Program Goals and Learning Outcomes

Program Goals

  • Prepare beginning teachers who understand how learners grow and develop, cognitively, linguistically, socially, emotionally, and physically, and who can design and implement developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who understand individual differences and diverse cultures and communities, and who can create inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who can work with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) they teach and who can create learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who understand how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic school, community, and global issues.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who understand, analyze, and use data from formative, summative, and performance-based assessments to assess their student learning, to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who can plan student-centered relevant instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas and curriculum, cross-disciplinary content areas and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who will engage in ongoing professional learning and scholarship and use research-based evidence to continually evaluate their practice, particularly the effects of their choices and actions on others, and adapt practice to meet the needs of each learner.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who can initiate appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.

  • Prepare beginning teachers who will conduct themselves and demonstrate professionalism in accordance to the Connecticut Code of Professional Responsibility for Teachers, Section 10-145d-400a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

Learning Outcomes

  • Candidates use their understanding of each child's developmental and learning needs, individual differences, and diverse families, cultures and communities to plan and implement inclusive learning environments that provide each learner with equitable access to high quality learning.

  • Candidates demonstrate and apply understandings of major concepts, skills, and practices, as they interpret disciplinary curricular standards and related expectations within and across literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies for grades 1-6.

  • Candidates plan and adapt instructional sequences to promote a full range of competencies for every learner based on knowledge of each child, educational goals, instructional practices, disciplinary knowledge, and student assessment.

  • Candidates design, compose, select, adapt and administer formative, summative, and performance-based assessments appropriately to gather data on student learning and engagement.

  • Candidates make informed decisions about instruction guided by knowledge of children and assessment of student learning that result in the use of a variety of effective instructional practices.

  • Candidates use a variety of communication strategies to interact effectively with learners, families, and colleagues as well as work collaboratively with colleagues, mentors, and school leaders in a professional way.

  • Candidates conduct themselves professionally at all times in accordance to the Connecticut Code of Professional Responsibility for Teachers, Section 10-145d-400a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

Barnard Hall, Room 310
Julia Kara-Soteriou
Department Chair, Professor
Literacy, Elementary, & Early Childhood Education
Henry Barnard Hall
310-01
Rouzan Kheranian
Literacy, Elementary, & Early Childhood Education
Henry Barnard Hall
310