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University of Wyoming

UW/CC - Elementary Education

About the Program

The UW College of Education has a tradition of offering a solid program for teacher education. When you finish the teacher preparation program, you will really be ready for the classroom. The program is designed to equip educators to face the challenges of the 21st Century. Graduates will successfully guide their classrooms to meet the challenges of our global and rapidly changing society.

Our teacher education program offers several real advantages to you:

  • A degree in elementary education with a strong liberal arts background.
  • A choice of four emphasis areas including early childhood, creative arts, multicultural diversity and individual and society.
  • Competency-based instruction.
  • Individual help in a supportive atmosphere with low student to teacher ratios.
  • Classes conducted with the same team of professors and classmates (cohort) for the duration of your program.
  • Opportunity for independent and cooperative learning and research.
  • A unique partnership between our faculty and participating public schools.
  • Four intensive practical experiences prior to student teaching provided in real school classrooms.

The major in elementary education currently requires 128 credits (minimum).  This includes professional education courses and practical educational experiences necessary to develop essential teaching competence.

Teacher Education Program

The core of the teacher education program is the education course work through which you will move progressively.  The program focuses on four levels of preparation:

Level 1: Foundations of education and brief exposure to a school classroom.

Level 2: Further development of principles of teaching and learning; the cultures of communities and schools; and preparing teaching lessons for the classroom.

Level 3: Specific methods of teaching certain subject areas or grade levels; work in schools applying these methods.

Level 4: A semester-long residency in a school setting in traditional student teaching.

Following in-school teaching activities, you will have a broader perspective and a deeper understanding of your own educational goals.  You will see a new and greater relevance in your professional education courses, and you will have a greater appreciation of the entire teaching process.

Certification

The Wyoming Teacher Education Program prepares teachers for every state and every teaching situation, but it is primarily designed to meet specific state of Wyoming teacher certification standards.  These standards, which are shared by many other states, require significant field experiences at each level of teacher preparation.  Our program ensures that upon graduation you will meet all requirements for Wyoming teaching certification in Elementary Education.

Getting Started

For more information about the elementary education degree program, contact:
Heather Roebuck, coordinator, advising
phone: (307) 268-2635
e-mail: hroebuck@uwyo.edu

UW Education Lecturer Rodney McConnell assists students Lindsey Jackson, Kara Parkhurst and Janet Hildebrand in a readers theatre demonstration during his course on Storytelling.  Students learned the art of storytelling in a variety of styles, with an emphasis on literature for pre-school and elementary age children.