Secondary Teacher Education Major
Our Upside-Down Curriculum allows you to take courses in your Secondary Teacher Education degree program (and get hand-on field experience) beginning in the first semester of your first year.
Why Secondary Teacher Education?
How do you share your fascination for the American Revolution in a way that lures teenagers from Facebook and gets their noses in a history book?
In an age of noise and confusion, how can you convince teens to focus long enough to find inspiration and wisdom from a dead poet whose voice is echoed by their favorite rap artists?
The passion of those who major in Secondary Teacher Education is sharing their love of learning and their knowledge of a particular subject area.
Why Secondary Teacher Education at Champlain?
As a Secondary Teacher Education major at Champlain , you'll begin learning about adolescent psychology and learning theory during your very first semester. You'll also dive deeply into curriculum design, learn strategies for integrating technology into the classroom, and begin to create your professional portfolio.
You'll complete supervised field experiences in area high schools that correlate with each semester's coursework, and then spend the final semester of your senior year student-teaching under the support and direction of a classroom teacher and a Champlain College instructor.
Your course of study will depend on your subject matter interest. For licensure in English/Language Arts, you'll focus on literature, writing and drama courses. For Social Studies, you'll focus on history, geography, economics and government. You'll graduate eligible for licensure in either English/Language Arts or Social Studies in the state of Vermont.
Because Vermont licensure is recognized by 47 other states, you'll have the flexibility to teach English/Language Arts or Social Studies in grades 7 through 12 nearly anywhere in the U.S.
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As you learn teaching techniques in the college classroom, you immediately get to apply them in the local high school classrooms. In your first year as an education major, you will spend no less than 30 hours engaged in fieldwork. You will start out having observation experiences and move on through tutoring, preparing lesson plans and giving individual class lessons, culminating in a full-time student teacher residency. By the time you finish Champlain, you will have had far more field experience than the majority of your peers from other education programs.
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Gain invaluable international experience working with ESL and other students in Burlington's nationally recognized refugee resettlement communities, and at schools in other countries as a member of Champlain's Study Abroad program.
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Learn to use state-of-the-art technology in the classroom and create an portfolio to showcase your work as you interview for teaching positions.
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Get recommended for Vermont licensure: meeting requirements for Praxis I and II tests, earning a 3.0 GPA or higher and successfully completing full-time student teaching, will make you eligible for Vermont teaching licensure, which is recognized in 47 states.
Ask a Question about our Secondary School Teacher Education Degree Program
Ask a question, and someone from our Admission team will put you in touch with the faculty or staff member who can best answer your questions.
Game art by Taylor Bjorndahl