studies in teacher education

The Next Chapter for Teacher Education

• Posted October 25, 2021
• By Bari Walsh
• Career and Lifelong Learning
• Teachers and Teaching

The Harvard Graduate School of Education has launched the Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) master’s program — the last leg of its seven-year effort to reimagine how the school will prepare education professionals to attack the complex challenges facing learners of all ages, now and into the future. The launch of the TTL Program embodies the core commitment that drove HGSE’s curricular innovation: The school’s longstanding dedication to expansive, equitable, transformational opportunity for learners everywhere. 

When the TTL Program welcomes its first cohort of students in 2022–23, it will join the four other programs that launched this year as part of HGSE’s redesigned master’s degree, which also includes coursework dedicated to broad foundational knowledge and specific domain- and role-based expertise. 

A Focus on Teachers

TTL will represent a significant advancement in Harvard’s focus on teachers, exploring the most effective ways to prepare both teachers and teacher leaders and to create schools that can respond to the challenges the world faces today. Dual teacher certification pathways will build on the work of the Harvard Teacher Fellows (HTF) Program, founded in 2015 as an innovative model to prepare Harvard College students to become teachers, as well as the successful legacy of HGSE’s Teacher Education master’s program (TEP). And TTL’s leadership strand will prepare experienced teachers for new roles in schools. With those two elements together, HGSE is poised to expand and elevate teacher education at the university and in the field.

“This really is the capstone of our reimagining of the master’s degree for professionals seeking to have meaningful impact in improving education for communities around the world,” says Dean Bridget Long . “The creation of the TTL program is part of a tremendous effort to advance our training and engagement of aspiring educators while building on the lessons and success of our earlier programs. HGSE has long been committed to preparing innovative, equity-minded educators — and to charting pathways across the university for the study and practice of education, which is one of the central issues of our time.”

By consolidating multiple and previously separate teacher education pathways under one umbrella, TTL will provide holistic preparation for new and experienced educators, drawing on research-backed practices that are effective and inclusive. “TTL will expand and drive forward HGSE’s historic mission to change lives through education — to prepare our master’s students to design and lead transformative learning experiences. We’ve designed TTL to welcome the diverse range of students — with various levels of experience — who seek to contribute to society as educators. I’m especially excited about the benefits of mixing our pre-service teacher candidates with teacher leaders who come to HGSE with more experience and insight,” says Heather Hill , the Hazen-Nicoli Professor of Teacher Learning and Leadership and faculty co-chair of the new program. 

The curriculum will give novice or early career teachers the chance to pursue Massachusetts initial licensure in secondary education, and students will have the option of applying to enter a teacher residency early in their program or applying to a pathway that takes a more gradual approach to learning to teach and includes more time on the HGSE campus. Meanwhile, experienced teachers in TTL will focus on instructional leadership, coaching, and teacher development. By integrating programs that have functioned separately in the past, TTL will create cross-HGSE opportunities for students and will break down some structural barriers that have limited exposure and collaborations across students and programs.

Nurturing Harvard College students as they explore education as a field and a practice has been a hallmark of HGSE’s work in recent years. “From [former Senior Lecturer] Kay Merseth’s pioneering Equity in Education course to the launch of HTF to the creation of the Secondary Field in Education Studies , HGSE has acted to spark undergraduates’ interest in teaching and learning, while making education a viable and supported career,” says Lecturer  Noah Heller , director of the Harvard Teacher Fellows Program and a faculty member in the TTL Program.

HTF admitted its sixth and final cohort of students this fall, but its signature legacies will continue in the new program. “One of the proudest legacies of HTF is the outstanding Harvard alumni who are teaching throughout the country, as well as the postgraduate fellowship opportunity they helped define — one that offered a cohort model of remarkable aspiring teachers, content-specific coursework, and robust field experiences at partner schools. All of that will be rolled into the new TTL, and expanded to other talented candidates as well,” Heller said. Fellowships targeted specifically to TTL’s teacher licensure students will continue to provide substantive financial support and ensure that the program is accessible to Harvard College students.

Expanding Pathways

“This really is an opportunity to grow and expand on what HTF has accomplished,” says Lecturer Victor Pereira , a member of both the HTF and Teacher Education faculties who will co-lead the TTL Program with Hill next year. “But it’s also a chance to advance and expand the work of TEP. Part of what both HTF and TEP did so well is that they recruited and supported amazing students that were committed to teaching. TTL allows us to draw on the features of both programs that helped make that support so distinctive.

“TTL carries forward the fieldwork structures that allow for a customized experience for new teachers, but the exciting part is that preservice teachers will now have a choice in how they will learn in the field,” Pereira continues. “The residency model — based on HTF’s fieldwork approach — will immerse preservice teachers in schools and classrooms, while the gradual-release internship builds off of TEP’s model.” TTL will also benefit from the remarkable partner network that TEP has built over the years. TEP’s legacies also includes a vibrant summer experience through the Cambridge-Harvard Summer Academy, which will continue under TTL.   

The fact that TTL seeks to serve two interconnected populations — individuals learning to teach, and individuals with teaching experience who are preparing to be teacher leaders — is part of what makes the program distinctly valuable, says Hill. “Serving both groups in a single program is a huge advantage, since many of the skills our teacher-leaders develop during the program — providing instructional feedback, leading improvement efforts — will directly benefit our teacher education students,” she says.

The timing for such a step ahead in HGSE’s preparation of teachers could not be more significant. The pandemic — for all the suffering and inequities that it revealed — has prompted a wide reckoning about the importance of education, and of educators, Hill says. “It’s clear to everyone that the role of the teacher is critical. We’re motivated to ensure that teacher preparation at HGSE meets this moment.”

“Teachers are able to imagine and build a world far greater than the one that may exist outside their classrooms,” adds Heller. “They’re able to create sanctuaries from the injustices of society — transformative spaces where everyone is safe from violence, and democratic places where patterns of injustice are disrupted. I’m proud that HGSE is investing new resources in this critical work.” 

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Teaching and Teacher Education in India pp 159–170 Cite as

Research in Teacher Education: Trends, Status, and Prospects

• Jessy Abraham 3  
• First Online: 26 September 2023

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This chapter gives an overview of the research in teacher education. There are many meta-analyses on the status of the teaching profession and how it has changed over time globally. There has been decline followed by marginal improvements in the status of teachers. The studies on teachers’ perception on professionalism and accountability and the effect of the pandemic on the teaching profession are also reported at all levels. The number of studies in the area of teacher education has increased tremendously. There are exploratory studies, experimental studies, qualitative descriptive studies, case studies and studies on sociological and psychological dimensions of teacher education. But very few studies on philosophical areas. Action research in teacher education addressing classroom inquiry, data-based decision-making has also been conducted. Gamification is a very popular intervention strategy because of increased acceptance among the learners. The collaborative teaching environment, use of social media in teaching, use of video and other ICT tools such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality in instruction are topics covered by many researchers.

• Experimental research
• Exploratory research
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Gamification

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A groundbreaking approach to teacher education — for people seeking to learn to teach, for experienced teachers building their leadership, and for all educators seeking to enhance their practice and create transformative learning opportunities.

Teachers change lives — and at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, you can be part of the change. The Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) Program at HGSE will prepare you with the skills, knowledge, support, and professional network you need to design and lead transformative learning experiences, advance equity and social justice, and generate the best outcomes for students in U.S. schools.

The program’s innovative approach is intentionally designed to serve both individuals seeking to learn to teach and experienced teachers who are deepening their craft as teachers or developing their leadership to advance teaching and learning in classrooms, schools, and districts. 

And through the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching , HGSE offers significant financial support to qualified candidates to reduce the burden of loan debt for teachers.

Applicants will choose between two strands:

• Do you want to become a licensed teacher? The Teaching Licensure strand lets novice and early-career teachers pursue Massachusetts initial licensure in secondary education, which is transferrable to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Licensure candidates have two possible pathways — you can select a preference for either the residency fieldwork model or the internship fieldwork model . The residency model is for people ready to make an immediate impact as a teacher; the internship model offers a more gradual path.
• Do you want to focus on the art of teaching, without licensure? The Teaching and Leading strand will enable you to enhance your own teaching practice or to lead others in transforming learning in classrooms, schools, and other settings. Candidates can pursue a curriculum tailored toward an exploration of teaching practice or toward teacher leadership.

Note: Ideal candidates will come with the intention to work in U.S. schools.

“At the heart of TTL is helping teachers reach all students. Whether you are preparing for the classroom yourself or are an experienced teacher preparing to improve teaching and learning on a wider scale, our goal is to provide you with the knowledge and skills to lead others in learning.” Heather Hill  Faculty Co-Chair

After completing the Teaching and Teacher Leadership Program, you will be able to:

• Leverage your knowledge and skills to lead others in joyful, equitable, rigorous, and transformative learning.
• Analyze instruction for the purpose of improving it.
• Foster productive inquiry and discussion.
• Identify, understand, and counteract systemic inequities within educational institutions.

The Harvard Fellowship for Teaching

HGSE is committed to investing in the future of the teaching profession — and minimizing the student debt that teachers carry. We offer a signature fellowship — the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching — to qualified candidates. The fellowship package covers 80 percent of tuition and provides for a $10,000 living stipend.

This prestigious fellowship is prioritized for admitted students pursuing the Teaching Licensure Residency model. Additional fellowships may be awarded to qualified candidates admitted to the Teaching Licensure Internship model and the Teaching and Leading strand. Fellowship decisions are determined during the admissions process. Fellowship recipients must be enrolled as full-time students.       HGSE offers a range of other  financial aid and fellowship opportunities to provide greater access and affordability to our students.

Curriculum Information

The TTL Program is designed to help you gain the knowledge and practice the skills essential to leading others in learning — and will create pathways to success that will allow you to thrive as an expert practitioner and mentor in your community. A minimum of 42 credits are required to graduate with an Ed.M. degree from HGSE.

The main elements of the curriculum are:

• Commence your Foundations studies with How People Learn, an immersive online course that runs June–July and requires a time commitment of 10–15 hours per week.
• You will continue Foundations with Leading Change, Evidence, and Equity and Opportunity on campus in August. 
• Your Equity and Opportunity Foundations experience culminates in an elected course, which will take place during terms when electives are available.

To fulfill the program requirement, students must take a minimum of 12 credits specific to TTL.

• The TTL Program Core Experience (4 credits), is a full year course where all students come together to observe, analyze, and practice high-quality teaching.
• Teaching methods courses (10 credits) in the chosen content area, which begin in June. 
• A Summer Field-Based Experience (4 credits), held on site in Cambridge in July, allows you to begin to hone your teaching practice. 
• Two courses focused on inclusivity and diversity in the classroom (6 credits). 
• Field experiences , where students in the Teacher Licensure strand will intern or teach directly in Boston-area schools.
• Individuals interested in enhancing their own teaching practice can engage in coursework focused on new pedagogies, how to best serve diverse student populations, and special topics related to classrooms and teaching.  
• Experienced teachers may wish to enroll in HGSE’s Teacher Leadership Methods course, designed to provide cohort-based experience with skills and techniques used to drive adult learning and improve teaching.
• Candidates can take elective coursework based on interests or career goals, which includes the opportunity to specialize in an HGSE Concentration .

Advancing Research on Effective Teacher Preparation 

As a student in the TTL Program, you will have the opportunity to contribute to HGSE’s research on what makes effective teacher preparation. This research seeks to build an evidence base that contributes to the field’s understanding of effective approaches to teacher training, including how to support high-quality instruction, successful models of coaching and mentorship, and effective approaches to addressing the range of challenges facing our students.

