Secondary Education (BSEd)

Completion of all program requirements will lead to eligibility for the Bachelor of Science degree in Education. To qualify for the Bachelor of Arts in Education, students must also complete two courses in the same foreign language. Secondary education majors must select a major (first) teaching field (approved area of concentration, e.g. English or mathematics) in which they wish to be licensed. A minor (second) teaching field is optional.

Please see the UNLV Department of Teaching and Learning web page at  www.unlv.edu/tl  for more information about department programs, faculty, and facilities. Degree worksheets and 4/5 year plan for the major are available at www.unlv.edu/degree/bsed-secondary-education.

Learning Outcomes

1. Principle 1 (Content Knowledge): The COE graduate knows and understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of content meaningful. They are passionate about their subjects and their work.
2. Principle 2 (Individual Development): The COE graduate knows and understands how individuals learn and can develop and provide opportunities that support intellectual, career, social, and personal development. They seek ways to enhance the success of their future students.
3. Principle 3 (Diverse Learners): The COE graduate knows and understands how individuals differ in their approaches to learning and creates opportunities that are equitable and adaptable to the needs of diverse learners. They demonstrate an understanding of the role that both individual and group identities play in teaching and learning.*
4. Principle 4 (Planning Processes): The COE graduate understands planning processes based upon knowledge of content, learner characteristics, the community, and curriculum goals and standards. They are active participants in the local k-12 education system.
5. Principle 5 (Strategies and Methods): The COE graduate knows and understands and can employ a variety of strategies and methods and encourages the development of critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making, and performance skills. They create lessons that promote student achievement.
6. Principle 6 (Learning Environments): The COE graduate knows and understands individual and group motivation and behavior and creates a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. They create enriched learning environments.
7. Principle 7 (Communication): The COE graduate knows and understands effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques and other forms of symbolic representation and can foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supporting interactions. They use technology to facilitate student learning.
8. Principle 8 (Assessments): The COE graduate understands and promotes formal and informal assessment strategies and evaluates the learner’s continuous intellectual, social, and physical development. They develop fair assessments of student achievement.
9. Principle 9 (Collaboration, Ethics, and Relationships): The COE graduate understands and fosters ethical relationships with parents, school colleagues, and organizations in the larger community to support the individuals learning development. They build communication opportunities through trust and genuine regard for student personal and academic growth.
10. Principle 10 (Reflection and Professional Development): The COE graduate is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of choices and actions on students, adults, parents, and other professionals in the learning community, and who actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally. They respond to the rapidly changing educational context of Southern Nevada in a thoughtful manner.

Student Teaching in Secondary Education Program

Applications for student teaching must be filed the semester preceding the student teaching semester. Approval for a student teaching placement is contingent upon:

1. Admission to Teaching & Learning (T&L).
2. Completion of at least 90 credits toward a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a grade point average of 2.75 or higher.
3. Completion of all professional education course requirements, with a grade point average of 2.75 or higher.
4. Completion of 75% of teaching field course work in which the student plans to student teach, with a grade point average of 2.75 or higher. The grade point average of 2.75 in the teaching field must be maintained through graduation.
5. Filing of a completed T&L student teaching application by the announced deadline.
6. Recommendation of the Department of Teaching & Learning.
   
   Student teaching is a full-time, full-semester experience in a secondary classroom. It involves a mandatory, on-campus orientation; observation and supervised teaching, during which the student gradually assumes classroom teaching responsibilities; regularly scheduled observations and evaluations by the classroom teacher who serves as a preservice mentor teacher and by the assigned university site facilitator; and weekly student teaching seminar sessions. Because student teaching is a full-time responsibility, outside employment during that time is strongly discouraged, and the student may enroll in no courses other than EDSC 482   and EDSC 481  , EDSC 483  , or EDSC 485   without department approval.

 (see note 1 below)

Career Possibilities

Possible career options after receiving this degree:

• Teacher in a secondary school in public or private institutions
• Educational content specialist