Helge Wasmuth, Ph.D., Chair
914-674-766
hwasmuth@mercy.edu

 

General Education:	60 credits
Major Concentration:
Early Childhood & Childhoold Ed STEM Concentration	45 credits
Open Electives:	15 credits
Total:	120 credits

 

The 120-credit Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood and Childhood Education-STEM Concentration, leads to initial certification in Early Childhood Education, B-2 and Childhood Education, 1-6, with an emphasis on developing STEM content knowledge and pedagogical approaches. This new undergraduate degree program addresses the need to prepare students for the dynamic 21st-century economy, specifically in the areas of computer science, engineering, and educational technology. The new undergraduate program gives teacher candidates greater, versatile employment opportunities. All completers of the BS degree will be qualified to teach in general education classrooms at the grade levels B-2 and 1-6.

Program Objectives:

1. Candidates will understand, explain, analyze, and apply major behavioral science and education theories and philosophies that address physical, affective and cognitive development during the critical early childhood and childhood years.

2. Candidates will create and reflect upon high-quality, meaningful learning opportunities that are based on competencies and content knowledge, utilize developmental knowledge, employ formal and informal assessment strategies and incorporate collaboration with all aspects of the broad school community to facilitate developmental processes and encourage growth to a child’s maximum potential.

3. Candidates will experience hands-on STEM pedagogical approaches and participate in microteaching across the STEM fields to develop strong pedagogical content knowledge for teaching children using STEM tools, contexts, and related teaching methods across the curriculum and aligned to NYS standards in science, digital literacy, engineering, and math.

Content Core Requirement

Students will earn at least 30 credits in liberal arts and sciences concentration by taking an integrated course of study in STEM content areas balancing science, computer science, and mathematics that are part of the general education program and additional courses that are prescribed through the education major.

In the degree, there are 60 total credits for general education met as prescribed:

• 18 credits of specific general education courses
• 24 credits of ‘Liberal Arts Disciplinary Groupings,’ which are general education electives that must address each of 8 designated themes
• 18 credits of specific STEM content courses that fall under the general education category

In addition to these general education requirements, students will take 9 credits of major electives in STEM content courses.  Students will thus earn at least 30 credits in a STEM concentration through a combination of courses taken to meet the general education requirements and the major content electives.

In addition, the general education curriculum and pedagogical core courses ensure that the candidate has a knowledge base for teaching to the State learning standards in the following areas of the early childhood and childhood education curriculum: the arts; career development and occupational studies; English language arts; health, physical education, and family and consumer sciences; a language other than English; mathematics, science and technology; and social studies.

General Education Requirements (60 credits total)