Given federal law and state standards, undergraduates have two basic options to choose from to best prepare themselves for a Multiple Subject Credential program and a career in elementary teaching.
COMPLETE ANY MAJOR (History, Spanish, Biology, Psychology, etc.)You can choose any major field that interests you and gets you excited about teaching in order to prepare for credentialing. By choosing to study a subject in depth, prospective teachers gain important critical thinking and analytical skills. With an in-depth command over a subject, they discover a passion for learning that will aid them in teaching other subjects and recognizing the same passion in their own students.
By carefully choosing your Liberal Arts Foundation courses (required of all students), you can gain the breadth of knowledge required to teach at the elementary level. If you desire, you can also add a minor field of study to increase the breadth of your preparation. (Any additional major or minor fields may qualify you for a supplementary or subject matter authorization to teach that subject at the secondary level.)
Consider taking the courses listed below to fulfill your Liberal Arts Foundation requirements. These courses are aligned with California's subject matter content standards for K-8 AND provide good preparation for the multiple
|Liberal Arts Foundation||Course Options|
|Creative Process (CP)||Choose one of ART 118 Art for Children or 098 Music for the Classroom Teacher|
|Cross Cultural (CC)||
Choose one of REL 125 World Religions, SOAN 102 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, or an appropriate CC-designated course
|Dominance and Difference (DD)||EDUG 310 Second Language Acquisition|
|Humanities Behavior (HB)||EDUG 331 Child Development|
|Humanities History (HH)||Choose one of HIST 101 World Civilization to 1450, HIST 102 World Civilization since 1450, HIST 121 American Civilization I, or HIST 122 American Civilization II|
|Humanities Literature (HL)||ENG 201 Critical Reading or an appropriate HL-designated course|
|Humanities Philosophy (HP)||
Choose one of REL 125 World Religions, PHIL 100 Introduction to Philosophy, or an appropriate HP-designated course
Math and Sciences 1 (M1)
|BIOL 107 Concepts of Biology|
|Math and Science 2 (M2)||MATH 101 Finite Mathematics|
|Math and Sciences 3 (M3)||
Choose one of CHEM 102 Environmental Chemistry, EVST 220 Physical Geography, PHYS 103 Astronomy, or PHYS 104 Elementary Physics
|State and Economy (SE)||Government 111 American National Government|
THE LIBERAL STUDIES PROGRAM
The Liberal Studies Program introduces you to the teaching profession, puts you in contact with practicing teachers and principals, and includes classes that align with state-adopted academic content standards for elementary students. The Liberal Studies Program
helps you master the subjects covered by the state-required CSET Multiple Subjects exam,
includes courses that satisfy almost all of the Liberal Arts Foundation requirements,
incorporates classroom observation and community service fieldwork,
requires a choice of second major, and
includes the coursework necessary prior to entering a credentialing program.
The Liberal Studies Program allows you to pursue the subject that most interests you, while still gaining a comprehensive introduction to the subject matters required in multiple-subject teaching. This practical approach to a double major will make you competitive in the education job market and can open up additional career options.
Taught by a practicing teacher or principal, this course will introduce you to the many aspects of the teaching profession, including basic theories of education. You will begin work on a personal philosophy and a professional development portfolio. You will also have opportunities to observe elementary and secondary school classrooms. Prerequisite: CCTC fingerprint clearance and current negative TB test by the Third week of class.
LBST 201 Studies in Education:
This course will offer you a survey of educational philosophy, it's relation to classroom practices and instruction in relevant subject matter areas. Through community service work with elementary school-aged children, you will be able to relate your own experiences to a developing personal philosophy of education.
LBST 290 Portfolio Workshop:
This workshop supports Liberal Studies majors or other students who are completing the LBST pre-teaching portfolio. Students compose essays and develop other items required for their portfolios, as well as obtaining clarification of department standards regarding the portfolio project and receiving technical support and instruction regarding web applications.
LBST 301 Inquiry and Analysis in Education:
Research helps educators learn better ways to teach, aids in measuring whether teaching is effective, and plays a role in determining how schools are funded and administered. Exploring educational research will help you to understand why education systems function as they do, how people are proposing to reform them and what effect different policies have on schools. Topics of focus may include such issues as school funding, "No Child Left Behind" legislation or standardized testing.
LBST 401 Senior Research Seminar in Education:
This capstone course gives you the opportunity to conduct research in an area of education that interests you under the guidance of experts in the discipline. The research that you produce will teach you about the professional research process and may provide a foundation for an Honors project or professional publication. You also have the opportunity to complete a portfolio that can serve as a pre-professional foundation for work in credentialing or graduate programs.
Alternative courses may be substituted at the discretion of the LBST advisor in consideration of advanced placement, prior coursework or the second major chosen by the student.
The only LAFs not covered in the Liberal Studies major are the FL (Foreign Language) and sometimes the WA (depending upon placement). All Liberal Studies Core and Subject Matter courses must be at least 3 credits and must be completed with a grade of 2.0 (C) or higher.
|Subject Field||Course Options for the LBST Major||Liberal Arts Foundation|
|Visual/Performing Arts||Choose one of ART 118 Art for Children or MUS 098 Music for the Classroom Teacher||CP|
|EDUG 331 Child Development||HB|
|EDUG 301 Second Language Acquisition||DD|
|Social Sciences||Choose one of REL 125 World Religions, SOAN 102 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, or another appropriate CC-designated course||CC|
|Choose one of HIST 101 World Civilization to 1450, HIST 102 World Civilization since 1450, HIST 121 American Civilization I, or HIST 122 American Civilization II||HH|
Choose one of REl 125 World Religions, PHIL 100 Introduction to Philosophy, or another appropriate HP-designated course
GOVT 111 American National Government
|Language Arts||Choose one of ENGL 201 Critical Reading, or another appropriate HL-designated course||HL|
BIOL 107 Concepts of Biology
|Choose one of CHEM 102 Environmental Chemistry, EVST 220 Physical Geography, PHYS 103 Astronomy, or PHYS 104 Elementary Physics||M3|
|Math||MATH 101 Finite Mathematics||M2|
Math 102 Mathematics for Prospective Educators
For depth of study, Liberal Studies majors are required to choose a second major. The second major will help you develop excellent teaching skills as you explore how information is researched, organized and taught in a specific discipline. Furthermore, completing a second major will make you more competitive in the education job market, as well as opening alternative career paths such as secondary school teaching, school counseling or even careers outside of education. You should choose a major that interests you and accentuates your strengths as a student. The second major must be declared before registration for the junior year, and coursework for that major is subject to the guidelines set forth by the appropriate academic department. Examples of majors that are in demand in education include Spanish, Communicative Disorders, Math, Biology, Environmental Studies and Chemistry.