TTL students will be able to participate in research studies as part of their courses, and some will also serve as research assistants, gaining knowledge of what works, as well as a doctoral-type experience at a major research university.

Explore our  course catalog . (All information and courses are subject to change.)

Note: The TTL Program trains educators to work in U.S. classrooms. Required coursework focuses on U.S. examples and contexts.

Teaching Licensure Strand

Students who want to earn certification to teach at the middle school and high school levels in U.S. schools should select the Teaching Licensure strand. TTL provides coursework and fieldwork that can lead to licensure in grades 5–8 in English, general science, history, and mathematics, as well as grades 8–12 in biology, chemistry, English, history, mathematics, and physics. In the Teaching Licensure strand, you will apply to one of two fieldwork models:

• The residency model – our innovative classroom immersion model, with significant funding available, in which students assume teaching responsibilities in the September following acceptance to the program. 
• The internship model – which ramps up teaching responsibility more gradually.

In both models, you will be supported by Harvard faculty and school-based mentors — as well as by peers in the TTL Program, with additional opportunities for network-building with HGSE alumni. Both models require applicants to have an existing familiarity with U.S. schools to be successful.  Learn more about the differences between the residency and internship models.

Summer Experience for Teaching Licensure Candidates

All students in the Teaching Licensure strand will participate in the Summer Experience supporting the Cambridge-Harvard Summer Academy (CHSA), which takes place in Cambridge in July 2023. Through your work at CHSA, you will help middle and high school students in the Cambridge Public Schools with credit recovery, academic enrichment, and preparation for high school. Students in the Teaching Licensure strand will teach students directly as part of the teaching team. This is an opportunity for you to immediately immerse yourself in a school environment and begin to practice the skills necessary to advance your career.

Teaching and Leading Strand

The Teaching and Leading strand is designed for applicants who want to enhance their knowledge of the craft of teaching or assume roles as teacher leaders. Candidates for the Teaching and Leading strand will share a common interest in exploring and advancing the practice of effective teaching, with the goal of understanding how to improve learning experiences for all students. The program will be valuable for three types of applicant:

• Individuals interested in teaching, but who do not require formal licensure to teach. This includes applicants who might seek employment in independent schools or in informal educational sectors such as arts education, after-school programs, tutoring, and youth organizations. 
• Experienced teachers who wish to deepen their practice by learning new pedagogies and developing new capacities to help students thrive.
• Experienced teachers who seek leadership roles — from organizing school-based initiatives to more formal roles like coaching and professional development.

As a candidate in the Teaching and Leading strand, your own interests will guide your journey. If you are seeking a teacher leader role, TTL faculty will guide you to courses that focus on growing your skills as a reflective leader, preparing you to facilitate adult learning, helping you understand how to disrupt inequity, and teaching you how to engage in best practices around coaching, mentoring, and data analysis. If you are seeking to learn about the craft of teaching, our faculty will similarly direct you to recommended courses and opportunities that will meet your goals.

Students in this strand can also take on internships within the TTL Program (e.g., program supervisor, early career coach) or the HGSE community, and at surrounding schools or organizations. And you can customize your learning experience by pursuing one of HGSE's six Concentrations .

Note: Applicants in the Teaching and Leading strand should expect a focus on leadership within U.S. schools.

Program Faculty

Students will work closely with faculty associated with their area of study, but students can also work with and take courses with faculty throughout HGSE and Harvard.  View our faculty directory for a full list of HGSE faculty.

Faculty Co-Chairs

Heather C. Hill

Heather Hill studies policies and programs to improve teaching quality. Research interests include teacher professional development and instructional coaching.

Victor Pereira, Jr.

Victor Pereira's focus is on teacher preparation, developing new teachers, and improving science teaching and learning in middle and high school classrooms. 

Rosette Cirillo

Sarah Edith Fiarman

Noah Heller

Eric Soto-Shed

Career Pathways

The TTL Program prepares you for a variety of career pathways, including:

Teaching Licensure Strand:

• Licensed middle or high school teacher in English, science, math, and history

Teaching and Leading Strand: 

• Classroom teachers
• Curriculum designers 
• Department heads and grade-level team leaders 
• District-based instructional leadership team members 
• Instructional and curriculum leadership team members 
• Out-of-school educators; teachers in youth organizations or after-school programs
• Professional developers and content specialists 
• School improvement facilitators 
• School-based instructional coaches and mentor teachers
• Teachers of English as a second language
• International educators seeking to understand and advance a career in U.S. education

Cohort & Community

The TTL Program prioritizes the development of ongoing teacher communities that provide continued support, learning, and collaboration. Our cohort-based approach is designed to encourage and allow aspiring teachers and leaders to build relationships with one another, as well as with instructors and mentors — ultimately building a strong, dynamic network. 

As a TTL student, you will build a community around a shared commitment to teaching and teacher development. You will learn from and with colleagues from diverse backgrounds, levels of expertise, and instructional settings. To further connections with the field, you are invited to attend “meet the researcher” chats, engage in learning through affinity groups, and interact with teaching-focused colleagues across the larger university, by taking courses and participating in activities both at HGSE and at other Harvard schools. 

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Tell us about yourself so that we can tailor our communication to best fit your interests and provide you with relevant information about our programs, events, and other opportunities to connect with us.

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Explore examples of the Teaching and Teacher Leadership experience and the impact its community is making on the field:

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Curriculum studies and teacher education (cte).

Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CTE) offers doctoral degrees with the following specializations: Elementary Education; Literacy, Language, and English Education; History/Social Science Education; Mathematics Education; Science, Engineering and Technology Education; and Teacher Education. In addition, two cross-area specializations—Learning Sciences and Technology Design, and Race, Inequality, and Language in Education—enable doctoral students in those specializations to ground their studies in the CTE academic area.

CTE is designed to prepare scholars and practitioners to address a number of fundamental educational questions: What should be taught, to whom, for what ends? How can school programs be organized to optimize the educational development of students? What processes can be employed to enable teachers and policy makers to understand the strengths and weaknesses of schools?

CTE is based on the premise that schools are most likely to improve when those engaged in their improvement recognize the highly interactive nature of school processes. How science is taught, for example, is not independent of the time teachers spend planning their programs or how they believe their efforts will be evaluated. How school subjects are defined and the time allocated to them influence what students are able to learn. What options exist for the organization of the school curriculum? How do evaluation practices influence the priorities of both teachers and students and how can such practices be designed so that they support, rather than inhibit, the achievement of educational aims? CTE helps graduate students learn how to think about such questions and how to develop the specialized understanding and research skills needed to study and improve educational practice.

The Elementary Education specialization is designed for students interested in exploring and contributing to scholarship and teaching related to issues of pedagogy, curriculum design and implementation, school reform, equity, and equality as they relate to elementary schools, classrooms, and educators. This specialization aims to prepare scholars, practitioners, and leaders to address a range of important questions in the field of elementary education and elementary teacher education.

Stanford Graduate School of Education includes a number of faculty whose scholarship and teaching take place in elementary schools and who have an interest in, and enthusiasm for, cultivating scholars in the field of elementary education. CTE students collaborate closely with faculty on research, teaching, and the design of their graduate programs.

CTE students appreciate the myriad connections between elementary education and the full range of disciplinary specializations and research foci of GSE faculty. Students also make good use of the wider resources available at Stanford, routinely enrolling in courses across the university.

Admission depends on a combination of factors, including successful teaching or related experience, strong academic achievement, professional accomplishments, and the fit between student interests and background on the one hand and faculty availability and research areas on the other.

Affiliated faculty :

• Rebecca Silverman

The program in History/Social Science Education is concerned with how young people make sense of both the past and their present in school and out-of-school settings. The program explores core issues of teaching and learning and engages the very nature of historical consciousness: What does it mean to live in a present suffused by the past? How can the skills of historical reasoning be leveraged to help us understand digital information that confronts us in the present? The program also explores online civic reasoning and how to help students and teachers prepare for a world in which the very idea of truth is under assault.

Taught well, history fosters tolerance for complexity and intolerance for simple answers. How can schools teach young people to discern reasoned interpretations from stances that seek to extinguish—not promote—critical judgment? What can educators do to cultivate historical reasoning and teach young people that there's more to the past than just names and dates? Cutting-edge research shows that even elementary school children can learn to think historically, but such classrooms are rare. How can we design bold pedagogies and adventuresome curricula so that such classrooms become the rule, not the exception—for all students, not just the privileged?

New technologies offer a potential answer but one that has yet to be realized. Digital media allow 10-year-olds to enter online archives that a few years ago required flights across the country and layers of written consent. How can we mobilize such technologies so that students embrace the rich complexity of the documentary record? How can we prepare future teachers who can turn digital materials into programs for advancing students' understanding? How do we develop curriculum that allows students to see through the falsehoods and deceptions that pervade the internet?

There are no formal prerequisites for admission to the program in History/Social Science Education. Experience in teaching history/social science is definitely asset and provides a useful entry point to many of these questions. But more important than any set of prior experiences is a boundless curiosity to understand how the past shapes understanding in the present and how we can learn more about designing effective educational programs. Many backgrounds prepare one for successful graduate study in this PhD concentration: teaching, filmmaking, web design, programming, and archival work are some of the many possibilities. Successful candidates will likely possess an academic background in one or more of the following areas: history, anthropology, geography, cognitive science, computer science, cultural studies, American Studies, philosophy, political science, psychology, or sociology.

For more information and examples of our latest research projects, please visit  http://sheg.stanford.edu

Affiliated faculty: 

The program in Literacy, Language, and English Education is designed for students interested in exploring and contributing to the research and scholarship on literacy learning and instruction from preschool through secondary school. Students in this area study linguistic, psychological, social, historical, and cultural issues related to oral and written language, as well as focus on the preparation of prospective teachers of literacy, language, and English language arts.  The program seeks to produce scholars who provide intellectual leadership in the field and work at the intersection of theory and practice. Stanford GSE has multiple faculty who study facets of literacy.

Our students have often explored questions in one or more of  the following domains:

Early literacy development Adolescent literacy Curriculum development The teaching of reading and/or literature The teaching of writing Reading comprehension Classroom discourse Literacy theory Literacy and language development for English language learners Social, cultural, and critical dimensions of literacy learning Teacher education Teacher professional development

As part of their programs, students are encouraged to take courses in the English, linguistics, sociology, history, and psychology departments as well as in the Graduate School of Education. Each student's program is individually designed, with the assistance of a faculty advisor, in light of the student’s background and interests.

Although there are no degree prerequisites for admission to the program in Literacy, Language, and English Education, many applicants have undergraduate degrees in English, literacy education, linguistics, anthropology, psychology, or other related areas. Admission depends on a combination of factors, including successful teaching experience, strong academic achievement, and professional accomplishments, as well as the fit among student interests, program offerings, and faculty availability and research areas.

Affiliated faculty:

• Antero Garcia
• Sarah Levine
• Ramón Antonio Martínez

The program in Mathematics Education  provides opportunities to work with faculty who study mathematics teaching and learning, both within and outside CTE and Stanford GSE. Current research projects are addressing issues of equity, interactions between teaching and student learning, the impact of different mathematics teaching and curricular approaches, and lesson study (teacher professional development). Students can choose to take courses and work with faculty and students in the Department of Mathematics, School of Engineering, and other academic units outside the GSE. For those interested in teacher education and teacher professional development, there are opportunities to develop materials for pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers, and to work in the Stanford Teacher Education Program (single-subject mathematics and multiple-subject).

