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Welcome

The Elementary Teacher Preparation Program at Michigan State's College of Education provides teacher candidates with the critical knowledge and skills needed to teach all children. We are consistently ranked as a leading college in the nation for pursuing a career in elementary education. This ranking reflects, in part, the high esteem in which elementary school principals and staff hold our graduates. We invite you to engage in your professional education with us in the Elementary Education Teacher Preparation program at the College of Education at Michigan State University.

Our Mission

The teacher preparation program at Michigan State University prepares critically reflective and responsive teachers who continue to learn across their careers. These teachers are well prepared in their content areas and with the most recent research-based knowledge of instruction and curriculum. They work to improve schooling in a democratic society and build a more just, sustainable world. They strive to help all children and youth develop conceptual understandings and fluency in content, become active citizens, and make significant contributions to society. Our field-based program is designed to prepare well-started beginning teachers who develop:

• A strong foundation in the subject matter, and an understanding of how children and youth learn and engage with subject matter
• Equitable and inclusive teaching practices that are responsive to diverse learners, communities, and a global society
• The ability to work within and across a range of community and professional contexts
• Disposition and skills to critically reflect on and learn from their practice
• A strong sense of agency and the capacity to become leaders in their field

Our Mission in Action

Please see our Mission Statement Presentation to find out more about how the mission statement is enacted throughout the curriculum and course structure of the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program.

Key Elements to the Program

• Undergraduate field experiences that build connections between the theoretical principles of the craft of teaching and the practical situations that teachers face.
• Full-year internship with continued instruction and mentoring from MSU faculty.
• Instruction from nationally renowned faculty and classroom experiences with outstanding K-8 teachers.
• Combination of a baccalaureate degree, strong teaching major and/or minor concentrations and teaching certification courses followed by a full-year teaching internship in a public school.
• Dual concerns for diversity and equity interwoven throughout the required teacher education courses.
• Support for learning to use technology in teaching.
• Time spent working with special needs students in regular classrooms.
• Opportunity to intern in throughout Michigan including areas like Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit. Internship opportunities also include areas of Chicago or international locations.
• Graduate-level professional study during the internship with credits of which may be applied to a master's degree program.
• Preparation to fulfill the standards and related proficiencies for entry-level Michigan teachers as established by the Michigan Department of Education.
• See Title II Institutional Report
  

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