Adolescence Education

Overview

Adolescence Education prepares you for teaching in grades 7-12 through coursework, field experiences and student teaching. Each component of the program is designed for your ongoing development for leadership and service. Beginning with your first year in our program, you’ll be immersed in diverse field and coursework that requires the intentional critical thinking and action needed for today’s classrooms. 

Diverse experiences within rural schools of Western New York and urban schools of Buffalo paired with coursework expectations provide a carefully scaffolded and challenging environment for you to develop as an emerging educator. Coursework covers topics such as theories of teaching and learning, literacy, special education, classroom management, curriculum, assessment, and content-specific teaching methods.

Houghton College education faculty members are committed to integrating theory, practice and Christian faith in their teaching. All have earned graduate degrees in specific areas of specialization, and all have served as classroom teachers. This combination of experience, expertise and a Christian worldview provides a classroom context that promotes the intellectual development and spiritual formation of students who graduate to serve as scholars and leaders in the world of education.

Why Major in Adolescence Education?

• Be equipped for transformative learning and service.
• Collect at least 100 hours of contact time priorto student teaching.
• Practice what you’ve learned in the college classroom through abundant opportunities to be in area classrooms observing, doing service-learning, and so on in the first and second years.
• Experience teaching in an inner-city setting during a two-week site experience in Buffalo, NY, called Teaching in Urban America.
• Receive intentional, personalized academic advising and mentoring by education faculty across your entire Houghton experience.
• Dedicate one full semester to student teaching during your senior year.
• Do collaborative research with teacher education program faculty members, and present your findings at international, national and regional conferences.