Students applying to this specialization will be expected to have worked in mathematics education as a teacher or other education professional, and to have an undergraduate degree in mathematics or another subject that informs analyses of mathematics teaching and learning. Admission depends on a combination of factors, including evidence of academic achievement, professional accomplishments, and fit between students' interests and program offerings.

• Hilda Borko
• Jennifer Marie Langer-Osuna

The program in Science, Engineering and Technology Education prepares students for teaching and research in a number of research areas. Research conducted in the program in Science, Engineering and Technology Education includes teaching, teacher education, curriculum development, assessment, program evaluation, the informal learning of science, environmental literacy, and policy formulation. Classes offered include: Research in Science Education, Policy and Practice in Science Education, the Science Curriculum, Science Assessment and Evaluation, Science and Environmental Education in Informal Contexts, Learning in Science, and Theory and Practice of Environmental Education.

Recent science education research projects have focused on students’ attitudes towards science, argumentation in science education, the role of language and identity, exploring issues of access for STEM majors, formative and summative assessment with an emphasis on performance assessment of students, reading science for understanding, climate change and environmental behavior, and evaluation of programs that promote gender equity in science, mathematics, and engineering. For those interested in science teacher education and teacher professional development, there are opportunities to develop materials for pre-service and in-service teachers and to work in the Stanford Teacher Education Program (a master's level program for students working for a secondary-school California teaching credential). In addition, Stanford is a leading site for research in science itself with many outreach programs for those interested in communicating science or working with scientists.

Science teaching experience in a classroom or an out-of-school setting is required for admission to the program. An undergraduate degree in a science field is also necessary, and graduate work in science is desirable.

• Bryan Brown
• Janet Carlson
• Victor R. Lee

The Teacher Education  specialization focuses on the study and improvement of teaching (across subject areas in elementary and secondary schools) and teacher education (throughout the career span). Students in this program are often interested in the relationship between the subject being taught and the particular pedagogical knowledge and skills needed to teach that subject effectively, and in effective ways of facilitating teacher learning of this body of knowledge and skills. They are concerned with the educational consequences of different approaches to teaching and the policies that shape teaching and teacher education. Many students build careers within institutions of higher education where teachers are prepared and where the practice of teaching can be studied and improved. The purpose of this specialization is to help students develop a framework for understanding teaching, research on teaching, and the implications of research for the improvement of teaching, teacher education, and policy. The program aims to prepare teacher educators and educators to understand and address the needs of students in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.

Students in the Learning Sciences and Technology Design (LSTD) program complete foundational research on learning and design innovative learning technologies. As a cross-area specialization, the LSTD program links its content to one of the three academic areas: Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CTE), Developmental and Psychological Sciences (DAPS), or Social Sciences, Humanities, and Interdisciplinary Policy Studies in Education (SHIPS). 

Learn more at  Learning Sciences and Technology Design (LSTD) .

The cross-area specialization in Race, Inequality, and Language in Education (RILE) brings an interdisciplinary scholarly focus to the major factors that influence educational attainment, especially for underserved children. Students ground their RILE studies within the context of one of the three academic areas: Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CTE), Developmental and Psychological Sciences (DAPS), Social Sciences, Humanities, and Interdisciplinary Policy Studies in Education (SHIPS). 

Learn more at  Race, Inequality, and Language in Education (RILE) .

Qualifying Papers

The CTE doctoral qualifying paper (or QP) has two purposes:  The first is to provide second year doctoral students with a direct experience in conceiving, designing, carrying out, and writing up an original piece of research before setting out on a dissertation.  The second is to demonstrate that students are capable of undertaking a doctoral dissertation that meets the academic standards of this university.  (See  "GUIDELINES FOR CTE QUALIFYING PAPER"  for more detailed information about the content and expectations for the QP.)

The qualifying paper (QP) should be a work of original research. The QP study addresses a research question by collecting and analyzing original data, primary materials, or by analyzing an existing data set. In structure, format, and length, the QP should be modeled on articles in a scholarly journal that the student, in consultation with the adviser, has identified as appropriate for the research undertaken.

Click here to login to the CTE Qualifying Paper Archive

Reading Lists

• Learning Theories Readings
• Curriculum Readings
• Readings on Teaching
• Teacher Education Learning to Teach

Updated March 2019

Doctoral Graduates

Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Assistant Professor, University of Washington Assistant Professor, SUNY, New Paltz Assistant Professor, Southeastern Louisiana University Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder Assistant Professor, University of the Andes, Bogota, Colombia Assistant Professor, Notre Dame University Assistant Professor, Sonoma State University Assistant Professor, Purdue University Assistant Professor, University of Maine Visiting Assistant Professor, Teachers College Columbia Associate Professor, Educational Policy and Planning, The University of Texas at Austin Associate Professor, University of Connecticut Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Associate Professor, University of Michigan Post-doc at Center for the Support of Excellence in Teaching, Stanford Research Scientist, SK Partners, LLC

Area Faculty & Affiliates

• Subini Annamma
• Fernando Carnaúba
• Elizabeth Kozleski
• Christopher J. Lemons
• Denise Pope
• Rebecca Tarlau

⟵ Go back to all doctoral programs

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Bachelor of Arts

Educational Studies Degree

This online, non-licensure educational studies degree prepares you to make a difference .

Do you enjoy finding creative ways to share information with others? Does the career you’re interested in require skills pertaining to education, but not necessarily a teaching license? If this describes you, a bachelor's in educational studies is exactly what you've been looking for.

Put your passion to work with an education studies degree where you can make a meaningful contribution in people's lives as an educator. This online, non-licensure bachelor's education degree program gives you the skills you need to educate and care for diverse learners in a variety of fields.

Based on your career goals and interests, you can choose an educational studies program in a content area that meets your needs while working toward employment in school settings, corporate training, and instructional design—just to name a few! However, these programs do not lead to a teaching license. If you are interested in a degree program that leads to a teaching license, please visit one of our initial licensure programs , or learn the differences between BAES and an initial licensure program . WGU has 10 non-licensure BAES programs for you to choose from: 

• Elementary Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Elementary and Special Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Mild to Moderate Special Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Secondary Biology Science Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Secondary Chemistry Science Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Secondary Earth Science Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Secondary Physics Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Middle Grades Science Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Secondary Mathematics Education - B.A. Educational Studies
• Middle Grade Mathematics Education - B.A. Educational Studies

Time to completion 

Each educational studies emphasis contains different coursework and specialization, resulting in various average completion times. WGU lets you move more quickly through material you already know and advance as soon as you're ready .

Tuition per six-month term is

Do the math and you'll see that you're in control of the cost of your teaching degree. We charge tuition per term instead of per credit. Finish faster, pay less!

On average, students transfer

28 credits*

Your associate degree or previous college credit may waive some courses through transfer. We review your transcripts for transfer credits, helping you accelerate this bachelor's degree in education.

*WGU Internal Data

Ready to Start Your WGU Journey?

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COURSE DETAILS

Educational Studies Courses

Online courses focused on preparation for unique educational situations and helping you become a better educator..

This online educational studies bachelor's degree program was designed and is regularly updated with input from the experts on our Education Program Council. These experts know exactly what it takes for a graduate to  be a successful educator. 

Some of the courses in your program may be waived through transfer from your previous college experience. The rest you will complete one at a time as you make your way through your program, working with your Program Mentor each term to build your personalized Degree Plan. You’ll work through each course as quickly as you can study and learn the material. This means that you can finish as many courses as you're able in a term at no additional cost.

You will complete your courses by studying and working independently with instruction and support from WGU faculty. You will be expected to complete a certain amount of coursework each term for on-time progress.

Consult your specific program guide for courses included in your area of emphasis:

Common Courses Across All Emphasis Tracks See Program Guide for Full Course List

General Education & General Science Education

Professional Core

Number of Courses Varies by Program

The number of courses in your program will depend on the emphasis area you select.

At WGU, we design our curriculum to be timely, relevant, and practical—all to help you show that you know your stuff.

Skills For Your Résumé

As part of this program, you will develop a range of valuable skills that employers are looking for. 

• Lesson Planning: Created effective lesson plans for optimal instrucitonal delivery.
• Teaching: Established positive and meaningful relationships with students, fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment.
• Classroom Management: Developed and implemented organizational routines and norms for classroom discourse and student work, fostering an environment conducive to effective learning and collaboration.
• Research:  Expertly evaluated research evidence, identifying weaknesses, inconsistencies, biases, and other issues to ensure the reliability of information.
• Writen Communication:  Communicated ideas with clarity and precision through written communication techniques.
• Communication:  Delivered messages through tailored communication methods, ensuring resonance with diverse audiences.

“After completing my degree, my husband also completed his degree at WGU and went back to pursue his master's degree at WGU. It is not unreasonable for our family to say that WGU changed our lives.”

—Amanda Rogers B.A. Elementary Education

WGU vs. Traditional Universities Compare the Difference

Traditional Universities

TUITION STRUCTURE

Per credit hour

Flat rate per 6-month term

Schedule and wait days or even weeks to meet with one of many counselors

Simply email or call to connect with your designated Program Mentor who supports you from day one

Scheduled time

Whenever you feel ready

Professor led lectures at a certain time and place

Courses available anytime, from anywhere

TIME TO FINISH

Approximately 4 years, minimal acceleration options

As quickly as you can master the material, typically less than 3 years

TRANSFER CREDITS

Few accepted, based on certain schools and specific courses

A generous transfer policy that is based on your specific situation

You Aren't On Your Own

WGU has Program Mentors who work with you from the day you start, all the way through graduation. They help you chart your courses, answer your questions, and ensure you can go through your program. You're not alone when you choose an online degree at WGU.

Flexibility You Need

Students choose WGU for their online degree program because of its flexibility. Whether you already have a full-time job, have responsibilities as a parent, or just have a busy schedule, WGU can work for you.

Strong Alumni Network

When you enroll in an online bachelor's degree program at WGU, you join an impressive network of teachers.

Accredited, Respected, Recognized™

One important measure of a degree’s value is the reputation of the university where it was earned. When employers, industry leaders, and academic experts hold your alma mater in high esteem, you reap the benefits of that respect. WGU is a pioneer in reinventing higher education for the 21st century, and our quality has been recognized.

COST & TIME

An Affordable  Educational Studies Degree Program

By charging per six-month term rather than per credit—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or learn quickly—WGU helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees. The faster you complete your program, the less you pay for your degree.

A College Degree Within Reach

There is help available to make paying for school possible for you:

The average student loan debt of WGU graduates in 2022 (among those who borrowed) was less than half* the national average.

Most WGU students qualify for financial aid, and WGU is approved for federal financial aid and U.S. veterans benefits. 

Many scholarship opportunities are available. Find out what you might be eligible for.

* WGU undergraduate students have approximately half the debt at graduation compared to the national average, according to the Institute for College Access and Success (2022).

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE

A Different Way to Learn: Degree Programs Designed to Fit Your Life—and All the Demands on Your Time

Professional responsibilities. Family obligations. Personal commitments. At WGU, we understand schedules are tight and often unpredictable for adult students. That’s why we offer a flexible, personalized approach to how education should be. No rigid class schedules. Just a solid, career-focused principal preparation program that meshes with your current lifestyle. You'll be challenged. You'll work hard. But if you commit yourself and put in the hours needed, WGU makes it possible for you to earn a highly respected degree as a busy working adult.

