Teaching Programs in Pennsylvania
Teaching is a field with many different career opportunities. You can study to be a special education teacher, a secondary science teacher, or an elementary teacher. Likewise, you can choose to pursue a degree in music education, literacy, or middle school social studies.
The possibilities for getting your degree are equally as varied. In Pennsylvania and other states across the nation, you can get your degree on campus, online, or a combination of the two. Online degrees like the ones described below often provide the most flexibility, though.
When searching for an online teaching degree, you want something that aligns with your subject-area interests, that’s accredited, and helps you achieve your career goals. Each of the programs below can do just that!
Online Teaching Degrees in Pennsylvania
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online teaching degrees in Pennsylvania:
- Drexel University
- Eastern University
- Wilkes University
- Point Park University
- National University
- Gwynedd Mercy University
- Alvernia University
- St. John’s University
- Walden University
- Grand Canyon University
Drexel University
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education
The Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Drexel University focuses on preparing you to teach at the pre-K through fourth-grade levels. The program coursework is entirely online, but you must complete student teaching in person at an approved school site if you wish to pursue a Pennsylvania teaching certificate. If you want to pursue a non-certified position, you’ll take additional pedagogy courses instead of participating in student teaching.
The curriculum consists of two basic types of courses – general education requirements and pedagogy classes. The general education requirements explore many different liberal arts and sciences topics. For example, you’re required to take Biology, Communications, English Composition, and History courses. Likewise, you’ll take Introduction to Music, General Psychology, Nutrition, and Sociology of Education.
Within the general education requirements are 13 credits of free electives. As the name indicates, free electives are courses of your choosing. You may wish to take a variety of classes from different undergraduate fields. You might wish instead to focus your electives on a particular topic related to education, like educational technology or educational psychology.
The pedagogy requirements include classes that teach you how to be a teacher. For example, you’ll take an Inclusive Practices class that helps you understand how to create an accepting classroom environment for all students. You’ll take an Early Literacy course, too, which teaches you how to teach young learners how to read.
You’ll also take courses focusing on more technical aspects of teaching. These classes include the following:
- Educational Policy, Law, and Advocacy
- Foundations in Education: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective
- Early Language Development
- Assessment of Young Children
- Creating a Positive Classroom Environment
Furthermore, you’ll take subject-specific classes. Science Teaching Methods, Language Arts Processes, and Social Studies Teaching Methods are just three such courses. You must also take classes in Expressive Arts, Mathematics, and Special Education.
Yet other courses focus on working with specific types of learners and stakeholders. For example, you’ll take Family and Community Partnerships, which explores ways you can reach out to students’ parents, guardians, and other family members to support the child’s learning experience. Likewise, you’ll learn the value of making connections with community organizations that can enrich the learning environment for your students.
Other required courses include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Introduction to Analysis
- Environmental Science and Society
- Composition and Rhetoric
- Probability and Statistics for Liberal Arts
Alternatively, you can choose to pursue a Pre-K Through Fourth-Grade Special Education Specialization. This option includes the same general education requirements, but the pedagogy coursework focuses almost exclusively on working with special needs students.
No matter which of these specializations you choose, you’re required to complete 18 credits of student teaching. Half of those credits are earned in a seminar class that meets consistently throughout your student teaching experience. The seminar is a time when you can meet with your professors and other classmates to discuss important issues in education. The other nine credits are earned by completing your student teaching assignment.
You must meet the following requirements to apply as a first-year student:
- Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Submit official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit a personal essay.
You can only apply as a first-year student if you have 23 or fewer college credits. If you’ve earned more than that, you’ll need to apply as a transfer student.
Eastern University
Bachelor of Science in Special Education
Eastern University’s Bachelor of Science in Special Education results in both an undergraduate degree and a Pennsylvania Pre-K Through 12th Grade Certification. The program is extremely flexible – it’s self-paced, so you can adjust how you study depending on life and work obligations. Additionally, the program allows you to take up to four years to complete the coursework.
The classes in this program are just seven weeks long. Though the pace is more rapid in these classes, you take fewer classes at a time than if you study on a traditional schedule. Another advantage of this arrangement is that terms start every seven weeks, so if you need to take a term off for any reason, you can pick your studies back up in a matter of weeks rather than waiting an entire semester.
Just like with the degree described earlier, you must complete general education requirements as part of this degree. More specifically, you need roughly 60 general education credits in areas like social science, natural science, English, and math. This includes free electives as well.
