ACT-Houston
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Alternative Certification for Teachers
Generalist Grades 4-8 Teacher Certification
An educational generalist looking for alternative certification in the upper elementary and middle school grade levels will have a similar course load as a teaching generalist in the lower elementary levels, but deeper in scope. Much of the lower elementary levels are spent teaching fundamentals of learning while the upper elementary and middle school grades begin to apply these same fundamentals and build on them as the learning concepts become more complex.
In addition to basic coursework in social studies, science, reading, language arts and mathematics, an educational generalist of upper elementary and middle school students will also be required to complete a wider scope of topics. For example, in addition to proficiency in traditional United States history, world history and cultural topics would be expected. The ability to work with more advanced mathematics topics such as early algebra would be a minimal expectation. Science topics would begin to correlate with biology, geology and more complex physical science topics and a more formalized way of explaining and interpreting scientific thinking. Language arts and reading skills would begin to intertwine, with reading comprehension and written communication skills at the forefront with more dynamic and applicable topics for students ranging from classic to modern literature.
Upper elementary and middle school generalists will benefit from educational psychology and counseling academic work as tools to help support students during a delicate time in their personal development. As students enter adolescence, learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral issues and physical development problems all manifest themselves differently and can severely and permanently impact the learning process. It is important to be capable of recognizing signs and symptoms of potential difficulties.
Just as with most alternative educational certification programs, experience in the classroom environment will be critical to continued success as the primary educator of a classroom. A student teaching or internship opportunity is typically made available near the end of the academic portion of an alternative educational certification in order to allow a teacher candidate the opportunity to apply the academic component of their background in conjunction with a relevant classroom experience.