Elementary Education (K-5)

This course gives students an initial experience teaching in an elementary school setting. Students study principles of education with an emphasis on aiding struggling readers and assessment and lesson planning. They implement these principles as they engage in a one-to-one tutoring session with an at-risk child. The course is made possible through a partnership between Mooreland Heights Elementary School and Johnson University.

This course is a study of the characteristics of exceptional persons and the etiologies of some disabilities. The roles of the family and community agencies (especially the church) are discussed, and particular emphasis is given to the role of public education in the lives of persons with disabilities.

Students develop knowledge and skills needed to teach writing, spelling, handwriting, and study skills. Students employ appropriate practices to promote effective communication, expression, and reflection in all subject areas. Students become more aware of the interactive nature of the language arts.

This two-part methods course introduces students to theory and methods regarding the teaching of Social Studies and the Bible as classroom subjects. Students develop and use knowledge of spiritual development in children and effective methods to support student acquisition of spiritual knowledge and understanding. During the second part of the course students learn effective instructional strategies that integrate the ten strands of Social Studies as developed by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) — including culture, economics, geography, governance, civics, history, individual development, and group interaction.

This methods course gives students an overview of teaching methods and strategies for Science, Health, and Physical Education. Students learn and apply skills needed to apply inquiry-based, open-ended and materials-based investigation to the classroom. Students develop understanding and use strategies and pedagogy to enhance children’s learning of life science, earth and space science, and physical science. Students also learn strategies for encouraging children to adopt healthy lifestyles, practice wellness concepts, and incorporate physical activity into their lives.

This course explores two areas of significance and potential difficulty for the beginning teacher: effective classroom management and successful organization of the inclusive classroom. In this course, participants study management theory and teacher style, and explore a variety of strategies for developing a plan for classroom management based on Christian principles. They also gain understanding of the special needs of the mainstreamed child and ways to meet these needs within an effective inclusive setting.

This methods course includes in-depth study of methods of teaching reading in early childhood, elementary, and middle grades classrooms. Students come to know, understand, and use appropriate practices for promoting and developing beginning literacy skills for integrating reading instruction across all subject areas and for enabling all children to become to become proficient and motivated readers. Students begin to develop skills in applying explicit approaches to support student acquisition of phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

This course assists students in integrating knowledge and skills learned in their methods courses into cohesive units of study that help children make connections in their learning. Students research integration and learning theory, and they apply those methods to comprehensive teaching units.

This course examines the development of Christian education through the ages and philosophies that have influenced it. Major educational philosophers and schools of philosophy are discussed, and students are encouraged to apply insights to their own educational philosophy.

This methods course is a comprehensive study of effective instructional strategies that integrate mathematical content and processes. Students develop knowledge, understanding, and skill in problem-solving, number operations, algebraic concepts, geometry, measurement, data analysis, probability, reasoning, communication, connections, and representations. Students apply those skills in planning effective units of study that develop these processes in children, and they integrate appropriate reading and technologies.

This practical field experience is designed to acquaint entry-level students with a variety of schools and classrooms in the Knoxville area. Students examine various aspects of the classroom environment, management, and teaching methods in the classrooms they visit. This information is shared in written and oral form with their classmates and the faculty supervisor at regular meetings. This course is a prerequisite for other field experiences.

This course is a one-on-one tutoring session with an at-risk child in partnership with Mooreland Heights Elementary and Johnson University.

This course is a term-long experience spending after-school hours on Mondays at Bonny Kate Elementary School. Students work in teams preparing and teaching science lessons complete with hands-on activities, incorporate technology into lessons, reflect and discuss experiences with a field experience coordinator, and complete assigned tasks.

Teacher Education students are placed in local schools where they gain classroom-related experience. See the Teacher Education Handbook for the placements required for a given program.

Practicum: A Day in School
This course is a term-long experience for five full days at Maryville Christian School. Students observe classroom teacher instruction, prepare weekly lessons, reflect and discuss experiences with a field experience coordinator, and complete assigned tasks.

Practicum: Christian School
This course is a term-long experience for 30 hours in a Christian school classroom. Students observe classroom teacher instruction, prepare weekly lessons, reflect and discuss experiences with a field experience coordinator, and complete assigned tasks.

This course is a term-long experience working with literacy and reading activities, assessing an individual child’s reading fluency and comprehension, preparing activities, and participating in Math Day at Gap Creek Elementary School. Students observe classroom teacher instruction, prepare weekly lessons, reflect and discuss experiences with a field experience coordinator, and complete assigned tasks.

The course is a 40-hour field experience in a local public school taken with EDUC 4111 Reading Methods. Students will observe and practice what they are studying in their course in the public-school classroom.

This course includes a study of the physical, social, emotional and mental development of the child from birth to adolescence. This includes the role of preschool through eighth-grade teachers as they work with these children. Observations and assessments of children are included in this experience. Special attention is directed to working with students with emotional and family problems in early childhood, elementary and middle schools.