Responding to increasing diversity and inequality in public schools, the BA in Elementary Education, with the endorsement in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education, is designed to dramatically change schooling for the underserved students of Colorado and the nation. The program aims to prepare reflective, ethical, anti-racist and inclusive elementary (K-6) teachers who are committed to making the world more equitable and just, through their work in public schools.
The program requires that students take a range of education courses, including those focused on the roles of schooling in the broader society and on theories of learning as they relate to historically underserved students and communities. The program also requires numerous “methods” courses, which engage students in the practices and skills needed for teaching all subject areas in self-contained classrooms, and for teaching students with a range of identities and abilities, who represent diverse cultural, linguistic, ethnic, racial, economic and religious communities. In order to be recommended for teacher licensure, students must additionally complete extensive fieldwork in public elementary classrooms serving diverse learners.
The BA in Elementary Education’s guiding principles that students will work on across their courses and field experience include learning how to engage in humanizing pedagogies; becoming critically conscious educators; developing a holistic understanding of bilingualism and a dynamic understanding of culture; designing curriculum and instruction, and enacting teaching practices, grounded in research centered on learning and learners; and viewing themselves as agents of change, who advocate on behalf of minoritized students, including bilingual learners.
To learn more, contact the Education advisors at 303-492-6555 or edadvise@colorado.edu. To apply, visit the CU Boulder Admissions website.
Requirements
A total of 120 credit hours is required to earn a BA, including content requirements, licensure and major requirements, and electives. Students must complete all EDUC coursework in the final two years with a grade of B- or better. All other requirements must be completed with a grade of C- or better.
Required Courses and Credits
Major and Licensure Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary Major Requirements | ||
| EDUC 2060 | Step Up to Elementary Teaching | 3 |
| Elementary Licensure Requirements | ||
| EDUC 2311 | Children's Literature and Literacy Engagement in Elementary Schools | 3 |
| EDUC 2411 | Educational Psychology for Elementary Schools | 3 |
| EDUC 3013 | School and Society | 3 |
| EDUC 3320 | Literacy in the Elementary Classroom 1 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 3321 | Literacy in the Elementary Classroom 2 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 3350 | Dis/Ability in Contemporary Classrooms 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4205 | Elementary School Mathematics Theory and Methods 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4215 | Elementary Science Theory and Methods 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4331 | Elementary Social Studies Methods 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4340 | Advanced Issues of Assessment, Teaching, and Learning in Reading, Mathematics, and Science 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4710 | Elementary Student Teaching for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity 1 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4715 | Elementary Student Teaching Seminar Part 1 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4720 | Elementary Student Teaching for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity 2 1 | 9 |
| EDUC 4725 | Elementary Student Teaching Seminar Part 2 1 | 3 |
| Culturally & Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education Endorsement Requirements | ||
| EDUC 2425 | Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education | 3 |
| EDUC 2615 | Foundations of Language Acquisition for Bilingual Learners | 3 |
| EDUC 4035 | Family and Community Engagement 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4435 | Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies for Bilingual Learners 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4455 | Methods of Biliteracy Instruction 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4535 | Assessment for Bilingual Learners 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4595 | Practicum for Bilingual/Multicultural and ELD Education 1 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 72 | |
| 1 | Must be completed with a grade of B- or better. |
Content Requirements/General Education Requirements
Content requirements include coursework designed to expose elementary education majors to the array of subject matter that K-6 educators are responsible for introducing to their students. Because the expectations of the final two years of the elementary education program, known as the “professional sequence,” are inflexible and not compatible with much additional coursework, students are expected to complete all of their content requirements (except upper-division writing), as well as their lower-division licensure requirements and EDUC 3013, before they will be allowed to begin the professional sequence.
The content areas and some licensure requirements overlap with the School of Education general education requirements. General Education requirements are fulfilled by elementary education majors as follows:
Skills Requirement
- Written Communication: 6 credit hours (Including one upper-division course.)
- Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematical Skills: 4-6 credits (One 4-5 credit calculus course OR two 3-credit math courses. Many elementary education majors choose MATH 1110 & 1120, Math for Elementary Educators 1 and 2, to complete this requirement.)
- World Language: Third-level proficiency in a single modern or classical language (other than English).
