MGE - Middle Grades Education

Teacher candidates advance their knowledge of the unique developmental characteristics and culture of young adolescents (10-14 year olds – grades 5-8) and how these characteristics of physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development (PIES) impact middle grades teaching and learning. Candidates will have opportunities to reflect upon their knowledge, skills and dispositions for teaching in the middle grades. This introductory course differentiates middle grades education history, philosophy and practices as a distinct pedagogy from elementary and secondary education. Fifteen observation hours in middle grades classrooms are required. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 2-3 semester hours

This course examines the collaboration of young adolescent learners, families, educators, and community resources to support meaningful education. Candidates learn about resources in schools and communities which help to protect and provide safe spaces within and outside the school. Candidates identify strategies to build supportive and caring communities for young adolescent learners. Research reviewed in this course depicts the many aspects of the social-emotional, gender, health and media/popular cultural needs of these students. Candidates support and value the need to be advocates for young adolescent learners. 40 hours of observation/teaching time will be spent in schools. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 501. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course combines a university seminar and field experience focusing on active involvement with a cooperating teacher and his/her class. Candidates continue their professional development concerning roles and responsibilities of teachers in grades 5-8. The course advances candidates’ engagement in the profession through study and application of dynamic instruction to support the education of young adolescent learners. Candidates help develop a productive and inclusive learning environment for students while improving skills in working with families, colleagues and community. There is a shared school and classroom placement for candidates in MGE 505 and MGE 590. 50 hours of observation/teaching in schools are required. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 503. Co-requisite(s): Candidates enroll in the methods course/s that corresponds to their content area for teaching. Candidates are required to take at least one methods course at the same time they enroll in MGE 505. Choices include: MGE 512, 514, 518, and MGE 510. 3 semester hours

This seminar accompanies the student field experience to provide the student with resources and support for a successful experience. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 0 semester hours

The course is sequentially completed over two-three quarters permitting candidates to explore a pedagogical middle grades topic of interest and create a dynamic inquiry/exploratory project. Candidates develop their unique strengths by connecting them to young adolescent learning and develop an inquiry/exploratory project in collaboration with a mentor and young adolescents. Candidates research theory and identify learning strategies used in multiple environments, while defining their personal beliefs and practices. Topics may be current or established development(s) in Middle Grades Education and/or in society. Candidates share their projects at the end of the term in the Middle Grades Education Program Forum. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 1 semester hours

Candidates explore appropriate curricular models for young adolescent learners, including but not limited to disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and integrative models. Inquiry, creativity and critical thinking are encouraged through cross disciplinary real-world opportunities. Candidates are engaged and challenged in active thinking and questioning. Candidates work individually and collaboratively to identify and consider teaching and learning strategies to encourage young adolescent curiosity. Effective technology use is infused throughout the course. Strategies for differentiated instruction and assessment are explored. Candidates investigate standards-based teaching and learning in order to create challenging, exploratory, integrative and relevant curriculum for young adolescents. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 501. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course investigates exemplary science instruction for middle grades education. An in-depth focus is on exemplary science instruction, fluency with middle grades education science instructional content, and appropriate use of diverse instructional strategies including young adolescent students’ voices. Candidates enrich their understanding of the critical middle grades science content and concepts. Practical applications of the science content are explored along with formative and summative assessments to develop young adolescent learners’ understanding of how science works in their world. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 504. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course introduces key issues in the instruction of middle school language arts. Students become familiar with theoretically sound, research-based strategies for the assessment and teaching of middle grade reading and writing. Balanced literacy instruction, focusing on differentiation for diverse learners and multiple grouping practices, is emphasized. Candidates will spend time reading and responding to adolescent literature in order to better understand how to use literature to address the instructional needs and engagement of all middle grade students. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 503. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course provides candidates an in-depth focus on the subject matter, content standards, mathematical pedagogy, and issues related to the learning and teaching of mathematics in the middle grades. Candidates develop strategies and applications specific to the mathematical learning needs of young adolescent learners including read world connections. Candidates develop and use formative assessment to guide teaching and learning. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course identifies methods of teaching and learning social studies for candidates in the Middle Grades Education Program. It introduces candidates to varied social studies methods. In this course candidates learn to plan and implement effective social studies instruction in and for a pluralistic democracy. The course stresses primary source-centered, inquiry-based learning, unit planning and lesson planning. It also introduces candidates to varied social studies methods. Use of primary sources, especially from the Library of Congress, is emphasized. Pre-requisite(s): Admission to the Middle Grades Education Master of Arts in Teaching Program. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course focuses on the development of reading in the middle grades, particularly the development of skills to access expository text materials, digital texts and other media. Teaching methods that develop strategic reading and writing of informational texts and the assimilation and accommodation of new ideas will be explored. Methods for reading and writing instruction across the curriculum as articulated in the Common Core State Standards for Interdisciplinary Literacy will be considered. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 501. Co-requisite(s): None. 2 semester hours

The course provides candidates opportunities to research, observe, and identify a range of classroom management styles to engage young adolescent learners for successful classroom and school experiences through application of PIESS+(Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social, Spiritual, (PIESS) gender, socioeconomic, culture, media, special populations (Plus+). Through course readings and activities, candidates have opportunities to develop critical perspectives of appropriate middle grades classroom experiences advocating student success, research past and current classroom management trends, examine legal concerns regarding appropriate discipline, create a portfolio of diverse, respectful range of classroom management techniques appropriate for young adolescent learners and reflect how teacher behaviors can enhance and/or impede short-term and/or long-term student success. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 1 semester hour