The remaining 60 credits needed for this degree are entirely within the special education field. Some of these classes are very broad, like Foundations of Education, which provides you with an overview of the history, philosophy, and development of the U.S. educational system. Another broad course you’ll take is Introduction to Special Education, which examines the development of special services for students in K-12 settings.
Other required classes focus more specifically on working with special needs students. The Assessment and Evaluation course, for example, helps you build the necessary competencies for determining students’ academic progress in special education and general education settings. As part of this class, you’ll look at various models of assessment, legal considerations, and the process of developing Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs.
Another subject-specific class you’ll take is Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. As you’d expect, this class examines common childhood psychological conditions, like Conduct Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and learning disorders. You’ll take additional classes to supplement these studies, such as:
- Inclusive Education
- Early Intervention and Transition Planning
- Reading and Learning Differences
- Teaching Techniques for Low-Incidence Students
- Child and Adolescent Development
Moreover, you’re required to take an Educational Psychology class that includes a field experience. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to key psychological theories and research focusing on teaching and learning. You’ll study child development, cognition, and theories of intelligence, too.
This program also requires you to complete a student teaching assignment and an associated seminar. These experiences occur during your final year in the program. Eastern University will work with you to find a suitable student teaching location near your home to minimize commuting times. During your student teaching, you’ll work directly with special education students while under the supervision of an experienced special education teacher.
You can start the application for admission online if this program sounds like a good match. You must meet the following criteria to apply:
- Have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- Submit official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit a personal essay in which you describe how your abilities and talents align with Eastern University’s mission. This is an optional step, though.
Wilkes University
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary and Early Childhood Education
The Bachelor of Arts in Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Wilkes University is unique in that it is specifically designed for working adults. On the one hand, the program offers a fully online pathway for earning this degree, giving you the most flexibility for finishing your studies. On the other hand, you must have an associate’s degree or at least 55 college credits to your name to apply.
Since this is a degree-completion program, you can finish the graduation requirements in about two years of full-time studies. You can also opt to study part-time and graduate in three or four years. Either way, you’ll take introductory and advanced courses that prepare you to lead early childhood and elementary classrooms.
For example, you’ll take teaching-related classes like Effective Teaching, which provides an overview of instructional techniques you can use in the classroom. You’ll study current issues in education, explore the relationship between education and society at large, and learn about the historical foundations of the educational system as well.
Another important course you’re required to complete is Integrating Technology Into the Classroom. Your studies in this class focus on testing and evaluating varying instructional technologies for effectiveness in your classroom. You’ll also learn how to incorporate technology-based learning into your teaching curriculum.
Other teaching-related coursework includes the following:
- Teaching Students With Special Needs
- Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children With Special Needs
- Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
- Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers
- Assessment in Education
This program also focuses on basic content-area topics. For example, you’ll learn how to help your students become more effective readers in the Applied Reading Strategies class. You’ll also learn how to teach introductory science topics in the Science in Early Childhood and Elementary Education class. Other courses focus on language arts, literacy, mathematics, and social studies, to name a few.
Other noteworthy courses focus on inclusivity and classroom management. The Inclusionary Practices class teaches you the legal requirements for accommodating students with disabilities. In particular, you’ll learn about the changes you should make to the curriculum to address students’ individual literacy and cognitive needs.
The Classroom Management course, meanwhile, equips you to build a trusting, organized, and positive classroom environment for all students. You’ll learn various management and motivational techniques while also analyzing classroom management research and theories that can help you develop the ideal learning environment for your students.
Other required coursework includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Child Development and Cognition
- Health, Physical Education, and Safety
- The Arts in Early Childhood and Elementary Education
- School, Family, and Community
The final component of this program is a 12-credit student teaching placement. You’ll be assigned to work in a classroom with an experienced special education teacher who will mentor you over the course of the final year in the program. During that time, you’ll gain valuable experience working with students on an individual, small group, and classroom basis.
You’ll additionally participate in regularly scheduled seminars and conferences, in which you’ll explore important topics in education and debrief your student teaching experience with your professors and classmates. Also available is an education forum series in which you’ll take part in workshops and lectures with experts in teaching and learning.
The undergraduate application for admission to Wilkes University is available online. Ensure you meet the following criteria before applying:
- Complete the application for admission linked above.
- Have an associate’s degree or at least 55 completed credits from an accredited college or university.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
Point Park University
Master of Education
At Point Park University, you can get an advanced education in teaching by completing the Master of Education program in Secondary Education. This program is offered entirely online and is designed specifically for adult students who already have a bachelor’s degree in education or a specific content area, like math, science, or social studies.
