A general overview of education and teaching developed through a study of the organization and structure of American education, the process of teaching, and current issues and problems related to education. This course is designed for prospective teachers as an introduction to the educational profession.

This course prepares teacher candidates to apply learning theory and assessment principles to classroom teaching situations. This course involves the study of principles of traditional and alternative assessment strategies. It helps the teacher candidate obtain skills relevant to the development and use of classroom assessments. Teacher candidates must attain a basic understanding of the principles of measurement, formative and summative assessment strategies, test construction, performance assessments; and reading and interpreting data from state achievement tests. The course will help teacher candidates understand the content measured by state tests and use the data to improve student achievement. Teacher candidates will participate in a clinical setting within this course.

This course provides the teacher candidate with an opportunity to examine and explore issues related to the full-time internship in a kindergarten to sixth grade public school setting to demonstrate professional competencies. The seminar-style sessions promote collegial discussion of professional practices (instructional strategies, planning techniques, evaluation procedures, and classroom management skills) while providing a platform for support and encouragement during the transition from teacher candidate to educator. Emphasis is placed on the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPS), professional education competencies (PECS), subject area competencies (SEC), reading competencies, ESOL competences.

This course requires a teacher candidate to demonstrate pre-professional FEAPs, Reading, and ESOL competencies during a 12-14 week, full-time internship, under the supervision of a certified classroom teacher, in a public school approved by the department and the school district. A minimum of 37.5 contact hours per week are required. Supervising teachers and an LSSC field coordinator will observe the intern and provide feedback on their performance. To be eligible to enroll in EDF 4945 all Elementary Education BS Program coursework must be successfully completed and Executive Director (or designee) permission is required for enrollment.