"Getting my degree from WGU helped me achieve the career I always dreamed of having. It opened doors for me to become a lifelong learner and go to a job everyday that I love!”

—Sarah Hyde M.A. Elementary Education

CAREER OUTLOOK

Earn A Degree in Education Studies Online and Make a Difference

The educational studies degree is a non-licensure program that sets the foundation for teaching in a variety of settings. Often, those who earn a bachelor’s degree in educational studies work as tutors, trainers, community outreach partners, or in any position where they teach others and encourage learning and improvement. In addition, this program can serve as a foundation for future graduate work in fields such as sociology, counseling, or instructional design. While this non-licensure program does not lead to a professional license, it can prepare you to pursue that route later.

Return on Your Investment

On average, wgu graduates see an increase in income post-graduation.

Average income increase from all degrees in annual salary vs. pre-enrollment salary. Source:  2022 Harris Poll Survey  of 1,542 WGU graduates.

Survey was sent to a representative sample of WGU graduates from all colleges. Respondents received at least one WGU degree since 2017.

Employment in education, training, and library occupations is projected to grow 7% from 2021 to 2031.

—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Extensive Career Possibilities

Graduating with a degree in educational studies opens the doors to many career possibilities, including:

• Instructional support
• Community outreach
• Education staff (museums, learning centers, etc.) 
• K-12 opportunities that do not require a teaching license

Impressive Class of Graduates

Graduates of the WGU Teachers College include recipients of many professional honors, including:

• Gates Millennium Scholars
• Intel Grant for Mathematics and Technology
• Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award
• Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award
• Association of Public Charter Schools Educator of the Year Award

Bachelor of Educational Studies Admission Requirements

For educational studies programs, there are currently no additional admission requirements beyond the general admission requirements.

NOTE: You do not need to take the ACT or SAT to be admitted to this program.  Learn why we don't require these tests.

Get Your Enrollment Checklist

Download your step-by-step guide to enrollment.

Get Your Questions Answered

Talk to an WGU Enrollment Counselor.

Transfer Credits

Get added support and flexibility as you start your degree  take a course or two at your pace before committing to a full degree program. strengthen your study habits, gain essential learning skills and, best of all, each completed course counts toward your degree requirements. .

Learn More about Pathways to Starting

More about the B.A. in Educational Studies

• More About This Degree

Does this program lead to a teaching license?

No. The Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies does not lead to a teaching license. For teaching degrees that lead to licensure, click here.

What is a bachelor’s degree in educational studies?

A bachelor’s degree in educational studies prepares graduates to learn about education for different levels and groups. Our 10 educational studies programs provide general knowledge and skills in areas including special education, science, and math. You can be prepared to become a preschool teacher, a classroom assistant, a tutor, and more.

What can I do with a degree in educational studies?

A degree in educational studies helps you gain education skills that can be used inside or outside of the traditional classroom. Educational studies degree earners may opt to teach daycare, support community outreach efforts, or do private tutoring. Graduates of the educational studies also prepares learners for K-12 settings, including the potential to complete a WGU Master of Arts in Teaching program

How long is a bachelor’s degree in educational studies?

Traditionally, earning a bachelor’s degree in educational studies takes around four years. However, WGU's competency-based education model allows you to accelerate your study and earn your degree more quickly. Many of our students earn their degree in less than two or three years.

Does WGU require transcript submissions of prior college work?

Yes. Transcripts are used by your program mentor to help develop your personalized degree plan. WGU requires that official transcripts of previous academic work completed at other colleges or graduate schools be submitted for evaluation. It is your obligation to request official transcripts from the institutions you have attended when applying for admission. At the present time, we don't require a minimum grade point average (GPA) or SAT/ACT scores for admission.

Do graduate students need to submit transcripts?

Yes. Students applying to a graduate degree program must send bachelor's degree official transcripts verifying their receipt of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally or DETC-accredited institution. The Records and Admissions Departments should receive the official transcripts by the 1st of the month prior to the start of your program. WGU accepts  limited  college transfer credits at the graduate (master’s) level in  only a few programs : M.S. Nursing and Master of Health Leadership. Transfer credit is  not accepted  in all other master's programs. For all other graduate-level programs, requirements are not cleared through transfer because of prior graduate school study. However, competencies obtained through prior study will help students to accelerate toward degree completion.

Who reviews my transcripts? How long does it take?

Your official transcripts will be evaluated by a member of the Transcripts Department. The time it takes to review your transcripts and report which subject areas (domains) are cleared will vary. We will inform you via email when your transcripts arrive, and we endeavor to report transfer decisions through your  Enrollment Counselor  within two weeks of that date.

What is the deadline for transcript submission?

Because your mentor will use your transcripts to help develop your personalized Degree Plan, it is important we receive official transcripts directly from all the colleges and universities you have previously attended no later than the 1st of the month prior to your intended start date. WGU will not award transfer credit based upon the work identified by transcripts received after your start date.

Can I submit unofficial copies of transcripts?

If you have questions about your transcripts prior to submission of your official transcripts, you may  contact your Enrollment Counselor  to discuss the Transfer Evaluation Guidelines for your intended degree program.

Can I transfer previously earned college credits to WGU?

Yes. If you’re applying for a bachelor’s degree program and have completed college coursework at another institution, you may have your transcripts evaluated and may be able to have some or all of the requirements for lower-division courses cleared through transfer credits. In some programs, professional certifications may clear additional requirements.

What credit hours can I expect to transfer into WGU?

Many students transfer into a WGU degree program already having accumulated many credit hours or having earned an associate’s degree. Transcripts are evaluated on a course-by-course basis according to the following general guidelines:

• If you hold an Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree from an institution that is recognized as nationally or regionally accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, you should clear all or many of the lower-division requirements for a bachelor’s degree in Business or Information Technology. For Health Professions and Teachers College programs, a course-by-course evaluation is typically required. Only an official transcript evaluation can determine how many requirements you may be able to waive.
• If you earned an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) or other applied associate’s degree, you may be able to clear a significant portion of WGU's lower-division degree requirements.
• If you have completed college courses but have not earned a degree of any type, you may also be able to have some degree requirements cleared through a course-by-course transcript evaluation.
• WGU accepts  limited  college transfer credits at the graduate (master’s) level in  only a few programs : M.S. Nursing and Master of Health Leadership. Transfer credit into the M.S. Nursing and Master of Health Leadership programs will only be considered for new students beginning their program on February 1, 2021, and beyond. Transfer credit is  not accepted  in all other master's programs. For all other graduate-level programs, requirements are not cleared through transfer because of prior graduate school study. However, competencies obtained through prior study will help students to accelerate toward degree completion.

I have lots of credit hours but don't have a bachelor's or associate's degree. What will transfer?

It depends on how well the courses you’ve already taken match the competencies in the WGU degree program you’re applying for.

Each WGU degree program specifies the competencies you must possess and demonstrate mastery of in order to receive your degree; having accumulated credits isn’t sufficient proof that you have mastered the competencies.

Prior courses must be relevant. If your prior coursework directly matches the requirements for your WGU bachelor’s degree, you may be able to clear one or more required lower-division courses. However, if your coursework was in subject areas that don’t match WGU's degree requirements, the amount of transfer credit you receive may be limited.

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The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2020

We reviewed hundreds of educational studies in 2020 and then highlighted 10 of the most significant—covering topics from virtual learning to the reading wars and the decline of standardized tests.

In the month of March of 2020, the year suddenly became a whirlwind. With a pandemic disrupting life across the entire globe, teachers scrambled to transform their physical classrooms into virtual—or even hybrid—ones, and researchers slowly began to collect insights into what works, and what doesn’t, in online learning environments around the world.

Meanwhile, neuroscientists made a convincing case for keeping handwriting in schools, and after the closure of several coal-fired power plants in Chicago, researchers reported a drop in pediatric emergency room visits and fewer absences in schools, reminding us that questions of educational equity do not begin and end at the schoolhouse door.

1. To Teach Vocabulary, Let Kids Be Thespians

When students are learning a new language, ask them to act out vocabulary words. It’s fun to unleash a child’s inner thespian, of course, but a 2020 study concluded that it also nearly doubles their ability to remember the words months later.

Researchers asked 8-year-old students to listen to words in another language and then use their hands and bodies to mimic the words—spreading their arms and pretending to fly, for example, when learning the German word flugzeug , which means “airplane.” After two months, these young actors were a remarkable 73 percent more likely to remember the new words than students who had listened without accompanying gestures. Researchers discovered similar, if slightly less dramatic, results when students looked at pictures while listening to the corresponding vocabulary. 

It’s a simple reminder that if you want students to remember something, encourage them to learn it in a variety of ways—by drawing it , acting it out, or pairing it with relevant images , for example.

2. Neuroscientists Defend the Value of Teaching Handwriting—Again

For most kids, typing just doesn’t cut it. In 2012, brain scans of preliterate children revealed crucial reading circuitry flickering to life when kids hand-printed letters and then tried to read them. The effect largely disappeared when the letters were typed or traced.

More recently, in 2020, a team of researchers studied older children—seventh graders—while they handwrote, drew, and typed words, and concluded that handwriting and drawing produced telltale neural tracings indicative of deeper learning.

“Whenever self-generated movements are included as a learning strategy, more of the brain gets stimulated,” the researchers explain, before echoing the 2012 study: “It also appears that the movements related to keyboard typing do not activate these networks the same way that drawing and handwriting do.”

It would be a mistake to replace typing with handwriting, though. All kids need to develop digital skills, and there’s evidence that technology helps children with dyslexia to overcome obstacles like note taking or illegible handwriting, ultimately freeing them to “use their time for all the things in which they are gifted,” says the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.

3. The ACT Test Just Got a Negative Score (Face Palm)

A 2020 study found that ACT test scores, which are often a key factor in college admissions, showed a weak—or even negative —relationship when it came to predicting how successful students would be in college. “There is little evidence that students will have more college success if they work to improve their ACT score,” the researchers explain, and students with very high ACT scores—but indifferent high school grades—often flamed out in college, overmatched by the rigors of a university’s academic schedule.

Just last year, the SAT—cousin to the ACT—had a similarly dubious public showing. In a major 2019 study of nearly 50,000 students led by researcher Brian Galla, and including Angela Duckworth, researchers found that high school grades were stronger predictors of four-year-college graduation than SAT scores.

The reason? Four-year high school grades, the researchers asserted, are a better indicator of crucial skills like perseverance, time management, and the ability to avoid distractions. It’s most likely those skills, in the end, that keep kids in college.

4. A Rubric Reduces Racial Grading Bias

A simple step might help undercut the pernicious effect of grading bias, a new study found: Articulate your standards clearly before you begin grading, and refer to the standards regularly during the assessment process.

In 2020, more than 1,500 teachers were recruited and asked to grade a writing sample from a fictional second-grade student. All of the sample stories were identical—but in one set, the student mentions a family member named Dashawn, while the other set references a sibling named Connor.

Teachers were 13 percent more likely to give the Connor papers a passing grade, revealing the invisible advantages that many students unknowingly benefit from. When grading criteria are vague, implicit stereotypes can insidiously “fill in the blanks,” explains the study’s author. But when teachers have an explicit set of criteria to evaluate the writing—asking whether the student “provides a well-elaborated recount of an event,” for example—the difference in grades is nearly eliminated.