This seminar provides the Middle Grades Alternative Teacher Licensure candidates opportunities to practice and reflect upon their knowledge, skills and dispositions for teaching and learning in a middle grades classroom with particular attention to authentic assessment. Emphasis is on analysis of data obtained through learning profiles, formative and summative assessments. Participation in the assessment and reflection process includes student voice and goal setting in order to improve the learning process for each student. Candidates complete the Teacher Performance Assessment during this term as well as competency appraisals and Live Text portfolio. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 505. Co-requisite(s): None. 2 semester hours

In this seminar candidates distinguish young adolescents’ emotions as a lens to explore and provide meaningful learning environments and social well-being. Candidates examine idiosyncrasies, joys, and challenges young adolescents may encounter that might impact their happiness, and put their physical, mental (intellectual) and emotional health at risk. Through studying a range of research identifying understandings regarding interpersonal neurobiology, neurophysiology and physical characteristics of a happy brain, candidates design classrooms where wonder and imagination thrive and greater academic achievement and less stress are experienced. Candidates guide young adolescents in developing proficiencies for living and learning through kindness, empathy, and gratitude, which are essential for a mindful, joyfully balanced adult life. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 525. Co-requisite(s): MGE 507. 2 semester hours

Looking to visions of possibilities, candidates explore the physiology and neurology of happiness and school success, and develop classroom confidences and freedoms while designing emotionally safe classroom communities. Candidates participate in conversations based on neuroscience and teaching practices that lead each young adolescent learner toward a state of happiness and well-being. Looking to their students as individuals becoming responsible for the future of society, candidates remove challenges and the "fear of school" mentality using classroom practices based on current brain research and positive psychology research. Applying their connections to the classroom through compassion, gratitude and mindfulness candidates create learning environments where young adolescent learners are eager and excited about learning. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 526. Co-requisite(s): MGE 522. 2 semester hours

Honoring the "pursuit of happiness," candidates focus on their rights as middle grades educators to experience and provide a stress-free learning environment. Transforming their students and their own lives through integrating science and practice to support enhanced understandings of student learning through application of brain research and positive psychology practices learned in the program and used in their classrooms. Candidates contemplate joyful practices while creating their capstone projects, to be presented at the Celebrate the Joy Symposium. Through self-reflective story-telling, candidates blend academic and relevant professional experiences to share and articulate the interconnectedness of student success, social emotional learning, the brain, classroom practices, and their lasting impact on young adolescent learners. Pre-requisite(s): MGE 527. Co-requisite(s): None. 1 semester hour

This course is designed for teachers currently licensed in Illinois who wish to secure a subsequent Illinois teaching endorsement on their Professional Educator License in early childhood education; elementary education; middle grades education for science, English language arts, mathematics, or social science; secondary education for science, social science, English language arts, mathematics, or K-12 foreign language; or special education for LBS1. Candidates are assigned between 75 and 150 clock hours in a general education classroom at the new endorsement level. Pre-requisite(s): Completion of all content coursework as described on the transcript assessment. Completion of individualized professional development as determined by initial portfolio review. Application for practicum placement with checklist. Passing score on relevant ISBE content level test. 4-6 semester hours

This course introduces resident teacher candidates to the roles and responsibilities of classroom teaching before they enter their school site in a Teacher Residency program. The course orients resident teacher candidates to the education profession through the exploration of teaching identity and the study and the application of curriculum and instruction. Candidates gain an initial understanding of how the students, families and community impact the learning environments and explore culturally relevant teaching and pedagogy. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 1 semester hour

Resident Teacher Practicum is a course of directed observation and participation in a residency setting aimed at providing a variety of in-depth experiences prior to student teaching. The course integrates field-based experiences with on-site seminars for preservice teacher candidates who are working full-time as teacher assistants in a classroom. The course advances candidates' engagement in the profession through study and application of instruction to support the learning of individuals and groups and their understanding of environments that encourage learners and collegial relationships in the school. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course combines a university seminar with student teaching during the final academic term of the Middle Grades Education Program. Within the same classroom placement as MGE505, the student teaching experience provides candidates active engagement with a cooperating teacher, young adolescent learners, support staff, other school professionals and community members. Through this course candidates advance their understanding of responsive environments and instructional strategies which support the unique developmental needs of young adolescent learners. Candidates are expected to be in a school placement, full-time, over an eleven week timeframe. Campus-based seminars, as well as exit interviews, are required of all candidates. Pre-requisite(s): LSE 511, EDU 510, SPE 500, CIL 531, MGE 501, MGE 503, MGE 505, MGE 507, MGE 509, MGE 522; one of the following Methods courses: MGE 510, MGE 512, MGE 514, MGE 518. Co-requisite(s): None. 6 semester hours

This seminar accompanies the student field experience to provide the student with resources and support for a successful experience. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 0 semester hours

This course concludes the pre-service professional development of resident teacher candidates concerning the roles and responsibilities of teachers. It combines university seminars and field experiences. The focus of student teaching is to provide active engagement with a cooperating teacher and his/her students. The course increases the candidates' involvement in the profession through study and application to support the education of individuals and groups of learners. Candidates advance their understanding of environments that encourage a community of learners and collegial relationships in the school. This course meets for two consecutive terms. Pre-requisite(s): All candidates: EPS 511, FND 510, SPE 500. MGE candidates: MGE 501, MGE 509, MGE 587 and one of the following methods courses: MGE 510, MGE 512, MGE 514, MGE 518. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours