Childhood Education (P-6)

Program Description

You can do the most important job on the planet — teaching a child to read and to wonder and to see the world. What greater satisfaction could there be than watching children’s minds and imaginations flower as you teach them reading, writing, science, math, and social studies? In AUM’s Childhood Education program, you’ll get certified in both Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education, qualifying you to teach children from birth through grade 6. You’ll go from our classroom to your own classroom with a practicum under expert supervision in AUM’s own Early Learning Center, an internship under a local expert teacher, and hundreds of hours of supervised field experiences in local schools to practice what you’re learning in your teaching methods courses.

Certification for Childhood Education:

Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education

Points of Pride

Students get hands-on experience teaching children from the community in AUM’s on-campus Early Learning Center,
Students earn two teaching certifications — Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education.
Students have exotic opportunities such as developing science lesson plans in Costa Rican rain forests.
AUMazing Educators society for all Education majors builds a community of support, friendship, and camaraderie while you pursue your degree.
All faculty in this program have experience teaching in the P-6 school environment, giving students unique access to their experience and expertise.
You’ll gain 300+ hours of hands-on teaching experience before your final internship. Practical field experience is included with each methods course (such as methods of teaching math, etc.). Students go to area schools with their professors and work with experienced teachers and then have a chance to practice what they are learning.
Internationally recognized faculty who have won numerous awards, including an Excellence in Teaching Award from Sigma Alpha Pi (national society of leadership and success), Primary School Teacher of the Year Award (Montgomery Public Schools), WSFA Class Act Award, and Delta Pi Epsilon Outstanding Doctoral Research Award, and College of Education Excellence in Teaching Award.

Put Your Degree to Work

Note: While salaries vary depending on several factors including your level of experience, education and training, and geography and industry, here is a sampling of the future job growth and salaries in this area.

With growth projected to be 8 percent from 2014 to 2024, the job outlook for in education, training, and library occupations is about average. The most recent median annual wage for all education, training, and library occupations was $46,669 — higher than the average median wage for all occupations.

	U.S Bureau of Labor statistic sample
Job	Median Pay	Job Growth through 2024
Elementary/kindergarten teacher	$53,760 per year	6% (87,800 more jobs)
Preschool and childcare center directors	$45,670 per year	7% (4,200 more jobs)

For More Information

Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology

Auburn University at Montgomery

Education Building 309

334-244-3537

Soaring Warhawks

Benita Taylor teaches at Redland Elementary School in Wetumpka and was a Golden Apple Teaching Award Recipient in the 2015-16 school year.
Cheyanne Barrett, a sixth-grade teacher at Holtville Elementary School, won a $5,000 grant when her students submitted an original app to the Verizon Innovative App Challenge.
Tonya Till teaches Pre-K for the Bright Beginnings program at Georgiana School (Georgiana, Alabama), where she was named the 2014-2015 Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Monica Ousely is a Science Education Specialist for the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative at the Alabama Department of Education.
Maria Reuter recently accepted a teaching position with Teach for America. She’ll be an English Language Learner instructor in a charter school in the Nashville area.
Amy Ingram is the UNIV Program Manager at Auburn University at Montgomery.

Program Overview

The course listings below are a representation of what this academic program requires. For a full review of this program in detail, please see our official online catalog AND consult with an academic advisor. This listing does not include the core curriculum courses required for all majors and may not include some program-specific information, such as admissions, retention and termination standards.

Course sampling specific to the Childhood Education major includes:

Course #	Course Name	Course Description
FNDS 2010	Societal Foundations of Educ. (30-hour lab)	Required for all students in teacher education; provides introduction to education, including historical and philosophical foundations; the role of the school in American culture; and ethical, legal and professional issues. This class will be taught as writing intensive. Field experiences are required. Prerequisite ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020.
FNDS 2120	Child and Adolescent Growth and Development	Provides an analysis of the function of the teacher and the school in directing, measuring, and evaluating individual growth and development from birth to adolescence.
FNDS 2140	Psychological Foundations of Education (10-hour lab)	Required for completion in teacher education program. Examines the psychological dimensions of the education process, conditions under which learning occurs, evaluation of learning and related teaching methods. Field experiences are required.
ESPE 3760	Survey of Exceptionalities	A survey of the various exceptionalities, including the etiology, incidence, laws, and strategies related to teaching students with exceptionalities. Field experience is included. Prerequisite FNDS 2120, FNDS 2140.
ELEM 3000	Teaching Creative Arts (writing intensive)	Methodology of teaching music and art to children in grades K-6. Teaching techniques methods and materials are studied and evaluated.
PHED 2130	Health Education and Physical Education in the Elementary School	Develops expertise in methods of teaching health education and physical education in elementary schools. Content appropriate for each developmental level is emphasized. Methods of evaluating students are also included. Field experience required.
ECHE 3100	Methods of Teaching the Young Child (writing intensive)	A foundation for teaching the child from birth to 3 years of age through review and interpretation of sound child development practice. Planning and developing an appropriate environment and curriculum are emphasized. Field experiences are provided.
ELEM 3400	Methods of Teaching Elementary Social Studies	Curriculum, methods, strategies and materials related to teaching social studies in the elementary school. Focus is on integrating the curriculum. Field experiences are provided.
ELEM 4100	Methods of Teaching Elementary Math	Curriculum, methods and materials appropriate to teaching mathematics in the elementary school. Particular emphasis is on discovery approaches and active involvement with materials to teach mathematical concepts. Field experiences are provided. Prerequisite MATH 1310, MATH 1320.
ELEM 4200	Methods Teaching Elementary Science	Curriculum, methods and materials related to teaching science in the elementary school. Although discovery strategies are stressed, multiple teaching strategies are presented. Field experiences are provided.
ECHE 3200	Methods of Teaching Preschool	A study of early childhood with an emphasis on the teacher and the pre-primary curriculum from 3-5 years of age. Prerequisite ECHE 4914 to be taken concurrently.
ECHE 4914	Early Childhood Practicum	Developmentally appropriate practices in the areas of language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and health and physical education are included in this clinical experience. Taken concurrently with ECHE 3200.
FNDS 4800	Measurement and Evaluation in Teaching	Methods, procedures, and evaluative instruments for determining teaching effectiveness, pupil learning, an attainment of educational goals in cognitive, psychomotor and affective areas.
READ 3300	Methods of Teaching Literacy	Emphasizes curriculum, methods, strategies and materials related to teaching the language arts in the elementary school. Focuses on children’s literature, with reading and writing as a developmental and integrated process. Field experiences are provided. Prerequisite ENGL 3004.
ECEL 4924	Internship Elementary Childhood Education	Students are placed in public school settings for supervised teaching experiences.
ECEL 4982	Bachelor’s Comprehensive Exam	Comprehensive examination covering material from professional courses.
ECEL 4453	Professional Development Seminar	Students pursue study of special topics relevant to childhood education.

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Childhood Education (P-6)