5. What Do Coal-Fired Power Plants Have to Do With Learning? Plenty

When three coal-fired plants closed in the Chicago area, student absences in nearby schools dropped by 7 percent, a change largely driven by fewer emergency room visits for asthma-related problems. The stunning finding, published in a 2020 study from Duke and Penn State, underscores the role that often-overlooked environmental factors—like air quality, neighborhood crime, and noise pollution—have in keeping our children healthy and ready to learn.

At scale, the opportunity cost is staggering: About 2.3 million children in the United States still attend a public elementary or middle school located within 10 kilometers of a coal-fired plant.

The study builds on a growing body of research that reminds us that questions of educational equity do not begin and end at the schoolhouse door. What we call an achievement gap is often an equity gap, one that “takes root in the earliest years of children’s lives,” according to a 2017 study . We won’t have equal opportunity in our schools, the researchers admonish, until we are diligent about confronting inequality in our cities, our neighborhoods—and ultimately our own backyards.

6. Students Who Generate Good Questions Are Better Learners

Some of the most popular study strategies—highlighting passages, rereading notes, and underlining key sentences—are also among the least effective. A 2020 study highlighted a powerful alternative: Get students to generate questions about their learning, and gradually press them to ask more probing questions.

In the study, students who studied a topic and then generated their own questions scored an average of 14 percentage points higher on a test than students who used passive strategies like studying their notes and rereading classroom material. Creating questions, the researchers found, not only encouraged students to think more deeply about the topic but also strengthened their ability to remember what they were studying.

There are many engaging ways to have students create highly productive questions : When creating a test, you can ask students to submit their own questions, or you can use the Jeopardy! game as a platform for student-created questions.

7. Did a 2020 Study Just End the ‘Reading Wars’?

One of the most widely used reading programs was dealt a severe blow when a panel of reading experts concluded that it “would be unlikely to lead to literacy success for all of America’s public schoolchildren.”

In the 2020 study , the experts found that the controversial program—called “Units of Study” and developed over the course of four decades by Lucy Calkins at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project—failed to explicitly and systematically teach young readers how to decode and encode written words, and was thus “in direct opposition to an enormous body of settled research.”

The study sounded the death knell for practices that de-emphasize phonics in favor of having children use multiple sources of information—like story events or illustrations—to predict the meaning of unfamiliar words, an approach often associated with “balanced literacy.” In an internal memo obtained by publisher APM, Calkins seemed to concede the point, writing that “aspects of balanced literacy need some ‘rebalancing.’”

8. A Secret to High-Performing Virtual Classrooms

In 2020, a team at Georgia State University compiled a report on virtual learning best practices. While evidence in the field is "sparse" and "inconsistent," the report noted that logistical issues like accessing materials—and not content-specific problems like failures of comprehension—were often among the most significant obstacles to online learning. It wasn’t that students didn’t understand photosynthesis in a virtual setting, in other words—it was that they didn’t find (or simply didn't access) the lesson on photosynthesis at all.

That basic insight echoed a 2019 study that highlighted the crucial need to organize virtual classrooms even more intentionally than physical ones. Remote teachers should use a single, dedicated hub for important documents like assignments; simplify communications and reminders by using one channel like email or text; and reduce visual clutter like hard-to-read fonts and unnecessary decorations throughout their virtual spaces.

Because the tools are new to everyone, regular feedback on topics like accessibility and ease of use is crucial. Teachers should post simple surveys asking questions like “Have you encountered any technical issues?” and “Can you easily locate your assignments?” to ensure that students experience a smooth-running virtual learning space.

9. Love to Learn Languages? Surprisingly, Coding May Be Right for You

Learning how to code more closely resembles learning a language such as Chinese or Spanish than learning math, a 2020 study found—upending the conventional wisdom about what makes a good programmer.

In the study, young adults with no programming experience were asked to learn Python, a popular programming language; they then took a series of tests assessing their problem-solving, math, and language skills. The researchers discovered that mathematical skill accounted for only 2 percent of a person’s ability to learn how to code, while language skills were almost nine times more predictive, accounting for 17 percent of learning ability.

That’s an important insight because all too often, programming classes require that students pass advanced math courses—a hurdle that needlessly excludes students with untapped promise, the researchers claim.

10. Researchers Cast Doubt on Reading Tasks Like ‘Finding the Main Idea’

“Content is comprehension,” declared a 2020 Fordham Institute study , sounding a note of defiance as it staked out a position in the ongoing debate over the teaching of intrinsic reading skills versus the teaching of content knowledge.

While elementary students spend an enormous amount of time working on skills like “finding the main idea” and “summarizing”—tasks born of the belief that reading is a discrete and trainable ability that transfers seamlessly across content areas—these young readers aren’t experiencing “the additional reading gains that well-intentioned educators hoped for,” the study concluded.

So what works? The researchers looked at data from more than 18,000 K–5 students, focusing on the time spent in subject areas like math, social studies, and ELA, and found that “social studies is the only subject with a clear, positive, and statistically significant effect on reading improvement.” In effect, exposing kids to rich content in civics, history, and law appeared to teach reading more effectively than our current methods of teaching reading. Perhaps defiance is no longer needed: Fordham’s conclusions are rapidly becoming conventional wisdom—and they extend beyond the limited claim of reading social studies texts. According to Natalie Wexler, the author of the well-received 2019 book  The Knowledge Gap , content knowledge and reading are intertwined. “Students with more [background] knowledge have a better chance of understanding whatever text they encounter. They’re able to retrieve more information about the topic from long-term memory, leaving more space in working memory for comprehension,” she recently told Edutopia .

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School of Education

Teacher education and curriculum studies, department of curriculum and instruction.

Become a teacher educator or curriculum specialist by earning a doctorate in Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, including specialized focuses in Early Childhood Education, Social Studies Education, and Teacher Education. 

Under the mentorship of your chosen faculty advisor, you’ll design a program tailored to your interests and professional experiences. You will explore diverse theoretical perspectives, engage in original research, and have the chance to prepare future teachers.

While most candidates go on to faculty positions in education, others pursue careers directing curriculum in early childhood, elementary, or secondary settings; work in public or private agencies; or join research institutions.

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Specialization in Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies (Teacher Education Focus)

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Keith Barton ED 3234 (812) 856-8058 kcbarton@indiana.edu

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Education Studies

Yale Education Studies  is an interdisciplinary program that empowers students, faculty and the broader community  to critically reimagine and collectively reshape the education landscape through research, policy and practice.

Today there is a critical need for courageous leaders in early childhood and K-12 classrooms and schools, in higher education, government and the private sector who can act as experts and advocates for education.  The Yale Education Studies program was formed to support this next generation of education leaders. 

Instead of a separate School of Education, Yale’s Education Studies program brings together the study of education across the liberal arts curriculum with courses across 11 departments. Yale undergraduates take courses in the Education Studies program and can participate in one of two Certificate pathways: the  Education Studies Scholars Intensive Certificate   and the Education Studies certificate .  Information about the Education Studies certificate and courses is  available here.  

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Graduate Studies in Teacher Education (TEP)

Colorado State University Pueblo's Graduate Studies in Teacher Education Program (TEP) provides a broad array of post-baccalaureate education programs with a strong professional focus and firm grounding in the liberal arts and sciences. We deliver high quality graduate credit activity-oriented professional development experiences for post-baccalaureate students in the primary and secondary education industry. Graduate workshop formats vary from traditional face-to-face to correspondence and online courses delivered nationwide through a series of academic partnerships between the University and third-party providers. Register for your TEP courses below.

Registration Course Overloads

Enrollment in more than 18 credit hours in a given term is defined as an overload. Both resident and extended studies courses are counted in the credit-hour total.

Students who have earned 15 or more semester credit hours and have a grade-point average of 3.000 or greater are eligible to enroll for an overload.

Overloads must be authorized by student’s faculty advisor and Department Chair (or Dean if the advisor and Department Chair are one-in-the-same). Both signatures are required. Appeals may be made to the Dean of the college of the student’s major.  Under no circumstances may a student enroll for more than a total of 25 semester credit hours in a single term.

Siedow Provider Students

As of Fall 2023, there are new Term Dates for Siedow students. Please see the list below;

Spring:    January 2- May 15  

Summer:    May 16-September 15  

Fall:      September 16-December 31  

These term dates will not change from year to year. 

Testimonials:

"Thank you! This is a great opportunity for our students. We truly appreciate CSU Pueblo and you have always been one of the best colleges to work with." - The Learning Tree Professional (TEP Provider)

ATTENTION STUDENTS:  Please keep in mind that grades will now take up to 24 to 48 hours to roll to your transcript. If you need your transcript by a certain date please plan ahead for this processing time to request your official transcript.  We appreciate your due diligence to verify your unofficial transcript before ordering your official transcript. If you have questions about the status of your transcript order please call 1-719-549-2674.

TEP STUDENTS : If you are needing to access your student account you will need to ACTIVATE your NET ID and install the DUO Factor Authentication.

To activate your NET ID click here and follow the instructions.

Once you have successfully activated your NET ID you will need to wait one hour to access your student account. Here is the link to access your student account with your NET ID credentials to view your unofficial transcripts.

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If you are a Siedow Teacher Education student, please use one of the following links to register.

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If you are a Teacher Education student taking a course through a provider OTHER than Siedow Teacher Education or Learners Edge, please use the following link to register.

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Interested in a master of education.

Invest in your future when you join one of the most affordable online M.Ed programs in the nation. The flexibility of the CSU Pueblo's Master of Education Online Program means students can create their own unique schedules to match their lifestyles. 

The mission of the program is to apply current research on teaching, learning, and system change to prepare Master Teachers for PK-12 classrooms. Our graduates are leaders who possess expertise in the content area in which they teach and in the pedagogy of teaching and learning.

While enrolled in the program, up to 18 elective credits of emphasis area coursework can be completed through our Teacher Education Program partners and select Providers .

For more information regarding the Online M.Ed, call  719-549-2200 or email [email protected]

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Colorado State University Pueblo's Division of Extended Studies partners with individuals, schools, and organizations across the nation to deliver high quality, graduate level, activity-oriented professional development experiences for teachers.

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If you're interested in partnering with Colorado State University Pueblo, please contact our Teacher Education Program Lead Specialist at 719.549.2048. 

or [email protected]

School District Professionals

School districts, principals, in-service and professional development coordinators who would like to offer in-service courses for credit may be able to offer graduate credit to their teachers through Colorado State University Pueblo. Graduate credit offered under this option is available only to licensed teachers, principals, or other school administrators.

Due to the large variety of in-service training programs provided by schools, CSU Pueblo Extended Studies does not have a list of pre-approved, in-service courses or courses for re-certification offered through Extended Studies. Each course is evaluated individually.  A course syllabus must be provided at the time of the formal request for credit. The syllabus must include:

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CSU Pueblo staff can provide a sample course syllabus upon request. A qualified instructor from the school or district must teach the course content and grade student work. Please see the section below on "Instructor Approval Process" for more information.  After all requested materials are received, they are evaluated by the Associate Dean of the Teacher Education Program or other appropriate department Deans (ART, MUSIC, etc.). Once approved, the school or district representative will be contacted.

Instructors for these courses are not issued a CSU Pueblo contract and the courses are taught at no expense to CSU-Pueblo. The course is taught on either a volunteer basis or the instructor is paid through another source.

