INFORMATION FOR...
navigation
Middle Grades Endorsement Online
In the state of Illinois, educators earn an Elementary, Secondary, or Special certificate for teaching at the elementary or secondary school level. To teach in a departmentalized middle grade setting (grades 5-8), educators also need a “middle grade endorsement” on their teaching certificate. The University of Illinois offers three online courses that meet the State Board course requirements for the middle grades endorsement: EPSY 430, EPS 427 and CI 410.
Summer 2008 Offerings:
EPS 427, 4-Week online course, offered May 12 - June 8, 2 Credit Hours
Meets Thursdays Online 6-8pm Central, Instructor: Cris Mayo [CRN:
34368]
CI 410, 4-Week online course, offered July 7 - July 31, 2 Credit Hours
Meets Mondays & Thursdays Online 4-530pm Central, Instructor: Sheila Dean [CRN: 34371]
|| Registration Opens Mid-April || If you are currently enrolled at Illinois as a degree-seeking student: If you are off-campus and currently not enrolled at Illinois: General Information: middlegrades@ed.uiuc.edu |
Middle School Instruction (CI 410) addresses the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to effective middle level curriculum, instruction and assessment. Pedagogically the course will structured to focus on issues or problematics re middle school instruction. [2 Credit Hours]
Philosophy of Middle School (EPS 427) is an introduction to the philosophical, social, and cultural foundations of middle school education, with an emphasis on developing a philosophical analysis of key concepts related to middle schools. We will examine the philosophical underpinnings of the category of adolescent, the practice of collaboration, and understandings of other important political aspects of the middle school. The objectives of this course include: a) developing the philosophical tools with which to reflect on the ‘cultural’ context of education for early adolescents and/or middle school community members, and b) helping in-service and pre-service teachers, as well as those interested in teacher education, to become more philosophically reflective practitioners who think critically about their own teaching practice and experience, educational policy, and the cultural and political dimensions of education. [2 Credit Hours]
Early Adolescent Development (EPSY 430) provides an overview of the biological, cognitive, and social role changes of the adolescent stage of life with a focus on understanding how contexts (school, family, peer groups, media, work, and leisure) shape development. The main objective is for students to develop an understanding of the developmental strengths, challenges and needs of the age group they will be teaching in the future. [2 Credit Hours] Offered: Fall 2008
**To obtain the Endorsement, students may take the courses in any order. If possible, it is recommended that students complete the EPS or EPSY courses prior to taking the C&I course.
Note: In addition to these three courses, the State Board rules require that the candidate have at least 18 semester hours in the subject matter of the major teaching assignment. For example, for language arts instruction, one must have 18 semester hours of course work in English, speech, and/or rhetoric . Some endorsement areas have very specific requirements and some require more than 18 hours of credit. Additional information is available on the Council on Teacher Education Web site at www.cote.uiuc.edu or at www.isbe.net