and make sure to review the dress code at your field placement site.

Schools reserve the right to ask candidates to remove jewelry (e.g., pierced body jewelry) or to leave the placement to change their inappropriate clothing.

• Office of Clinical Studies  - for information and forms related to field placements such as criminal background checks and other clearances, dispositions policy, and capstone evaluations.
• Office of Certification and Accreditation - for any questions related to teaching certification in Delaware and other states.
• Delaware Center for Teacher Education - provides support services for teacher preparation programs at the University of Delaware.
• Be sure to maintain your hours both in the Fall and Spring semesters using the Student Teaching Self-Reporting Log