Upon course and instructor approval, each school or district course coordinator will be provided with course registration forms and grade submission sheets. The forms may be duplicated locally if necessary to register students. The registration forms must be completed as indicated and returned to the CSU Pueblo  Extended Studies  office by the established date(s). Forms submitted after the established date(s) may not be processed in time for the current semester. Unless prior billing arrangements are made, each registration form must include a check, money order, or charge card data for the exact amount of tuition. For more information, contact the Division of  Extended Studies  at 800.388.6154 or [email protected] .

Instructors

Persons interested in teaching courses for teacher re-certification credit must submit the following items to the CSU Pueblo Division of Extended Studies:

• Initial cover letter indicating interest and list of course(s) being submitted for approval
• Resume/Vita
• Transcript(s) (may be unofficial) from each institution showing degree(s) awarded
• Appropriate course syllabi for course(s) requesting approval

Please remember that Instructor must have 5+ post Master's of experience in the related field that they want to teach. 

Inquiries should be sent to: Colorado State University Pueblo Division of Extended Studies 2200 Bonforte Blvd. Pueblo, CO 81001-4901 For more information, contact the Division of Extended Studies at 719.549.2316 or [email protected] .

Transcripts

Unofficial transcripts.

Students who have activated their NET ID can access a variety of new web student services , including the ability to View Print Unofficial Transcripts .

Official Transcripts

All official transcripts will now be ordered through PARCHMENT or your PAWS account. Please call  719-549-2674 for  any questions about your transcript.

Before ordering official transcripts please ensure your grades have been posted by reviewing your unofficial transcripts here:  PAWS .

If you have questions, please contact the Teacher Education Lead Specialist at 719.549.2048 or  [email protected]

ATTENTION STUDENTS: Please keep in mind that grades will now take up to 24 to 48 hours to roll to your transcript. If you need your transcript by a certain date please plan ahead for this processing time to request your official transcript.  We appreciate your due diligence to verify your unofficial transcript before ordering your official transcript. If you have questions about the status of your transcript order please call 1-719-549-2674.  Thank you.

Accessing PAWS

Current students can access their PAWS accounts here .  To log in, use your NET ID and the password you created for your NET ID.

HLC Accreditation

Praxis testing.

Are you interested in becoming a Change Agent in students live's? Come take the Praxis test here at Colorado State University Pueblo. 

Praxis Testing at CSU Pueblo

How do I get my NET ID number?

Once you register with CSU Pueblo, you will receive an initial e-mail confirming your registration. Following that, you can expect a second e-mail that will provide your NET ID number and instructions for logging on to view your transcript. Please allow approximately 7-10 business days. If you do not receive a NET ID email please contact the Division of Extended Studies office at 719.549.2316.

When will my grade be on my transcript?

Grades are entered by your instructor. Once the instructor has posted the grade it will take 24 hours to roll to the transcript. If you see your course on your tanscript as a "Course in Progress" contact your instructor and let them know that your grade is not posted. 

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Please access your PAWS student account at https://paws.aisweb.csupueblo.edu/login  and view your unofficial transcript before ordering official transcripts. You may need to download Adobe Acrobat to access the unofficial transcripts. This will provide a preview of what you can expect to see on your official transcripts. We highly recommend that you use this to verify accuracy before ordering.

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Bills will be transferred from student accounts to provider accounts. This process may take up to 1 week. At that point, the charge will be removed from your account and you will be able to order transcripts. If some time has passed and you are still having issues, please call 719.549.2309. If time is of the essence, ordering by phone may be possible. Contact the Records department at 719.549.2261 to inquire.

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Please contact the CSU Pueblo Records  transcipt line at 719.549.2674 for inquiries about the status of a transcript.

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For questions regarding course content, syllabi, assignments, due dates, or provider registration, please contact your provider company. For questions regarding transcripts, grade recording, and CSU Pueblo registration, please contact the Extended Studies office at 719.549.2048.

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College of Professional Studies

Northeastern University’s online Doctor of Education program provides experienced adult learners, working professionals, and scholar-practitioners from diverse backgrounds and perspectives with the practical knowledge and experience they need to transform the learning landscape. Students gain innovative approaches to create authentic change in their communities. The program was selected as the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate's Program of the Year for 2022-2023.

The Doctor of Education program is designed to be completed in three to four years of study—following a fast-paced quarter system in lieu of a traditional semester format. Students choose from five concentrations to create a curriculum that matches personal and professional interests. The program's dissertation in practice process will begin at the onset of your coursework as you identify your problem of practice and develop an action plan—incorporating cycles of data collection and analysis, collaboration, change work, and reflection—culminating in the dissemination of your action research findings. Our students come from diverse disciplines and professions, seeking more than just a degree. You'll gain a practical education that translates to your everyday working environment.

While all EdD courses can be completed online (except for hybrid courses in Seattle and Charlotte), annual in-person two-day residencies are held on campus. Residencies focus on networking and tools for career success and allow you to connect with faculty and fellow scholars to share knowledge and experience. You'll attend residencies* in your first and second years of the program at one of our campuses in Boston, Charlotte, or Seattle.

The Northeastern Doctor of Education degree is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) and was selected as Program of the Year by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate Program for 2022-2023.

*Please note: International students enrolling in the online EdD program will be provided with an option to complete the residency through online participation in interactive sessions with fellow scholars offered during the residency period.

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Unique features.

• You will choose one of five concentrations—higher education administration, innovative teaching and learning, transformative school leadership, workplace learning, and integrative studies—to focus your studies and further customize your curriculum.
• You'll begin dissertation in practice work at the onset of your program. You'll select a compelling educational/organizational challenge and will be assigned a faculty advisor to support your research throughout the program.
• All coursework is online—providing flexibility for working professionals. Your residencies will be fulfilled in person*, at one of our campuses in Boston, Charlotte, or Seattle.
• You'll learn alongside faculty practitioners—engaging with respected leaders who contribute to the field as authors, journal editors, school board members, bloggers, and podcasters.

*In-person participation in the residency is also available for international students.

Concentrations

• Higher Education Administration: The higher education administration concentration provides an opportunity for experienced higher education professionals to expand their previous understanding of practices within all sectors of postsecondary education—and also advance their professional practice by developing and deepening their understanding of the roles of colleges and universities in our society. Sectors examined include community colleges, four-year colleges, for-profit institutions, and research universities.
• Innovative Teaching and Learning: The innovative teaching and learning concentration focuses on transforming education through innovation, justice, and policy, by providing engaging opportunities for current and aspiring teaching and learning specialists working in various education spaces. The concentration focuses on teaching and learning both inside and outside the bounds of P-20 schools and focuses on developing and leading innovative curricula as well as professional development.
• Transformative School Leadership: The transformative school leadership concentration provides innovative opportunities for experienced education professionals who are current and aspiring leaders of early childhood centers, public or private schools, or school districts. The concentration prepares students to lead and transform educational spaces and be equipped to shape the needs of education in K-12, higher education, organizational contexts, and beyond.
• Workplace Learning: The workplace learning concentration helps professionals gain a deeper understanding of, recognize, and influence real-life social inequalities faced by marginalized populations in the workplace. Courses allow students to advance their professional practice by developing and deepening their knowledge of workplace learning, organizational dynamics, learning strategy, and ethics.
• Integrative Studies: The integrative studies concentration provides an opportunity for students to design a program of study that fits their own professional goals and includes the required foundation and research courses, concentration courses from any EdD concentration, and electives from the Doctor of Education or Doctor of Law and Policy programs.

Program Objectives

Northeastern's Doctor of Education program is designed for experienced professionals interested in deepening their understanding of education, organizational development, and leadership. Throughout the program, students examine various approaches to critical, practice-based issues, learn research methods, and conduct a doctoral research study that investigates a compelling educational or organizational challenge.

2022-2023 Doctor of Education Program of the Year

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate selected Northeastern's EdD program as the 2022-2023 Program of the Year, noting the “redesigned Dissertation in Practice Curriculum and the adoption of action research as its guiding methodology …” The committee praised “the program’s efforts to move beyond the typical five-chapter dissertation and engage scholarly practitioners in the acquisition of skills to realize meaningful change in their local contexts, emphasizing social justice.”

Testimonials

– sara ewell, phd, assistant dean, graduate school of education, – frawn morgan, current student, doctor of education, – aaron b., program graduate, looking for something different.

A graduate degree or certificate from Northeastern—a top-ranked university—can accelerate your career through rigorous academic coursework and hands-on professional experience in the area of your interest. Apply now—and take your career to the next level.

Program Costs

Finance Your Education We offer a variety of resources, including scholarships and assistantships.

How to Apply Learn more about the application process and requirements.

Requirements

• Online application
• Academic transcripts: Official undergraduate and graduate degree documentation
• Describe the problem of practice
• Explain why you want to investigate it
• Provide a strong rationale for the significance of the problem
• Minimum work experience: Three years in a related field
• Professional resumé: Must summarize work and education history, include an outline of your educational/academic skills with examples such as research and teaching experience, affiliations, publications, certifications, presentations, and other professional skills.
• Faculty recommendation: Must be from a faculty member in your previous graduate program who can attest to your readiness for doctoral work. If you are no longer acquainted with a faculty member, please choose a professional who can speak of your academic capabilities to engage in doctoral-level research and writing. Recommendations should be presented as a letter attached to the general recommendation form.
• Two professional recommendations: Must be from individuals who have either academic or professional knowledge of your capabilities, a supervisor, mentor, or colleague. It is preferred that one letter of recommendation come from your current employer and/or supervisor. Recommendations should be presented as a letter attached to the general recommendation form.
• Proof of English language proficiency: ONLY for students for whom English is not their primary language.

Are You an International Student? Find out what additional documents are required to apply.

Admissions Details Learn more about the College of Professional Studies admissions process, policies, and required materials.

Admissions Dates

Our admissions process operates on a rolling basis; however, we do recommend the application guidelines below to ensure you can begin during your desired start term:

Domestic Application Guidelines

International Application Guidelines *

*International deadlines are only applicable if the program is F1 compliant.

Industry-aligned courses for in-demand careers.

For 100+ years, we’ve designed our programs with one thing in mind—your success. Explore the current program requirements and course descriptions, all designed to meet today’s industry needs and must-have skills.

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The core of the mission of the program is to allow educators to remain in the places they work, focus on a problem of practice, and through experiential learning and site-specific research opportunities in the program, make an immediate impact in their professional environments. The program explicitly integrates research and practice for professionals so they develop the requisite skills for conceiving, designing, conducting, and producing original site-based research in order to effect ethical change related to real-life problems of practice.

Our Faculty

Northeastern University faculty represents a broad cross-section of professional practices and fields, including finance, education, biomedical science, management, and the U.S. military. They serve as mentors and advisors and collaborate alongside you to solve the most pressing global challenges facing established and emerging markets.

Joseph McNabb, PhD

Cherese Childers-McKee, PhD

By enrolling in Northeastern, you’ll gain access to students at 13 campus locations, 300,000+ alumni, and 3,000 employer partners worldwide. Our global university system provides students unique opportunities to think locally and act globally while serving as a platform for scaling ideas, talent, and solutions.

Below is a look at where our Education & Learning alumni work, the positions they hold, and the skills they bring to their organization.

Where They Work

• Boston Public Schools
• Chicago Public Schools
• NYC Department of Education
• Lockheed Martin
• Veterans Affairs
• Johns Hopkins
• Columbia University

What They Do

• Media Consultant
• College President
• Chief Information Officer
• Instructional Designer
• Diversity Officer
• Founder-CEO
• VP of Student Services
• Community Services Director

What They're Skilled At

• Experiential Learning
• Team Building
• International Education
• Change Agency
• Entrepreneurship
• Urban Education
• Strategic Management
• Student Engagement

Learn more about Northeastern Alumni on  Linkedin .