Distribution Requirement
- Arts and Humanities (12 credit hours)
United States History (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
World History (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
Literature and the Arts (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
EDUC 2311 Children’s Literature (licensure requirement; 3 credit hours)
- Social Science (12 credit hours)
United States Government (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
Cultural Geography (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
EDUC 3013 School & Society (licensure requirement; 3 credit hours)
EDUC 2411 Educational Psychology for Elementary Schools (licensure requirement; 3 credit hours)
- Natural Science (7 credit hours)
Biological Science (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
Physical Science (content requirement; 3 credit hours)
Science lab (content requirement; 1 credit hour)
Diversity Requirement
- U.S. Perspective: 3 credit hours (Fulfilled by EDUC 3013.)
- Global Perspective: 3 credit hours (May be fulfilled by a course that also fulfills a distribution requirement, e.g., world history, literature and the arts, or cultural geography.
The courses listed below are representative of the types of courses that students commonly take to fulfill the content/general education requirements for which they can choose from multiple options. The lists below are not exhaustive. The full range of options available to a student to complete content requirements can be found in their degree audits or by consulting with a School of Education academic advisor
Distributions
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Arts & Humanities Distribution | ||
| U.S. History | 3 | |
| The American West | ||
| History of American Public Education | ||
| American Frontiers | ||
| African American History | ||
| Survey of Chicana/o History and Culture | ||
| American History to 1865 | ||
| American History since 1865 | ||
| Issues in Modern U.S. Politics and Foreign Relations | ||
| The Vietnam Wars | ||
| History of American Popular Culture | ||
| America Through Baseball | ||
| History of Jazz | ||
| United States Race and Ethnic Relations I | ||
| World History | 3 | |
| Maritime People: Fishers and Seafarers | ||
| Origins of Ancient Civilizations 1 | ||
| The Archaeology of Human History | ||
| Modern Issues, Ancient Times | ||
| Trash and Treasure, Temples and Tombs: Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World | ||
| Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius | ||
| The World of the Ancient Greeks | ||
| The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome | ||
| Bread and Circuses: Society and Culture in the Roman World | ||
| Inside Nazi Germany: Politics, Culture, and Everyday Life in the Third Reich | ||
| Latin American History since Independence | ||
| Introduction to Sub-Saharan African History Since 1850 1 | ||
| Introduction to Global History | ||
| Sexuality and Gender Wars in Italy and France 1 | ||
| The Viking Age | ||
| Witchcraft and Magic in Scandinavia | ||
| Literature and the Arts | 3 | |
| Exploring Culture and Gender through Film 1 | ||
| Global Art and Visual Culture 1 | ||
| Painting for Non-Majors | ||
| Digital Art 1 | ||
| Introduction to Cinema Studies | ||
| Dance in Popular Culture and Media | ||
| Education in Film | ||
| Introduction to Creative Writing | ||
| Introduction to World Literature by Women 1 | ||
| Science Fiction | ||
| American Indians in Film | ||
| Introduction to Chicana/o/x Literature | ||
| Medieval Epic Through Game of Thrones | ||
| The Zombie in History and Popular Culture | ||
| Fairy Tales of Germany | ||
| Japanese Culture through Film and Anime | ||
| Race and Sports Journalism | ||
| Studies in Korean Popular Culture | ||
| Introduction to Queer Literature | ||
| Critical Media Literacies | ||
| Appreciation of Music | ||
| World Music: Africa, Europe, and the Americas 1 | ||
| Arctic Thrillers: Environment, Landscape and Literature of the Far North | ||
| Medieval Icelandic Sagas | ||
| Acting 1 | ||
| Theatre and Society | ||
| Introduction to Stagecraft and Design | ||
| Gender, Sexuality, and Popular Culture | ||
| Disney's Women and Girls | ||
| Natural Science Distribution | ||
| Biological Science | 3 | |
| Introduction to Biological Anthropology 1 | ||
| Primate Behavior | ||
| The Human Animal | ||
| Biology and Society | ||
| General Biology 1 | ||
| General Biology 2 | ||
| Introduction to Nutrition | ||
| Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology | ||
| Biology of the Cancer Cell | ||
| Science of Human Communication | ||
| Physical Science | 3 | |
| The Solar System | ||
| Introductory Astronomy: The Solar System w/Lab | ||
| Accelerated Introductory Astronomy 1 | ||
| Stars and Galaxies | ||
| Ancient Astronomies of the World 1 | ||
| Modern Cosmology-Origin and Structure of the Universe | ||
| Space Astronomy and Exploration | ||
| Black Holes | ||
| The Search for Life in the Universe | ||
| Environmental Chemistry 1 | ||
| Introductory Chemistry | ||
| General Chemistry 1 | ||
| Foundations of Chemistry | ||
| Energy and Interactions | ||
| Energy and the Environment | ||
| Our Changing Planet: Climate and Vegetation | ||
| Exploring Earth | ||
| Environmental Geology | ||
