Department of Education
The Department of Education has as its mission the preparation of professional educators for public and private schools, at both elementary and secondary levels. To accomplish this mission the education department teaches professional development courses and with the entire university community shares the responsibility of teacher preparation. This partnership builds on the strong liberal arts general education for which TLU is acclaimed.
Advantages of selecting the Teacher Education Program at TLU include our low student-teacher ratio, along with the breadth and depth of our faculty's educational experiences.
Students take education courses to meet three major goals:
- Mastery of content which includes curriculum, pedagogy and contemporary educational issues;
- Demonstration of performance objectives which require students to demonstrate effective instructional planning, delivery and assessment skills for diverse learners;
- Development of professional identity as evidence by students' professional growth in several areas, including self-confidence, sensitivity to the learner's needs and awareness of classroom effectiveness and areas for growth.
The sequence of professional development courses as well as support courses promote these goals through classes designed to develop teacher candidates' skills and commitment to the education of children in an ever-changing, multicultural society. The curriculum at TLU challenges students to make connections among content, theory and practice as they construct a knowledge base; become confident of their individual teaching styles through field-based action research; and reflect on and explore contemporary educational principles and practices. Field-based courses and a minimum of 90 hours of field experiences prior to student teaching provide a strong practical element to our program.
