Elementary Education (1-6)
A hallmark of our education programs is the integration of classroom learning and theory with real-world experience and practice. Students enrolled in the education graduate programs further their skills in curriculum design, implementation, and assessment. In addition students continue to deepen their knowledge of the academic disciplines they teach, including English/language arts, mathematics, science, history and social science, and the arts. They master the rewarding art of helping children to learn and understand the world around them. The programs and faculty in the Elementary Education department have a particular dedication and focus on urban education, and aim to prepare teachers to have an impact in urban classrooms.
Over the years, hundreds of students have graduated from our Elementary Education graduate programs and gone on to be teachers or educational specialists in public, private, charter, and parochial schools across the country.
The Faculty
The faculty that make up the Elementary Education department at Wheelock are established scholars in their fields of expertise and experienced in classroom practice. In fact many of those who teach in the Elementary Education department are former elementary teachers and administrators from urban districts. All are focused on assisting current and future classroom teachers attain the highest level of confidence, enthusiasm, and expertise in their profession.
Signature Courses
All of the graduate programs in Elementary Education incorporate two signature courses into the curriculum.
Racial and Cultural Identities (EDU 505): This course is distinctly different from the offerings of other schools because its focus is on the self rather than the other. It requires participants to consider their own social identity in terms of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, citizenship; and to think about how their identity will influence and inform their work with students and their families.
Capstone Course (EDU 685): The Capstone Course requires
that students prepare and present an electronic portfolio of their
learning to a committee of arts and sciences and education faculty
members and practitioners. Students orally defend their knowledge,
thinking, and emerging teaching philosophy in front of a faculty committee.
The presentation and portfolio reflects the Wheelock College Education
Standards (link), which encompass Massachusetts’s standards and
build upon them.
For a detailed list of courses, please
go to the graduate section of our catalog in
.pdf and click on School of Education and Child Life: Elementary Education.
Applying to a Wheelock College Graduate Program
If you have any questions about these programs, other graduate programs at Wheelock College, or about applying to Wheelock College, contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduate@wheelock.edu or call (617) 879-2206, (toll-free (800) 734-5212), or visit the Office of Graduate Admissions Web Site.