If you don’t already have a teaching degree and certification, you’re in luck. This program satisfies the requirements for an initial secondary certification to teach grades seven through twelve in Pennsylvania. You can pursue any number of content area specializations with your certification, too, including the following:
- Biological Sciences, Chemistry, General Science, or Physics
- Citizenship or Social Studies
- English or Communications
- Computer Science or Mathematics
Since you must enter the program with a content-specific degree or an undergraduate education degree, the focus of the studies in this graduate program is on teaching and learning. For example, one of the initial courses you’ll take is Instructional Methods for Secondary Teachers. This class evaluates different learning theories and styles, which allows you to differentiate instruction to address the varying needs of your students.
Another early course you must complete is Reading and Writing in the Content Areas. This class focuses specifically on literacy in your specific content field. You’ll learn how to help students understand nonfiction materials through evidence-based instructional practices like teaching vocabulary. You’ll also learn how to integrate writing-intensive activities into your content-specific curriculum.
Graduate-level courses in Human Behavior and Classroom Management are also required as part of this degree. You’ll examine the causes of behavioral issues in school settings, explore assessment procedures for evaluating children’s behavior, and learn how to implement strategies for managing student behavior, too. You’ll also study cognition, psychological theories, and teach approaches to classroom management.
Other coursework looks at the changing dynamics in American classrooms. On the one hand, you’ll take a course on Evolving School Landscapes, which analyzes challenges facing classroom teachers and other educators and the reforms necessary to ensure all students have a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment. On the other hand, you’ll take Culturally Responsive Schools, Teachers, and Classrooms, which draws attention to the value of connecting school systems, communities, and diverse populations.
The remaining required coursework includes the following:
- Technological Applications
- Assessment Strategies and Data-Driven Instruction
- Methods for Teaching English Language Learners in the Content Areas
This degree also has a special education component. You must complete three classes in this area, including Special Education Inclusive Practices, Differentiated Instructional Practices, and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
As with the undergraduate programs described above, this program requires you to complete a student teaching practicum and an associated seminar. The practicum will be completed at an approved secondary school. You’ll participate in 14 weeks of student teaching, during which you’ll gradually take over classroom duties from your mentor teacher. Your mentor will be available for guidance and feedback, as will your professors, with whom you’ll meet regularly in a student teaching seminar.
The requirements for graduate admission are as follows:
- Complete the application linked above. There is no fee to apply if you complete the application online.
- Have an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit two letters of recommendation from references who can speak to your potential for success in this program.
GRE scores are not required. However, you are free to submit them if you feel they will help your chances of gaining admission.
National University
Online Bachelor of Arts in Social Science
The Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from National University focuses on teaching and learning in a single subject. By completing this program, you’ll be prepared for a career teaching social studies at the middle school or high school level in New York.
To earn your degree, you must complete 180 quarter credits, typically requiring four years of full-time study. During this period, you’ll take general coursework, major coursework, and teacher education courses.
The general education component includes studies across various fields, such as math, science, and social science. After completing these courses, you’ll progress to major-area topics, such as U.S. History I and II, World Civilizations I and II, and Introduction to Politics. Additional foundational courses include:
- American Politics
- Geography
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Principles of Microeconomics
As you advance through the program, you’ll take upper-level courses that examine specific social science fields. For instance, The Ancient World explores human history from 10,000 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E., focusing on the development of agriculture, complex societies, and the Aegean civilization.
Another upper-level course, The Modern World – 1500-Present, studies global changes over the past 700 years, including colonial expansion, the Industrial Revolution, global wars, and the post-Cold War period.
Additional advanced studies include:
- American Colonial Experience
- Historical Theories and Methods
- U.S. Between Wars, 1865-1917
- U.S. Since World War I
You’ll also complete a capstone research project, which requires writing a detailed research paper to enhance your understanding of a specific historical topic.
The teacher education component begins with foundational courses that focus on the American educational system. These courses examine factors influencing a child’s learning, including social, psychological, and economic elements. You’ll also study essential learning theories, human development, and strategies for integrating these concepts into lesson planning and teaching.
Further teacher education courses address topics such as literacy, language development, and curriculum design. You’ll learn to create short-term and long-term curricula, align instruction and assessments with content standards, and apply evidence-based practices to meet New York state standards.
The final portion of the program is the student teaching experience. This takes place in a K-12 classroom at an approved school. You’ll complete at least 600 instructional hours during a 16-18 week period of full-time teaching. Throughout this experience, you’ll receive guidance from a veteran teacher.
You can apply for this program online. Ensure that you meet the following requirements before applying:
- Complete the application (there is no application fee).
- Have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- Submit official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Provide official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended.