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School of Education



Undergraduate Programs



Secondary EducationTwo students studying


Overview

The Secondary Education Program is a fully accredited certification program preparing students to work in both high schools and middle schools. Secondary education majors complete requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) in Education and a major in the Arts and Sciences related to their certification (E.G., Biology, Chemistry, History, English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Physics). Therefore, students will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree with double majors in education and a certification area. Requirements for certification are typically more specific than requirements for the related Arts and Sciences second major. Students should carefully review certification requirements to ensure they make progress toward certification and second major completion efficiently. For example, a student may take some courses that count for both certification and the second major.

As a student interested in secondary education and a major in one of the Arts & Sciences areas (English, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, History, Mathematics, Foreign Language, etc.), you are required to show evidence of knowledge and implementation of both the Rhode Island Professional Teacher Standards (RIPTS) and content standards from your content area’s professional association.

As you take education courses you will be submitting assignments for each class relative to the Rhode Island Professional Teacher Standards. However, as you complete coursework in your Arts & Sciences dual major program you will be responsible to keep work samples that demonstrate your competencies in the RIPTS and in the content standards of your professional association(s). We recommend that you do the following to prepare for this performance-based assessment required by URI’s School of Education:

  1. Purchase a copy of the content standards from your professional association(s) and become familiar with them
  2. Begin a file system for work samples. Be sure to save course syllabi, instructor feedback, directions for all tests and assignments, criteria for grading, and to date your work. We recommend an accordion-style folder or a portable file box that you’d find at an office supply store.
  3. Soon after completing course assignments, look back at your work and consider which Rhode Island Professional Teacher Standards and which content standards this work best demonstrates. Make note of this briefly for now. We suggest using post-it notes or clipping an index card to each sample.
  4. Meet with your University College advisor individually or in a group session each semester to stay up-to-date on program requirements and to share ways that others are organizing Arts & Sciences coursework.

In education courses, especially your methods courses, you will be asked to bring your Arts & Sciences coursework to reflect on and to demonstrate your content knowledge. Please attend to this important program requirement as you begin this semester. We ask that you seek any previously completed coursework and add it to your file, but know that some work may have been discarded. 

If you would like more information about URI’s School of Education requirements, please request an appointment with a University College advisor.

Professional Associations and Required Publications

  • Social Studies Education with dual major in History
    • National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
    • http://www.ncss.org
    • Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (1994)
  • English Language Arts Education with a dual major in English
    • National Council for the Teachers of English (NCTE)
    • http://www.ncte.org
    • Standards for the English Language Arts (1996)
  • Foreign Language Education with a dual major in Chinese, Latin, Spanish, Italian, French or German
    • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL)
    • http://www.actfl.org
    • Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996) *online version is available
  • Mathematics Education with a dual major in Mathematics
    • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
    • http://www.nctm.org
    • Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) *online version is also available

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