COURSE CURRICULUM

The Middle Grades Education major at Concordia University Chicago requires a minimum of 125 credit hours, integrating general education courses with specialized coursework to prepare students for licensure in grades 5-8. Students choose one area of endorsement—literacy, mathematics, science education (STEM emphasis), or social sciences—and must earn a grade of C or higher in all major courses, with no courses taken pass/fail except for the student teaching internship. General education content courses include Human and Cognitive Development, Literature for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults, American history, and Child and Adolescent Psychology. Foundational education courses, such as Introduction to American Education, Media and Technology in the Classroom, Teaching in Diverse Classrooms, and Characteristics and Instruction of Exceptional Learners, provide essential pedagogical knowledge. Prerequisites to professional education include Child and Adolescent Psychology. Professional education courses for teacher candidacy in Middle Grades Education focus on development, philosophy, literacy instruction, classroom management, and assessment, offered in two possible sequences. Students then take methods coursework specific to their chosen endorsement, covering content and instructional strategies in literacy, math, science, social science, art, physical education, or music. The program culminates in a 15-credit student teaching internship with a concurrent seminar, offering hands-on classroom experience. Total major hours range from 45 to 47, preparing graduates to meet the developmental and instructional needs of middle-level learners.