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How The Program Works

The Elementary Teacher Preparation Program at MSU is a five year program with an emphasis on preparing professional elementary teachers. We are the top ranked program among all United States colleges and universities because of our commitment to developing and mentoring excellent teaching practices. The #1 Elementary Education ranking also reflects our outstanding reputation with superintendents, principals, teachers, and educators not only in Michigan, but around the globe. The reason for this reputation is simple: MSU's College of Education develops teacher leaders.

Being Part of the Program

Now that you have been admitted to the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program, you may be wondering what it really means to be part of the program. Our program is going to guide you in becoming a professional elementary teacher. The program is supported by a strong group of faculty, graduate students, mentor teachers, and support personnel who are responsible for offering MSU's course sequence, field experiences, and internship for teacher certification. We support you in making timely progress throughout the program sequence and maintain records of that progress. Your responsibilities in this process include:

• Staying informed about deadlines for processing paperwork for the program and your eventual internship (distributed in the Student Handbook by the Student Affairs Office, 134 Erickson Hall)
• Meeting all deadlines in a timely manner
• Notifying Elementary Teacher Preparation Program, in writing, if there will be any delays in following the course sequence or if you intend to drop out of the teacher certification program

Supporting You in Your Goals

We intend to support and guide you in this process by working toward several key goals:

• The achievement of a deep understanding of subject matters and of methods for "teaching for understanding."
• The formation of a democratic commitment to the education of all children and to classrooms and schools that embrace diversity.
• The knowledge and skill to be able to establish learning communities in classrooms and schools.
• The participation in improvement of teaching, of schools, and of the teaching profession, and in those ways help to make a better world.
• The integration of theory with practice and teaching experience with reflection on that experience.