Contact: Dr. Anne Slonaker (Chair, Education Department)
802-468-1328
Facebook: Castleton University Education Department
Twitter: @CUEdDept
Continuing a more than 200 year old tradition, Castleton prepares teachers within a supportive community developed for the future as well as the present.
Castleton's Education Program promotes four central tenets: inquiry and critical thinking, praxis between theory and practice, reflective and research-based methodology, as well as collaboration and social justice. We believe these pillars support future teachers in the public sector as educational advocates in both local communities and the world at large.
Courses in Licensure focus on understanding the world of teaching and learning and developing the skills necessary to enter that world successfully. Opportunities to engage in the field occur early in the students' educational career and continue throughout the program. In early courses, students gain an understanding of pedagogical theory and practice. The later part of the program is devoted to honing pedagogical content knowledge through extended opportunities in schools. The final semester is devoted to a full-time student teaching experience. Along the way, civic engagement initiatives keep prospective teachers connected in authentic ways. Throughout the program, students capture their learning in an electronic Portfolio that allows them to record and assess their progress toward the goal of achieving teacher licensure.
Students majoring in Art Education, Music Education, and Spanish should seek preK-12 Licensure, focusing their experience partly in Elementary and partly in Secondary courses, in consultation with their Education advisor.