Elementary & Early Childhood
Undergraduate Degree Programs
The Department of Elementary & Early Childhood Education houses the early childhood and elementary education programs.
- Early Childhood Education: Major, B.S. in Ed. Degree
- Elementary Education Major (Grades 1-6), B.S. in Ed. Degree
- Early Childhood & Elementary Education: Double Major, B.S. in Ed. Degree
For more information on each of these programs contact the department or your advisor.
Advisement Procedures
- Early Childhood and Elementary Education majors are advised and enrolled by Academic Advisors in the College of Education Academic Advising Center.
- The following department faculty are available during the year to provide additional information and assistance as needed:
- Early Childhood Education majors: Dr. Jennifer Aldrich
- Elementary Education majors: Dr. Ruth Burkett
General Advising Information:
Clinical Experiences for Teacher Education Students
Early Field Experience
Education students are required to participate in early field clinical experiences prior to student teaching. All education majors enroll in a six-hour block of educational foundations courses scheduled to provide flexibility for off-campus time in field experiences and typically taken at the sophomore level. The field experience portion of this block is incorporated in EDFL 2100: Foundations of Education and Field Experience.
Early childhood and elementary majors have a field experience in EDFL 3210: Methods of Reading Instruction. Early childhood majors have additional field experiences in EDSP 3151: Community and Family Resources Practicum, ECEL 4830: Early Childhood Curriculum, and ECEL 4400: Classroom Manangement and Interactions. UCM's education majors participate in a field experience with one of the Professional Development School partners. The Teacher Education Program has formal partnership agreements with Warrensburg, Crest Ridge, Knob Noster, Holden, Kingsville, and Grain Valley School Districts. Many of the public school faculty from the two districts serve as clinical faculty for UCM, and work with interns in the P-12 classrooms or present on educational issues in university courses.
Professional Education Semester (Student Teaching)
During the Professional Education Semester, early childhood and elementary majors are required to student teach for 14 weeks, earning 12 semester credit hours. Elementary majors with a special education area of concentration/minor will be assigned two additional hours of student teaching. Attendance at all professional education semester activities is required. Any exceptions must be approved by the Director of Clinical Services and Certification.
Certification and Student Teaching
- The Clinical Services and Certification Office is located in Lovinger Room 2170. This office monitors your progress from admission to teacher education through student teaching, and finalizes your certification with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
- The staff of Clinical Services Office will oversee your field experiences, including your student teaching placement. This office maintains data related to all of the above functions. It is students responsibility to meet all of the certification/student teaching office's deadlines and expectations.