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How AP African American Studies Works in a State That Limits Teaching About Race

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In the classroom of teacher Ahenewa El-Amin at Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Ky., where murals of books and the words “read” and “think” decorate the walls, junior Nia Henderson-Louis held up a handmade diorama depicting the founders of the oldest historically Black sorority, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

The College Board’s new Advanced Placement African American Studies course requires instruction on the history of historically Black colleges and universities and affiliated Black Greek-letter organizations. For the pilot version of the course currently offered at Henry Clay, El-Amin had her students craft their own presentations on these organizations.

Nia, 17, spoke about Alpha Kappa Alpha traditions in the context of the Divine Nine historically Black fraternities and sororities. She shared how her mother “crossed the line” as a college student.

“I need you to just help me out for next year,” El-Amin said before Nia continued. “I’m going to need to teach this again, so what does it mean to cross the line?”

“Cross the line means that you’re officially coming into the sorority as a sister,” Nia said. “So you’re crossing the line of being just outside of the sorority and trying to make it in, and you finally make it in.”

El-Amin asked her class, which is predominantly Black, if predominantly white sororities also participated in the tradition of crossing the line. A white student mentioned that such organizations are better known for a “rush week” when new members try to join.

Making cross-cultural connections, maintaining a classroom culture where asking questions and sharing feedback is always encouraged, and developing critical thinking skills are all benefits El-Amin and her students see in the AP African American Studies course set to officially launch nationwide this fall after two years of pilot classes in a select number of schools.

The course faced a tumultuous start when in 2023 Florida officials banned the pilot for allegedly violating state law that restricts instruction about race. Seventeen other states have imposed such restrictions since January 2021—including Kentucky, which has a Republican-controlled statehouse and Democratic governor. (In Arkansas, with similar restrictions, state officials moved to not allow the course to count for high school graduation credit.)

As schools across the country face the option of offering the official course this fall while instruction about race and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives continue to come under political fire from Republicans, El-Amin’s class offers a glimpse of how it all can work.

A groundbreaking course in a complicated political climate

Henry Clay is the only one of the Fayette County district’s six high schools that’s currently offering the course. Four other schools in Kentucky are also participating in the course’s second-year pilot, according to the College Board.

Students in the course this year will be the first to take an end-of-year exam. Schools requested more than 11,900 exams for the course in November 2023.

“For years, African American Studies has been one of the most widely requested additions to the AP Program, and we know students across the country are eager to take this course,” Brandi Waters, senior director and program manager for AP African American Studies, said in a statement. “My priority is making the course available to as many students as possible.”

One potential challenge to accessing the course lies in legislation in at least 18 states restricting instruction on race. In Kentucky, a 2022 bill that initially drew a veto from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, which the Republican-dominated legislature then overturned, sets parameters on how to teach about race in K-12 schools. That includes stating that “the institution of slavery and post-Civil War laws enforcing racial segregation and discrimination were contrary to the fundamental American promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, but that defining racial disparities solely on the legacy of this institution is destructive to the unification of our nation.”

Chaka Cummings, executive director for the Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky, said that he would imagine if the AP African American Studies pilot were offered in 2018, more schools in the state would have tried to participate because they would not have been concerned over how the course would work with the legal restriction.

The state association officially launched in 2023 to help schools and partners such as the state department of education share resources and training for teachers seeking to teach more Black history, Cummings said. It all started as a response to racial tension in the state in 2020 over issues such as police brutality, including the case of Breonna Taylor, whom Louisville, Ky. police officers shot and killed in her home on March 13, 2020.

As the association and others work to expand and improve Black history instruction across the state outside of the AP course, Cummings sees the AP course as validating and adding to his group’s work.

“It gives credence within spaces that maybe haven’t spent a ton of time figuring out how to effectively teach Black history,” he said.

Though there were national debates at the pilot’s launch among Black scholars over whether the survey course truly addressed all necessary topics, Cummings argues that “you have to balance the current political landscape with this opportunity to be able to introduce lessons and coursework and curriculum in an area where many schools are lagging.

“And so within that balance, hopefully, this course feels like something that can address what is an opportunity area for a lot of districts across the United States.”

The Kentucky and classroom landscape

Some Kentucky state leaders and educators see great potential for the course within the state, even under the state’s current political context.

“There is no legislation, no bill out there banning African American history” in the state, said Thomas S. Tucker, who was hired to be the Kentucky department of education’s deputy commissioner and chief equity officer. “That’s not on the table. I’ve not had any conversation with any of our lawmakers discussing that.”

When asked whether teachers could teach AP African American Studies in full in Kentucky under state law, he said “I don’t see any prohibitions with this.”

“[The course] goes deeper than just having Black history in Kentucky academic standards in social studies,” Tucker said. “Its goal is really to help American public school kids, and our private school kids as well, develop a greater respect for each other.”

Tucker said he isn’t aware of any complaints in the state against the course. He’s only gotten one question from local scholars: why there aren’t more Black Kentuckians featured in the course given their contributions to American history.

Another challenge in getting the course into more schools, Cummings said, may be teachers who may feel they lack the training to properly teach the course.

El-Amin at Henry Clay, who is Black, said she is focusing on developing a course where teachers of any race feel comfortable navigating hard conversations in the classroom as she does. Her class this year was predominantly Black. The cohort of students already expressing interest in the course next fall is predominantly white, meaning she may need to help students make more connections to history and culture with which they are not as familiar.

Though fellow teachers at Henry Clay—and an online community of AP African American Studies teachers—offer El-Amin support and guidance, navigating an interdisciplinary course that’s very new and covers a lot of material in a short timeframe has still proved challenging.

That’s why she looks to students and families to guide her.

A class where students are the experts

She’s constantly asking students for their feedback.

“I am very open about the fact that I’m fumbling my way through this course,” El-Amin said. “I learn and they teach me.”

For instance, she was raised Muslim and was not familiar with the musical tradition of call and response in Black churches, which one of the course units covers. Her students quickly filled her in—though not without some good-natured teasing.

At the end of presentations on the Divine Nine historically Black fraternities and sororities, El-Amin reminded students that the various PowerPoint slides, dioramas, and other crafts they put together will serve as examples for future classes.

When the class was learning about ancient African kingdoms early in the course, El-Amin had students make ceremonial masks that now decorate a wall by her desk. Through that activity, students learned about how much effort went into constructing such artifacts and, as a result, gained a deeper appreciation for the course material.

“You all did a great job at being experts,” El-Amin said of their Divine Nine presentations. “But what went right and what went wrong, if I had to do this assignment again next year?”

Student presentations this school year have covered a wide range of topics, from government surveillance of Black civil rights leaders to Black comedians to white artists whom people think are Black.

Students once watched an episode of the sitcom “black-ish” and made Black Santas when learning about Black Christmas to lighten the mood from covering heavy subject matter.

Parents have also provided El-Amin with feedback.

Nia’s parents teach Africana studies, anthropology, political science, and gender and women’s studies at a local university. They’ve helped El-Amin ensure she’s on track with her lesson plans and offered suggestions for resources.

El-Amin recommends that future teachers of the course at her school and beyond “try to have a bridge between some of the universities and the schools because these curriculums seem to be rooted in what you need to know at the next level for college.”

For El-Amin, the course pushes students to think critically about the world around them and their own lived experiences by drawing connections between the past and present and learning how to engage with other cultures.

“Thinking is revolutionary in itself,” she said.

At the end of the class period featuring Divine Nine presentations, students whose presentations had included step-dance routines led their peers in a mini-step lesson. They even convinced El-Amin to join.

In the hallway just outside the dancing classroom, a poster advertising the course formally launching this fall summarized the challenge that lies ahead: “History is not always pretty. Can you handle the truth?”

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Department and Future Teachers of Color host inaugural study night event

Education students worked in teams to answer sample MTTC test questions.

Whitney Lewis, event host and president of Future Teachers of Color

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—In support of education students during the weeks leading up to the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC), the Department of Teaching, Learning and English Studies and Future Teachers of Color hosted the inaugural, "MTTC Study Night" event on  March 18 . Competing against each other in trivia to answer sample test questions, attendees had the opportunity to win prizes and free test vouchers while studying for their upcoming test.

"This is a test all education majors have to pass to become a teacher in Michigan. And it is also something that isn't always talked about in our classes," says  Whitney   Lewis , event host and president of Future Teachers of Color.  

In Michigan, teachers must pass the MTTC to become certified to teach in the state. This test ensures teachers can demonstrate the necessary professional readiness and content knowledge to serve in Michigan schools.  

Not feeling fully prepared for the MTTC, Lewis reached out to mentor,  Dr. Brianne Pitts, an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and English Studies, for help. Soon after, they started planning for the event.

"Dr. Pitts sent out a survey to all the students that graduated last year to see if there was a need for additional MTTC support, and a lot said they didn't feel prepared. So I started working with her to develop a study night for students, like myself, who are currently in the program," says Lewis.

At the study night, education students enjoyed free meals and formed teams to answer sample and previous questions from the MTTC test. The winning team was given free MTTC test vouchers and runner-ups were given gift cards donated by the Department of Teaching, Learning and Education Studies. 

For more WMU news, arts and events , visit  WMU News  online.

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Hawaii News

Young hawaii teachers took early, advanced paths to education.

• By Esme M. Infante [email protected]
• April 1, 2024

COURTESY STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

At King Intermediate, Blaise Babineck, 19, is considered an “emergency hire,” a term referring to educators hired to teach while they actively pursue their teacher license. About 660 DOE teachers work under emergency-hire permits.

Skye Yasuda, 20, is a fully certified sixth grade English and social studies teacher at Waipahu Elementary School, but she frequently gets mistaken for a student.

At just 20 years old, Skye Yasuda is a fully certified sixth grade English and social studies teacher at Waipahu Elementary School, but she frequently gets mistaken for a kid at work. Read more

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At just 20 years old, Skye Yasuda is a fully certified sixth grade English and social studies teacher at Waipahu Elementary School, but she frequently gets mistaken for a kid at work.

“The adult supervisors during recess come up to me and they’re like, ‘I almost yelled at you to sit down, but then I remembered that you’re not a student,’” Yasuda said with a laugh and shrug.

Blaise Babineck was just 18 when he started teaching science this school year at King Intermediate School in Windward Oahu. Already he has revived the long- defunct science fair at his school, and three of his students were winners at the district science fair.

“I love science and I love sharing it,” Babineck said via a state Department of Education news release.

Yasuda and Babineck are among the youngest full-time teachers in Hawaii’s statewide public-school system of nearly 13,000 teachers. They were able to get an unusual head start to their careers thanks in large part to the Early College program: Yasuda and Babineck began taking college-credit courses while still at their respective high schools, which helped them later earn their bachelor’s degrees in a far shorter timeline than the traditional four years after high school graduation.

The DOE has no known record of any 18- or 19-year-old ever serving as a teacher before at a Hawaii public school. A department spokesperson was unable to determine how many DOE teachers are at age 20.

The average age of a Hawaii teacher is 42.7 years, and the median is 41.6 years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Only 15.7% of Hawaii teachers are younger than 30, according to federal data.

