EDU-130 American Education
The official purpose of this course, the first class required of all teacher-education majors, is to teach students about the historical, social, cultural, legal, structural and philosophical foundations of education in the United States. The course also engages students in thinking about whether or not God is calling them to use their talents and gifts as classroom teachers, and in the development of an understanding of how to articulate their faith in the classroom in appropriate ways. For the field-experience component of this course, students may choose to either tutor students at the Marion Boys and Girls Club over the course of the semester, or mentor students at the Fort Wayne Junior Achievement JA BizTown for one day.
Cross-Cultural Student Teaching
An increasing number of IWU student teachers are taking advantage of the opportunity to broaden their experiences by student teaching in overseas locations.
Following a rigorous screening process, the IWU School of Teacher Education annually selects 15 or more students to complete one phase (eight weeks) of the student teaching experience abroad. These student teachers serve in accredited international and/or Christian schools around the world. Recent placements have included schools in South Korea, Austria, Macedonia, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, England, Russia, China, Hungary, Switzerland, Ecuador, Taiwan, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Australia, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic.
In addition to full-time in-school instructional responsibilities, student teachers in overseas locations serve outside the school community in a variety of capacities. Because of the overt commitment to instructional excellence, Indiana Wesleyan University student teachers are consistently asked to return to the cross-cultural student teaching sites as full-time employees.
EDU-290 Elementary Education in a Pluralistic Society
This course is an exploration of the processes of teaching and learning in the diverse settings of elementary classrooms. It includes a selection of developmentally appropriate activities designed to meet the needs of diverse learners and methods for evaluating pupil learning. Students interact and then reflect on interactions with children of diverse backgrounds, discussing practices in teaching children of other cultures and giving evidence of revising standard teaching methods to accommodate cultural differences.
EDS-215 Teaching and Learning in the Inclusive Setting
This foundational special education course places an emphasis on the definition, characteristics and methodology unique to learners who require mild interventions in a general education setting. The course is required of all special education majors; however, other education majors are strongly encouraged to take this course.
Secondary Field Experience
As a content-specific teacher in training, the IWU student is able to participate in four levels of field experience. The first level is two weeks of "Observation/Participation" and is done during May term. The second level is two semesters of one hour per week "Tutoring/Mentoring" done at a local school helping individuals and small groups with remedial work. The third level is the "Junior Content-Specific Practicum." The student completes two semesters of field experience in two different levels of content classrooms teaching a minimum of six lessons. The fourth level is 14 weeks of full-time student teaching.
