Education

This course is an investigation of elementary-level art education focusing on materials and methods for teaching art history, art criticism, and studio production to children. Attention is given to the relationship of the visual arts to general education, developmental growth of children in art, curriculum planning, and current issues in art education.

This course is intended for elementary education majors. The course is designed to provide experiences that will enable you to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to teach musical concepts and integrate music learning with other core subjects. The goals and objectives of this course are aligned with the Arkansas Standards for Beginning Teachers and are directed towards your goal of becoming an exemplary elementary teacher.

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of teaching as a profession, providing them with an opportunity to observe the educational process in three settings – elementary, middle school and secondary. Thirty classroom observation hours are required.

Teaching Diversity is a course designed to introduce both Mainstream, ESL and WL teachers to issues which concern them when working with limited English-speaking students (LEPs) in grades preK-6. In this course students will focus on cultural issues and awareness in the first portion of the course, and then in the second half they will focus on practical applications of this knowledge by developing and sharing specific classroom activities designed for ESOL. A basic inventory of topics is found here although some topics may be augmented by further materials as students work through the course.

This course is designed to prepare teacher candidates to integrate the arts, health, and physical education into the core disciplines at the elementary school (K-6) level. The course focuses on pedagogical knowledge and skills necessary for meeting disciplinary content standards as well as Arkansas teacher standards and competencies.

This course is designed to help students understand the need for an effective K – 6 physical education program. It will provide the prospective PK-6 school classroom teacher, as well as the PK-6 physical education specialist, with a knowledge base in the principles of physical fitness, elementary physical education curriculum planning and appropriate selection of physical activities for children. The students will be working with hands-on projects integrating the discipline of physical education and other curriculum subjects found in grades PK-6. Proper nutrition for the elementary student will also be discussed.

This course focuses on the evaluation and selection of developmentally appropriate texts from the various genres in children's literature.  Students will learn to use effective instructional practices and resources for teaching children and adolescents to read and respond critically to literary texts.

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the technologies that can enhance teaching and learning. Students will use the computer as a tool to design educational materials, perform classroom management tasks, enhance instruction, communicate and research.