Bachelor of Arts [B.A] [Teacher Education - Social Studies (7-12)] From Gettysburg College

Students planning to teach must complete an approved major in an academic department and fulfill all the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree or the Bachelor of Science degree. Upon completing a program in teacher education, students are eligible for a Pennsylvania Certificate, Instructional I, enabling them to teach in the public schools of the Commonwealth and to apply to teach in other states with similar requirements. Students who pursue teacher certification are required to demonstrate competence in oral and written communication skills and computer literacy prior to certification. A minimum of 60 hours of observation and participation in schools is required prior to admittance into the Education Semester. Students who are seeking an Instructional I Certificate must have successfully completed the Pre-Service Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA), reading, writing, and mathematics, in order to apply for the Education Semester, and, later to complete the Praxis II specialty area test (the subject area for which candidates are seeking certification) in order to be certified.

Teacher preparation in social studies is unique at Gettysburg College because of its thoroughgoing interdisciplinary nature. At Gettysburg, future social studies teachers are challenged to develop their knowledge of disciplinary "ways of knowing" and of the methods and epistemological frameworks that support those ways of understanding the world, but are also encouraged to see connections between and among the various disciplines that comprise social studies to develop content knowledge for teaching. Most important, prospective social studies teachers are given opportunities to connect their knowledge of subject matter to thoughtful and thought provoking approaches to professional practice that are comprehensive in scope, sophisticated in their design, and firmly grounded in the "signature pedagogies" of social studies teaching that have been proven to enhance student learning and growth.