Educator Essentials
A foundation with options for all
Educator Essentials -- a common set of course options for all teacher education students to complete -- gives future Panther teachers a foundation to build upon.
Combined with your individual course content (such as elementary education, physical education teaching or biology teaching), your methods coursework ("how to teach") and your experience in the field (clinical internships and student teaching), Educator Essentials rounds out a base of knowledge, skills and tools that will prepare you to teach in and lead your future classrooms.
And great news! An overhaul of this set of courses, effective fall 2025, ensures you have more choices, more flexibility and a greater ability to adapt to changing interests and schedules to achieve a key goal: completing your degree on time.
What's New?
Six categories of essentials
- The Learner
- Social Contexts of Learning
- Education for All
- The Classroom Environment
- Effective Pedagogy
- The Professional Educator
Benefits for students
- Variety and choice: 26 course options in 6 categories
- Only one three-credit class required per category
- A professional foundation with general and specialized areas of focus
- Broader array of faculty across all colleges teaching courses
- More options as you balance needs and schedules
Educator Essentials At-a-Glance
| CATEGORY | COURSE NUMBER | COURSE | CREDITS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1: The Learner | EDPSYCH 1500 | Reflections on Learning | 3 |
| EDPSYCH 2068 | Development and Learning in Sociocultural Contexts | 3 | |
| EDPSYCH 2100 | Creativity and Higher Order Thinking in the Classroom | 3 | |
| SOCFOUND 2243 | Rethinking the Learning Society: Education and Its Future | 3 | |
| Category 2: Social Contexts of Learning | SOCFOUND 2119 | Social & Cultural Foundations of Education | 3 |
| SOCFOUND 2134 | A Modern History of Education in the United States | 3 | |
| SOCFOUND 2334 | Education Policy & Politics of Education | 3 | |
| TESOL 2015 | Language Today | 3 | |
| Category 3: Education for All | KINES 4152 | Adapted Physical Education | 3 |
| SOCFOUND 3334 | Education, Power & Change | 3 | |
| SOCFOUND 3434 | Social Movements & Education | 3 | |
| SPIE 3140 | Interdisciplinary and Intersectional Study of Education for All | 3 | |
| SPIE 3150 | Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners in Classrooms | ||
| TESOL 3710 | Content Area Strategies for English Language Learners | 3 | |
| Category 4: The Classroom Environment | EDPSYCH 3200 | Deeper Motivation & the Highly Engaged Classroom | 3 |
| EDPSYCH 3300 | Level Up: Gamified Learning Environments | 3 | |
| ELEMECML 4151 | Early Childhood Curriculum Development & Organization | 3 | |
| RTNL 3360 | Playful Learning and Project-Based Experiences: Techniques for Educational and Recreational Environments | 3 | |
| SOCFOUND 3219 | Critical Perspectives on Technology and Education | 3 | |
| Category 5: Effective Pedagogy | ARTED 4600 | Expressive Learning Assessment | 3 |
| LRNTECH 3600 | Technology, Pedagogy and Learning in the Digital Age | 3 | |
| MEASRES 3510 | Assessment for Learning | 3 | |
| TEACHING 3500 | Effective Teaching through Differentiation, Technology & Assessment | 3 | |
| Category 6: The Professional Educator | ELEMECML 3149 | Child, Family, School and Community Relationships | 3 |
| SOCFOUND 3519 | Teacher Leadership & Educational Change | 3 | |
| TEACHING 3177 | Collaborative Partnerships for Educators | 3 |