B.A. in Adolescence Education: Social Studies
The Adolescence Education: Social Studies program requires completion of an appropriate arts and sciences major, chosen from one of the following majors: anthropology, economics, history, politics or sociology, while simultaneously completing a second major in education, with courses in pedagogy that are specific to the content that will be taught.
SUNY Potsdam offers CAEP-recognized undergraduate teacher education programs preparing students for New York State certification in grades 7-12, with many areas offering an extension for certification in grades 5-6 as well.
Caring, experienced faculty, and the opportunity to interact with regional teachers and students throughout the programs, make for an authentic experience in preparation for an exciting and rewarding career.
Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- collect and analyze three students work samples (high, medium and low) that represent the patterns of learning from a selected assessment and explain how they will reteach the learning objectives for students to gain further success with the content in the future.
- plan a social studies unit on a specific topic which will include a two-week daily lesson plan identifying the objectives, standards, instructional strategies, assessments and UDL principles, and instructional materials associated with each lesson.
- plan and use developmentally appropriate materials, activities and instructional strategies in the lesson plan and implement that plan for the social studies topic.
- analyze structured interviews completed with two grade level students on primary source documents and their historical knowledge and write a five-page reflection paper on how this knowledge will shape their future instructional practices.
Career Outlook
Employment of middle and high school teachers is projected to grow 4-5 percent from 2021 to 2031. Pay for middle and high school teachers and principals in New York is among the highest in the nation.
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“The educational programs here at SUNY Potsdam are some of the best with great professors, small classes, and a detailed curriculum. Potsdam makes sure that you are given all the background knowledge, techniques, and experience before getting sent to classrooms to work closely with actual teachers in a real school setting—reminding you why being a teacher is one of the most important careers."