Teaching And Learning

Is Distance Education Right for You

Distance education is seen both as a way to offer more equitable distribution of educational resources to special populations of students, and as a way to make instruction more cost-effective by sharing teachers and instructional materials. Distance education is a newer term for correspondence courses, which arose from the need to provide schooling to students in remote, sparsely populated areas that could not support a school. Distance education is the current hot topic for educators in all fields, including second and foreign language, and it was the focus of the CALL-IS academic session and other panels this year at the international TESOL convention. Distance education is often used to enhance the quality of traditional primary and secondary schooling and to deliver instruction to students in remote rural areas.

Teaching

As the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided access for universities to the Internet, educators gained a powerful means for teaching and learning, which was radically different with previous electronic media. As we look today, educators can define and design effective and robust teaching and learning systems that would be responsive to the needs of student communities close and afar. In addition, institutions with 10+ years experience used satellite and videotape delivery more often, paid for faculty release time for DE teaching, and paid for a DE teaching assistant. According to these respondents, institutions compensate faculty more to develop distance learning courses than to teach them, in spite of anecdotes from faculty that teaching a DE course requires a lot more time and energy than traditional face-to-face courses.

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Elementary Education Schools Produce Qualified Teachers

For those interested in teaching young children, a degree in Elementary Education is an essential prerequisite for employment. Elementary Education Schools offer a wide variety of studies, specialties, and concentrations that instill basic knowledge and skills for understanding processes of teaching and learning.

Elementary Education provides a strong background in various disciplines to allow for entry into teaching careers in various venues. Graduates may teach in government settings, the arts, higher education classrooms, business, or in industries where basic teaching skills may be needed.

Elementary Education Schools offer several undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Diplomas and certificates from vocational schools and community colleges are possible, as are Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) that satisfy some school requirements. Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS) degrees are far more common. Bachelor, master, and doctorate (PhD) degrees are obtained from colleges and universities.

BA and BS degree programs follow carefully planned course sequences and supervised clinical experiences to ensure precise and complete professional development. The program prepares future teachers with as much versatility as possible to meet rapidly changing and diverse demands in kindergarten, elementary, and middle school classrooms.

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