The Adolescent/Young Adult Program prepares students for licensure for teaching in grades 7-12 . Both dual-degree programs and single-degree programs are available. Dual-degree programs offer students the opportunity to earn a degree in a content area from the College of Arts and Sciences as well as a degree in education from the Judith Herb College of Education. The Judith Herb College of Education also offers single-degree programs, which can be easily completed in four years. Both single-degree and dual-degree programs are designed to help prospective teachers move seamlessly from college student to effective beginning teacher. Programs include English/Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, and Sciences. Science also offers several possible combination teaching fields such as Life Science, Life Science/Chemistry, Life Science/Physics, Life Science/Earth Science, Earth Science, Earth Science/Chemistry, Earth Science/Physics, Chemistry/Physics, Physics/Chemistry.
Three academic components comprise the program: General Education, Content Area Major and Pedagogy. The coursework in general education consists of University-wide core requirements and liberal arts courses as defined by the College of Arts and Sciences. Content area courses are taken in the department of the College of Arts and Sciences in which the student's academic major is located. One of the distinctive features of Adolescent and Young Adult Programs is that courses in pedagogy particular to a specific content comprise an integral part of each program. For example, an AYA Social Studies major can expect to take several courses on effective methods for teaching history and government; an AYA Mathematics major will learn how to engage and teach students mathematical concepts so that students are able to retain and apply the information; an AYA English major will have courses in the teaching of writing, literature, and language; an AYA science major will be able to demonstrate proper procedures for conducting experiments, assessing student understanding, and testing hypotheses.
Field experience comprises a significant portion of each program. Usually, a student's first experience involves observation and brief periods of co-teaching with a cooperating teacher. Over time and with the guidance of professors and cooperating teachers, students take on more responsibilities. Eventually, field experience culminates in the student teaching experience, which usually occurs over the course of the student's final semester.
The use of technology both as a tool for the student's own work as well as a medium for teaching in the classroom is woven throughout the program. Students learn to use a variety of technologies to help them become better teachers.
