Program Description
The Bachelor of Science in Education in Grades PreK-4 Education degree prepares students to teach children at the pre-kindergarten to grade 4 levels. Pennsylvania certification in pre-K to grade 4 education is awarded upon graduation and completion of state certification requirements.
Qualified undergraduate students in the Grades PreK-4 Education program may be eligible to participate in the accelerated B.S.Ed.-to-M.Ed. program, which enables them to take graduate courses that apply to both their bachelor's degree and (thereafter) a master's degree in Integrative STEM Education K-12.
The Master of Education in Teacher Education: Integrative STEM Education K-12 focuses on best practices for developing rigorous, relevant, innovative and engaging integrative practices for incorporating STEM principles across disciplines.
Through the accelerated program, students can complete both degrees at Cal U with a total of 139 credits.
Program Coordinator
Dr. Diane Fine
Accreditation
These programs are approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Cal U's education programs have also been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since 1954, and we are continuing with the successor organization, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
Curriculum
The following curriculum shows the requirements for completing the bachelor's degree under the accelerated B.S.Ed.-to-M.Ed. program. Additional graduate-level courses are required to complete the master's degree; refer to the graduate academic catalog for these requirements.
| Course | Credits |
| General Education Courses | 40-41 |
| CHD 250 Health and PE Methods for PreK-4 | 3 |
| CHD 350 Family and Community Collaborations | 3 |
| ECO 102 Econ for El. Ed. | 1 |
| EDU 333 Technology for Teaching and Learning | 3 |
| EDU 350 Supporting Eng. Lang. Learners | 3 |
| ESP 210 Special Education Foundations and Collaborations | 3 |
| ENG 101 Composition I | 3 |
| GEO 102 Geographic Sys. for El. Ed. | 1 |
| HIS 101 U.S. History to 1877 OR HIS 102 U.S. History since 1877 | 3 |
| MAT 120 Elementary Topics I | 3 |
| MAT 130 Elementary Topics II | 3 |
| MUS/ART/THE 732 Creative Arts for PreK-4 | 3 |
| POS 102 American Gov. for El. Ed. | 1 |
| UNI 100 First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| Approved Natural Science Course with Lab | 3 |
| British/American Lit Course (from approved list) | 3 |
| Required Major Courses |
60 |
| CHD 200 Intro to PreK-Grade 8 Education | 3 |
| CHD 312 Leadership and Advocacy in Childhood Ed | 3 |
| CHD 413 Content Area Literacy Field Experience* | 3 |
| CHD 450 Assessment and Data Literacy* | 3 |
| EDE 750 Foundations of Integ. STEM Ed K-12 | 3 |
| ELE 220 Instruction and Assessment in PreK | 3 |
| ELE 221 Inst. and Assessment in K-4 | 3 |
| ELE 300 Emergent Literacy | 3 |
| ELE 301 Literacy Foundations I: Lang Arts* | 3 |
| ELE 302 Literacy Foundations II: Reading* | 3 |
| ELE 310 Teaching Math/Science PreK | 3 |
| ELE 311 Teaching Math K-4* | 3 |
| ELE 321 Teaching Science K-4* | 3 |
| ELE 331 Teaching Social Studies K-4* | |
| ELE 410 PreK-4 Field Experience | 3 |
| ELE 411 K-4 Field Experience* | 3 |
| ELE 461 Student Teaching PreK-Grade 4* | 12 |
| Required Related Courses | 12 |
| ESP 311 Assess Positive Behavior Interv. | 3 |
| ESP 412 Evidence-Based Practices* | 3 |
| PSY 205 Child Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 208 Educational Psy. (PSY 100 waived) | 3 |
| Free Electives | 9 |
| EDE 701 Stand. Aligned Curr., Inst. and Asmt. | 3 |
| EDE 753 Int. STEM Ped. and Inst. Design | 3 |
| EDE 754 Creat. Inv. Meas. Lrn. STEM Com. | 3 |
| Total | 120 |
Program Notes:
- All courses required for certification with a grade of C- or lower must be repeated.
- CHD 200 and ELE 220 require current clearances and minimum 2.0 GPA to register for courses.
- All other EDU, ELE, CHD and ESP courses require current clearances and minimum 2.5 GPA to register.
- Candidates must follow policies for Admission to Teacher Education as stated in the Teacher Education Handbook.
- Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are restricted to candidates Admitted to Teacher Education.
- Pre-requisites for ELE 221 and all 300-level ELE and CHD courses are ELE or CHD 200 and ELE 220.
- State licensure exams must be passed before student teaching.
- Undergraduate students must achieve at least junior standing to take graduate-level coursework.
Additional Requirements
Students accepted into a teacher certification program must be admitted to Teacher Education before they may register for upper-level, restricted courses. Please refer to the Teacher Education Program Student Handbook for details on Admission to Teacher Education requirements.
Undergraduate students in the accelerated program may register for no more than 6 graduate credits in any one term, and in terms when a graduate course is registered, the student may not register for more than 18 total credits.
It is the student’s responsibility to apply and meet the qualifications of the graduate program portion of the accelerated program. Failure to follow through with enrollment in the accelerated graduate program will result in additional undergraduate credits to complete the bachelor’s degree, as outlined in the Undergraduate Credit for Graduate Courses policy.
Additional accelerated program requirements may be found at: https://www.calu.edu/inside/forms/_files/academic-affairs/accelerated-program-application.pdf