| Global Change: The Recent Geological Record | ||
| Evolution of Life: The Geological Record | ||
| Natural Catastrophes and Geologic Hazards | ||
| Physics of Everyday Life 1 | ||
| General Physics 1 | ||
| Light and Color for Nonscientists | ||
| Sound and Music | ||
| General Physics 1 | ||
| Biological Psychology | ||
| Science Lab 2 | 1 | |
| Laboratory in Biological Anthropology 1 | ||
| Weather and the Atmosphere Laboratory | ||
| Biology and Society Laboratory | ||
| Laboratory in General Chemistry 1 | ||
| Foundations of Chemistry Lab | ||
| General Biology Laboratory 1 | ||
| Introduction to Geology Laboratory 1 | ||
| Exploring Genetics Laboratory | ||
| Experimental Physics 1 | ||
| Social Science Distribution | ||
| U.S. Government | 3 | |
| Introduction to American Politics | ||
| Cultural Geography | 3 | |
| Geographies of Global Change | ||
| Sustainable Futures, Environment and Society 1 | ||
| Global Geographies: Societies, Places, Connections | ||
| Human Geographies | ||
| Advanced Introduction to Human Geography | ||
| Contemporary Southeast Asia: Environmental Politics | ||
| Natural Hazards | ||
| Conservation Practice and Resource Management | ||
| Cities of the Global South 1 | ||
| Who Runs the World? Sex, Power, and Gender in Geography 1 | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 22 | |
| 1 | Indicates that a course also fulfills Global Perspective Diversity |
| 2 | Some science labs are built into 4-credit courses, some must be taken either concurrently with or after taking an associated lecture, and some can be taken as a standalone course. Consult a School of Education academic advisor for more information. |
Required Tests and Assessments
Recommendation for licensure requires passing scores on each subtest of the Praxis Elementary Education Three-Subject Bundle exam (code 5901), as well as the Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary exam (code 5205). All exams must be attempted at least once before students before students begin student teaching. Students who have not attempted all exams before they are scheduled to begin student teaching may either delay student teaching by a year and take their exams in the interim, or switch to a non-licensure degree. Students who have not passed all their Praxis exams by the degree conferral date for the semester in which they complete student teaching may complete their exams at a later date, but their recommendation for licensure will be delayed and they may not be able to timely accept employment.
Four-Year Plan of Study
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| EDUC 2060 | Step Up to Elementary Teaching | 3 |
| EDUC 3013 | School and Society | 3 |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| EDUC 2311 | Children's Literature and Literacy Engagement in Elementary Schools | 3 |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| EDUC 2425 | Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education | 3 |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| EDUC 2411 | Educational Psychology for Elementary Schools | 3 |
| EDUC 2615 | Foundations of Language Acquisition for Bilingual Learners | 3 |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| EDUC 3350 | Dis/Ability in Contemporary Classrooms | 3 |
| EDUC 3320 | Literacy in the Elementary Classroom 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4535 | Assessment for Bilingual Learners | 3 |
| EDUC 4595 | Practicum for Bilingual/Multicultural and ELD Education | 3 |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| EDUC 3321 | Literacy in the Elementary Classroom 2 | 3 |
| EDUC 4205 | Elementary School Mathematics Theory and Methods | 3 |
| EDUC 4435 | Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies for Bilingual Learners | 3 |
| EDUC 4455 | Methods of Biliteracy Instruction | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| EDUC 4035 | Family and Community Engagement | 3 |
| EDUC 4215 | Elementary Science Theory and Methods | 3 |
| EDUC 4331 | Elementary Social Studies Methods | 3 |
| EDUC 4710 | Elementary Student Teaching for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity 1 | 3 |
| EDUC 4715 | Elementary Student Teaching Seminar Part 1 | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| EDUC 4340 | Advanced Issues of Assessment, Teaching, and Learning in Reading, Mathematics, and Science | 3 |
| EDUC 4720 | Elementary Student Teaching for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity 2 1 | 9 |
| EDUC 4725 | Elementary Student Teaching Seminar Part 2 | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
| 1 | Due to the intensive nature of student teaching, students may not take other coursework during this semester. |
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate content knowledge in subject areas they are becoming licensed to teach.
- Develop pedagogical expertise in planning for instruction for students in K-6 settings, including bi/multilingual students and students with disabilities.
- Develop pedagogical expertise in teaching students in K-6 settings, including bi/multilingual students and students with disabilities.
- Develop the knowledge and skills required to work with, and advocate for, culturally and linguistically diverse students and families in schools.