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Secondary Education (KS) - English Concentration | Undergraduate Degree Program

Secondary Education (KS) - English Concentration

This degree program was developed for those who want to teach at the secondary level. You will gain hands-on, in-classroom experiences. Prospective secondary education teachers learn how to identify and be sensitive to the unique needs, challenges and learning styles of diverse student populations.

Through this program, you will earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with a content area focus. Current focus areas include:

  • English

Contact an Enrollment Advisor for more information.

For curriculum and course descriptions please download a program overview.

Secondary Education (KS) - English is offered at the following locations.

  • Ottawa, KS (Residential Campus)
  • Overland Park, Kansas
  • Online

Secondary Education Licensure Courses

General Education Requirements

General Psychology | PSY 12053
Introduces basic elements in understanding human behavior. Emphasis on basic concepts and terminology of psychology including the biological basis of behavior, sensation, perception, history of psychology, growth and development, motivation, learning, measurement and scientific methodology, emotion, personality, abnormal behavior, and psychotherapy.

Pre-Professional Education

The Teaching Profession I | | EDU 30731 (3 credits)
Explores current and future teaching profession. Introduces Ottawa University’s mission and teacher education program’s conceptual framework. Learn about topics such as reflective inquiry, standards driven classrooms, use of technology, and diversity of learners. Skills assessed in relation to profession.

The Exceptional Child | EDU 31132 (3 credits)
Become familiar with various emotional and behavioral disorders, health and physical impairments, and intellectual deviations associated with children (birth through high school age) who are identified as exceptional. Addresses strategies for meeting academic, social and emotional needs of these children within the confines of the classroom (including IEPS). Examines criteria for effectively working with administrators, specialists, support personnel, and family who impact the educational experiences of these children. Field experience required.

Educational Psychology | EDU 31233 (3 credits)
Designed to acquaint students with knowledge gained from educational psychologists in learning theory and practice, motivation and management, and effective instruction. Meets required competencies in research, teaching methods and materials, media and technology, teaching effectiveness, interpersonal relations, educational ethics, understanding the learner, teaching-learning process, learning styles, and understanding the relationship between school and home. Emphasis placed on understanding methods needed to maintain an effective learning environment through classroom management strategies and motivational techniques.

Foundations of Schools in a Diverse Society | EDU 33035 (3 credits)
Provides candidate with understanding of historical, philosophical and social foundations of education in the United States. Addresses legal and ethical issues. Learn how educational policy is formulated and affects classroom practice. Provides opportunities to learn from a variety of professionals from diverse backgrounds.

Secondary Education Methods and RICA | EDU 34500 (3 credits)
Learn to design, implement, and evaluate materials and instructional techniques for early through late adolescent learner. Topics include assessing readability of materials, evaluating student reading skills, teaching vocabulary, comprehension and study skills, working with at risk students, and incorporating writing into curriculum.

The Teaching Experience | EDU 34550 | (0 or 1 credit) This course will help students explore strategies for instruction, inclusion, classroom organization, data management and student engagement. Student will also gain experiences with research-based strategies, project-based instruction, global collaboration, and reflective practices, which assumes use of technology and universal design. Course is required prior to taking a practicum course. Students who have taken EDU 30731 can take this course for 1 or 0 credits. If a student transfers in a substitution for EDU 30731, they must take this course for credit.

Secondary Specialized Methods/Practicum | EDU 34600 (3 credits)
Observe, develop, and practice skills under the guidance of a classroom teacher in the student’s major area of interest.

Foundations of Instruction in English Language Learners | EDU 36003 | (3 credits)
The study of philosophical and theoretical frameworks of English language learners (ELL) building on the foundation of the science of reading including aspects of SEI programs and phonetic programs. The review of historical and legislative foundations, teaching strategies/methods, culture related factors used in determining educational strategies and interventions (including tools for dyslexia), assessment/placement, special education/ gifted ELL programs, and parent/community programs.

Secondary Student Teaching I | EDU 49021 (4 credits)
Capstone field experience for secondary pre-service teachers. Gives opportunity to observe and teach in a secondary school setting. Consult Education Department for placement information.

Secondary Student Teaching II | EDU 49022 (4 credits)
Capstone field experience for secondary pre-service teachers. Gives opportunity to observe and teach in a secondary school setting. Consult Education Department for placement information.

English Content Requirements

Introduction to Literature and Film | ENG 10323 | (3 credit hours)
Observes interactions between literature and film. Through writings, projects, and discussions, students analyze film versions of classical literature, prose and poetry through borrow filmic techniques and experimental films with literary features.

Ancient to Medieval | ENG 26023 (3 credit hours)
Engages in primary analysis and response to significant literature from antiquity through the Renaissance.

Renaissance to Romantics | ENG 27023 (3 credit hours) 
The second of the three English Department survey courses, this class aspires to provide students with an introduction to some of the major literary works and ideological movements of the Western world during the 18th and 19th centuries. In the course of the semester, we will gain an understanding of a variety of texts as well as an appreciation for the social, historical, political, religious, and ideological currents of each era.

Victorians to Moderns | ENG 28023 (3 credit hours)
Engages the student in primary analysis and response to significant literature from late nineteenth century Modernism through post-colonial and post-modern configurations.

The Postmoderns | ​ENG 29023 | (3 credit hours)
Engages the student in primary analysis and response to significant literature from late nineteenth century Modernism through postcolonial and post-modern configurations.

Adolescent Literature | ENG 30924| (3 credit hours)
Examines a wide range of literary works appropriate to readers of middle school and high school age.  Study of types and themes of adolescent literature and issues related to its use in school programs.  Designed for teachers, librarians and parents.  Cross-listed with EDU 30932 Adolescent Literature.

Advanced Expository Writing | ENG 31023 (3 credit hours)
Refinement of expository writing skills through analysis of models and writing practice.

Creative Writing | ENG 32723 (3 credit hours)
Course development skills in writing drama, poetry and fiction. Develops critical skills and encourages students to develop tools to refine expression.

IDS: Environmental Literature | ENG 33523 (3 credit hours)
An examination of a variety of literary works from several genres, focusing on the portrayal of physical environments and the connections between these environments and human spheres of influence. This course will explore how human beings relate to the natural world, and how that relation influences the way we read texts and the world around us, Authors to be studied might include Leopold, Thoreau, Defoe, the Brontes, Wordsworth, Merwin, Snyder and Kingsolver. Cross-listed with LAS 33523 IDS: Environmental Literature.

IDS: Protest Literature | ENG 34023 | (3 credit hours)
A study of the literature of social protest, emphasizing the relationship between aesthetics and politics, or the political purposes of literature. This course will examine how various authors assault the status quo of an often inhumane, brutal, and repressive society. Readings might include works by Richard Wright, Upton Sinclair and Nelson Algren. 

Literary Criticism | ENG 40123 (3 credit hours)
Identifies major trends in the history of critical thought from Plato to Derrida. Seeks to discover the position of literary criticism and to apply various critical theories. Library research and writing. Prerequisite: 30000-level English course.

 

Full Degree Catalog

University Accreditation

Ottawa University, as a whole, is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Specific degree programs within our institution have also been accredited by relevant bodies within the field:

We are proudly recognized for our commitment to student excellence by the following designations:

Why Choose Ottawa
Almost all courses in Ottawa University’s programs are available online and accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. We make it easy for you to transfer credits in order to help keep tuition costs down. We also offer courses in accelerated 8-week terms in order to reduce your time to completion. These are just a few of the reasons why we are proud to be the best, fastest, and most affordable option locally in the Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Phoenix areas, as well as serving students nationally through our online degrees.

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