Education

Bachelor of Arts (A. B.) or Bachelor of Science (S. B.)

What career could be more important to our society than that of schoolteacher?  At Elmira College, the Teacher Education programs are highly respected and much in demand.  Students may prepare for teaching careers at the elementary-school level, or at the middle- or high-school level; they may prepare to teach Art at any level in the schools.

The mission of Elmira College's Teacher Education faculty is to develop in pre-service teachers those teaching skills, content knowledge, and personal qualities that are universally accepted as essential to pupil learning in Grades 1-12 classrooms.  Students are expected to learn and practice skills in communication, literacy, classroom management, technology, assessment, and reflection that will prepare them for teaching pupils in a diverse society. 

Unique to Elmira College Education programs is an Introductory Fieldwork course in Term III that puts freshman students into local classrooms for six weeks.  This three-credit experience allows students to make an informed judgment about whether the field of education is indeed right for them.  Tutoring small groups of students in school settings is embedded into the junior level Education courses.  Student Teaching I, also in the junior year, may be completed in local schools, or at one of several overseas sites (such as Scotland, Spain, or Greece.)  The capstone experience of Student Teaching II and seminar completes the program in the senior year.

In all courses, professors work closely with students to ensure they meet the highest standards possible.  Elmira College graduates enter into the teaching field confident that they have both the pedagogy and the experience necessary to effect change in the lives of the students they serve.  They are fully prepared for graduate work, which is required for professional teacher certification.  (Recent graduates have studied successfully in such well-known programs as Columbia Teacher’s College.)

For more information, please contact:
Education Department
(607) 735-1922

Faculty 
Dr. Linda Pratt
Dana Professor of Education and Executive Director of Teacher Education