COURSE CURRICULUM

The Bachelor of Arts in Education (BAED) in History/English (Middle Level Education) requires a minimum of 120 credit hours and prepares students to become licensed middle school teachers for grades 5–8 with dual expertise in history and English language arts. Students must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 2.50 and a 2.50 GPA in major content coursework while completing the requirements of the WSU General Education Program and the College of Education. The program integrates broad general education, specialized subject-area study, and professional teacher education training to develop strong interdisciplinary teaching skills. General education coursework includes College English I and II, Public Speaking, World Civilization since 1500, American Politics, and Principles of Human Geography, providing foundational communication, analytical, and social science knowledge. The history component includes Kansas history, world civilization (to and since 1500), U.S. history (colonial to present), and economics in education, building a strong understanding of historical and civic concepts. The English component includes Introduction to English Linguistics, History of the English Language (or advanced/linguistics equivalents), World Literature, Nature of Fiction, Theory and Practice in Composition, Literature for Adolescents, and elective study in multicultural or ethnic literature. These courses develop advanced skills in reading, writing, literary analysis, language structure, and communication. The teacher education sequence is organized into four progressive cores. Core I introduces diversity, classroom foundations, and field experiences. Core II includes instructional methods in English or history, grammar instruction, educational assessment, philosophy of education, and practicum experiences. Core III includes teaching internships in both subject areas along with literacy strategies and advanced instructional methods. Core IV culminates in full teaching internships in middle school English and history classrooms, providing extensive supervised classroom experience. Students must complete all teacher education courses with a minimum grade of B-. Licensure requirements include the Praxis II English/Language Arts and History Content Knowledge Tests and the Teacher Licensure Capstone course. Through the support of the College of Education and Wichita State University, graduates gain strong dual-subject expertise, instructional skills, and extensive real-world teaching experience needed for successful careers as middle school English and history teachers.