How to Become a Teacher - Training and Degrees
To work in a classroom, as a teacher, teacher's assistant or even a college professor, you will need to gain your education and teaching degree. Learn more about the types of degrees you can earn online. What will you learn during your degree program? Read below to discover what your coursework during your education and teaching degree program will be like.
Teacher Training and Teacher Certification
Your coursework will depend on which degree you're seeking to earn, but generally if you want to teach elementary school, your studies will likely include a range of all subjects you will be teaching, such as math, English, social studies and science, as well as teaching theories, classroom management and child development. Middle school and high school teachers will probably focus more on their subject of choice during their education rather than the wider range seen with elementary school teachers.
In addition to a college degree, teachers need certification or licensure from the state in which they wish to teach, which can sometimes be obtained while working on the degree or can be gotten after the degree coursework is complete.
Teacher Education - Classes and Coursework
The coursework for becoming a teacher mainly focuses on educational theory. Training for teaching in the classroom usually comes after earning a bachelor's degree, since students need to take a year or so to student teach, observe and act as a teacher in the classroom.
Other courses will most likely include a combination of social sciences, psychology and sociology, such as child development, child and adolescent psychology, education leadership, cognition and instruction, human development, quantitative methodology, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders and multicultural special education.
How the Coursework is Administered in an Online Teaching Degree Program
The majority of online education programs take place exclusively in the online setting. You will get lecture material, assignments and feedback from professors online without attending any class sessions. Many online colleges will offer you the chance to interact with your classmates through online chat rooms, emails and discussion forums so that you can learn and network with others in your program.
Exclusively online programs aren't the only option, however, and some schools offer programs that combine the convenience of online coursework with the support and interaction that comes from a traditional classroom experience. You may attend the majority of your classes online while meeting once or twice a month in a classroom setting.
Also, read more about the most popular online schools that offer education and teaching degrees.