When Yasuda told friends and family she wanted to become a teacher, “everyone was always worried about the pay,” she said in a Honolulu Star-Advertiser interview. “But this is the profession I wanted to go into — I knew that it’s never about the money. How can you put a price on such an amazing reward of being able to see your kids prosper and develop? … My drive is really just being able to to see the kids grow.”

Yasuda has been so sure since childhood that she wanted to be a teacher that she started volunteering as a summer fun leader every year while in middle school, and then at Waipahu High School she took Early College classes in the summers to reach her career goal sooner.

When she graduated in 2021 as a valedictorian, she held not only a high school diploma, but two associate’s degrees — one in teaching and another in liberal arts — and a certificate of competence in culturally responsive teaching from Leeward Community College. She was the first high school student in the state to graduate with an associate of science in teaching from Leeward, according to the DOE.

Yasuda went next to the University of Hawaii-West Oahu on a Presidential Scholarship, which provides a full-tuition waiver for two years. The scholarship is “to support rising juniors at UH community colleges with a record of outstanding academic achievement,” according to the DOE release. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education in May 2023.

Yasuda hails from a family of educators and achievers, but she said her parents never forced her or her siblings in a specific direction, just encouraged them to explore their interests, which for her have included dance, travel, taekwondo, soccer, modeling and cooking.

“I think just my parents’ love and their care, and their willingness to really encourage my siblings and I to work hard and always try our best, and to just put our 110% into anything that we really want to go into — that’s like my safety net,” Yasuda said.

Yasuda’s mother, Monica, is the Early College coordinator at Nanakuli High & Intermediate School, and her father, Kris, was an English teacher and the student government advisor at Nanakuli before shifting into the energy sector. Skye Yasuda’s younger brother, Maverick, served as the student representative on the state Board of Education in 2022-2023. And her sister, Lotus, a sophomore at Waipahu High, is vice chair for operations on the Hawai‘i State Student Council.

Yasuda said that while being such a young teacher has its ups and downs, she has felt only support from her colleagues, and appreciation from her students. Her youth helps her students feel that they can relate to her, and she to them. When they tell her she’s the reason they come to school, and they leave sweet notes on her whiteboard such as “We’ll really miss you!” it moves her, she said.

“I love my job. Not many people can say that,” Yasuda said. “Yes, I’m tired, and yes, I have my bad days — who doesn’t? … But at the end of the day the only thing I can control is the stuff in my classroom and, yeah, I love what I do. I love my kids. I love my work environment. I love where I am. I love the people I work with. It’s such a blessing.”

A spark for science

Little in Blaise Babineck’s early childhood in Ewa Beach suggested he would become one of Hawaii’s youngest-ever science teachers.

He didn’t grow up in a science-oriented environment, and none of his relatives worked in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics, the DOE release said.

But when Babineck was in the seventh grade at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ewa Beach, his teacher Pili Spencer sparked his love for science, and that year Babineck won the school’s science fair, placed third overall in the district fair, and took second place at the state science fair.

As a Maryknoll School sophomore, Babineck took AP chemistry and later earned the maximum score of 5 on the AP chemistry exam. Another teacher, Derek Birkmire, helped lead him toward a career in science and teaching.

Babineck was only 16 when he graduated from high school, finishing early thanks to Maryknoll’s Early College Program partnership with Hawai‘i Pacific University, and his AP credits. Babineck is one of only two Maryknoll students who graduated in less than four years, the school confirmed to the DOE.

At HPU he began with junior- and senior-level courses, worked as a teaching assistant for organic and general chemistry courses, and served as president of the university’s chemistry club. He also worked as a peer mentor success coach, planned outreach events for the American Chemical Society and provided tutoring. When he graduated in 2023 from HPU with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry as the undergraduate class valedictorian, he was only 18.

At King Intermediate, Babineck is considered an “emergency hire,” a term referring to educators hired to teach while they actively pursue their teacher license. About 660 DOE teachers work under emergency-hire permits.

Babineck was not available last week for an interview, a DOE spokesperson said. But Babineck, who is 19 now, said in the release: “I really wanted to support kids with a similar background to me. I really wanted to teach at a school similar to the schools I grew up in — with local students, who didn’t have that much exposure to science.”

And he wanted to teach eighth graders.

“It’s the year before high school. It’s the year that will influence what electives they take, what pathway they take, what academy they go into. It’s really a decision point for students,” he said. “I felt like eighth grade was the perfect point where I could get students excited about science and get students motivated.”

Vital Statistics: March 22-27, 2024

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State Board of Education again delays discussion on whether to approve new Native studies course

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The Texas State Board of Education once again will delay voting on whether to approve an American Indian/Native Studies class, to the disappointment of supporters who have championed the material since 2020.

The course was not on the SBOE’s agenda for its meetings next week. Advocates of the course hoped the curriculum would be addressed this month so that the material could be approved and ready for statewide adoption in the 2024-25 school year. The next opportunity for the board to review the course will not happen until its meeting in June, which would be too late for most schools to add the class this fall.

“This is the process that the state is supposed to follow when ethnic studies courses are brought forward,” said Eliza Epstein, co-facilitator of the Ethnic Studies for Texas Schools Coalition, which is advocating for the course’s adoption. “I don't think anyone's demanding that the course just be approved. They're asking for the course process to happen.”

The Grand Prairie Independent School District has piloted the Native studies course since 2021. The class is currently designated by the Texas Education Agency as an innovative course, a status that needs to be renewed every five years or less. Other schools can also apply to offer the course, but many prefer to wait for official SBOE approval before investing resources into a new class.

Former SBOE chair Keven Ellis expressed intentions to bring up the Native studies course in the board’s January meeting, but current chair Aaron Kinsey, who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, chose to not include it on the agenda. In a statement that month, he explained the delay was “to allow members more time to review its contents.”

"The course is not on the agenda because, after working with TEA staff, I was able to confirm that Native American Studies is available as an innovative course for any Texas public school system to offer during the 2024-25 school year,” Kinsey said in a statement this week.

The support for the Native studies class points to a larger push for ethnic studies in Texas education. In 2018, the SBOE board approved a Mexican American studies class, and in 2020, the board unanimously passed an African American studies class. Round Rock ISD piloted the state’s first Asian American studies class last year.

The delay also comes at a time when the SBOE has been shifting ideologically to the right amid debates over how children should learn about sex and race in school. Ten out of the board’s 15 current members identify as Republican. One Republican member lost her seat during last month’s primary elections and two others face a runoff next month from challengers calling for a more conservative vision for the board.

The Native studies pilot course at Grand Prairie ISD is a social studies elective for 10th to 12th graders that weaves together topics like history, science and economics. The material covers multiple tribes and nations across Texas and the U.S., such as the Lipan Apache and Alabama–Coushatta. It covers historical events as well as contemporary times, according to Janis Henderson, who is a citizen of Oklahoma's Choctaw Nation, lives in Kinsey’s district and supports the development of the new course.

“We are still here. We are not back in the 1800s when your history books come to a screeching halt,” said Hawana Huwuni Townsley, a member of the Comanche Nation, in a news conference last week. “That’s what we’re asking for this course to communicate and give to the children of this state.”

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Blog The Education Hub

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/02/how-to-claim-15-hours-free-childcare-code/

Thousands of parents of two-year-olds benefit from 15 hours free childcare - here's how

We’re making the  biggest investment  by a UK government into childcare in history, doubling the amount we expect to spend over the next few years from around £4 billion to around £8 billion each year.  

We've already started to rollout the first phase of the expansion. As of April 2024, eligible parents of children who have turned 2-years-old before 1 April are getting help with their childcare costs by accessing 15 hours of government-funded childcare.

The rollout of support is part of our plan to help families – freeing thousands of couples from having to choose between having a family and a career.

This builds on existing government-funded childcare and later in the year the support will be extended to include some children from when they turn 9-months-old.

• Currently, eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds can access 30 hours of childcare support.  
• Eligible working parents of 2-year-olds are also now able to access 15 hours childcare  support.
• From  September 2024 , 15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents with a child from 9-months-old.  
• From  September 2025 , support will reach 30 hours for eligible working parents with a child from 9-months-old up to school age.  

When can I apply?  

Applications are now open for eligible working parents whose children will be 2 or older by the 31 August to receive 15 hours childcare, starting from September 2024.

And from 12 May, eligible working parents whose children will be aged between 9- and 23-months old on 31st August, can apply to receive 15 hours childcare starting from September 2024.

It’s important to remember that codes need to be renewed every three months, so parents applying close to 12 May will need to renew their code prior to the offer starting in September.

You are able to claim your place the term after your child turns the relevant age. This gives local authorities and childcare providers enough time to prepare.

How do I apply?   

You apply online here on   Gov.uk once you have checked our  eligibility criteria .  

You’ll need to make sure you have the following information to hand before starting the application:  

• your national insurance number (or unique taxpayer reference if you are self-employed)  
• the date you started or are due to start work  
• details of any government support or benefits you receive  
• the UK birth certificate reference number (if you have one) for your child.  

You may find out if you’re eligible straight away, but it can take up to 7 days.  

Once your application has been approved, you’ll get a code to give to your childcare provider.  

Eligible parents are also able to access Tax-Free Childcare through the same application system. You can apply for Tax-Free Childcare at any time. However, you don't need to apply for Tax-Free Childcare to be eligible to apply for the 15 hours childcare scheme.   

What happens once I receive my code?  

Once you receive your code, you’ll need to take it to your childcare provider, along with your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth.  

Your childcare provider will process the code to provide your place.  

Places will be available for September in every area of the country, but a significant minority of settings hold waiting lists of over six months. If you have a preferred nursery for September, you should reach out now to secure a place for your child ahead of receiving your code.  

Your local authority can provide support for finding a government-funded place in your area.  

What if I’m already registered for Tax Free Childcare?  

Parents must reconfirm that they are still eligible for Tax-Free Childcare every 3 months.  

Parents who are already claiming Tax-Free Childcare and need to reconfirm their eligibility between 1 April and 12 May will be automatically issued a code in the post from HMRC soon after the 12 May.   

This is to ensure every parent can give their code to their provider in good time. This code will be valid to apply for 15 hours of government-funded childcare from September.   

If I receive a code in a letter from HMRC, does this make my code on my Childcare Account invalid?  

No. Both codes will be valid.   

Do I need to wait for my reconfirmation window to add another child to my account?  

A parent who is already using the childcare service for another child can add a new child to their account at any time.  

Your reconfirmation cycle for your current Tax-Free Childcare will not affect this.  

How are you making sure there will be enough childcare places for eligible parents?  

Parents that have a preferred place for September should reach out now to their local provider to secure a physical place for their child ahead of time.  

To make sure there are enough places available, we’re investing over £400 million in 2024-25 to increase the hourly rates paid to local authorities.  

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has independently reported that the average funding rates for two-year-olds and under 2s paid by government from April 2024 are projected to be substantially higher than the market rate paid by parents last year, and we have committed to further increases to provider rates for the next two years.  

We have also committed to increasing hourly funding rates over the next two years by an estimated £500 million, to make sure providers can increase places at each phase of the rollout.    

You may also be interested in:

• Budget 2023: Everything you need to know about childcare support
• Before and after school childcare: Everything you need to know about wraparound care
• Free childcare: How we are tackling the cost of childcare

Tags: 15 hours free childcare , Applying for 15 hours free childcare , Childcare , Free childcare 2024 , Free childcare eligibility , tax-free childcare , When to apply for 15 hour free childcare

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