Valdosta State University

Catalog Year: 2021-2022

This tool provides individual preparation programs with a customized analysis of the courses required by the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program and by the institution’s undergraduate general education courses to determine how well these requirements cover essential content in social studies. This tool also uses information about existing coursework on their campuses to provide guidance on a recommended course sequence.

This is a summary of the coverage of social studies¹ content for undergraduate elementary candidates at your institution.

To determine if an elementary teacher preparation program provides adequate coverage² in the primary subject area of social studies through its own requirements or the institution’s requirements, we ask three sequential questions exploring:

Evidence of any social studies coverage;
Evidence of coverage of the six social studies themes; and
Evidence coursework encompasses the thirteen topics of social studies knowledge required of elementary teachers.

Valdosta State University's Coverage

Coverage of Subject

Does the institution or teacher preparation program require elementary candidates complete any courses in social studies?

YES

The institution/program recommends or requires candidates to complete at least one course classified under the broad domain known as social studies.

The institution/program does not require or recommend candidates to complete at least one course classified under the broad domain known as social studies.

Theme Coverage

Within social studies, there are six themes. Does the institution or teacher preparation program require or recommend courses to ensure each of the themes classified under social studies are covered?

YES

The coursework required of elementary candidates at this institution covers all six themes in social studies: 1. Civics, 2. Economics, 3. History, 4. Geography, 5. Culture & Identity, and 6. Pedagogy.

The coursework required of elementary candidates at this institution does not cover all six themes in social studies: 1. Civics, 2. Economics, 3. History, 4. Geography, 5. Culture & Identity, and 6. Pedagogy.

Topic Coverage

Within the six themes of social studies are thirteen topics common to teaching elementary students. Does this institution or preparation program require or recommend courses to ensure each of the thirteen topics classified under social studies are covered?

YES

Elementary education candidates at this institution must complete at least one course covering each of the thirteen topics.

Elementary education candidates at this institution are not required to take courses covering each of the thirteen topics.

What are the thirteen topics of Social Studies content?

References

While higher education institutions do not use the term “social studies,” the terminology is used in this analysis to represent any alignment between content covered in higher education with what is found in elementary content standards and assessments.
For these purposes, credit for “coverage” is awarded to the program whether the course is mandated through general education requirements for the institution at large or the specific requirements of the educator preparation program.

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See a detailed course analysis for your institution.

This tool illuminates:

What course options are available to satisfy general education or teacher preparation Requirement Categories;
What courses are required or recommended, either through general education requirements or the teacher preparation program; and
Whether courses cover the themes and topics of social studies content knowledge.

The aim of this tool is to provide an understanding of which courses are most likely to yield the most coverage possible of the content critical for elementary teachers. Because candidates can often choose from a list of courses to meet a Requirement Category, this table provides insight into which of those courses will be most relevant to elementary teaching.

How are Requirements Categories Determined?

Analysts identify both the general education and program graduation requirements found in public-facing materials.

By reviewing each Requirement Category and available course options, analysts identify courses addressing science and social studies content relevant to elementary teachers. The course analysis table indicates what themes and topics each course covers.

View the Course Catalog

Valdosta State University's Content Coverage Analysis

Filter Course Options By Requirement Category

How we define these courses

Themes:	Civics	Economics		History						Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Themes:	Civics	Economics		US History				World History		Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Topics (hover to see name):	A Political institutions, Participation, Rules, and Laws	B Economic Principles and Exchange	C The Economy	D European Exploration and Colonization (up to 1700)	E The American Revolution and Founding (1700s)	F Growth and Expansion of the American Republic (up to 1900)	G Twentieth Century and Beyond	H Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations	I Twentieth Century and Beyond	J Geographic Representations	K Human-Environment Interactions	L Diverse Perspectives	M Cross-cutting Concepts
ASTR 1010K Astronomy of the Solar System
ASTR 1020K Stellar and Galactic Astronomy
BIOL 1010/1020L Introduction to Biology: The Evolution and Diversity of Life and Biodiversity Lab
BIOL 1030/1040L Introduction to Biology: Organismal Biology and Organismal Biology Lab
BIOL 1951H Honors Biology: Cellular Processes
BIOL 1952H Honors Biology: The Evolution and Diversity of Life
CHEM 1010 Introductory Chemistry for Environmental Studies
CHEM 1151K Survey of Chemistry I
CHEM 1152K Survey of Chemistry II
CHEM 1211/L Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 1212/L Principles of Chemistry II and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory II
GEOG 1112K Introduction to Weather and Climate
GEOG 1113K Introduction to Land Forms
GEOL 1121K Principles of Physical Geology
GEOL 1122K Principles of Historical Geology
PHYS 1111K Introductory Physics I
PHYS 1112K Introductory Physics II
PHYS 2211K Principles of Physics I
PHYS 2212K Principles of Physics II
ASTR 1010K Astronomy of the Solar System
ASTR 1020K Stellar and Galactic Astronomy
BIOL 1010/1020L Introduction to Biology: The Evolution and Diversity of Life and Biodiversity Lab
BIOL 1030/1040L Introduction to Biology: Organismal Biology and Organismal Biology Lab
BIOL 1951H Honors Biology: Cellular Processes
BIOL 1952H Honors Biology: The Evolution and Diversity of Life
CHEM 1010 Introductory Chemistry for Environmental Studies
CHEM 1151K Survey of Chemistry I
CHEM 1152K Survey of Chemistry II
CHEM 1211/L Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 1212/L Principles of Chemistry II and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory II
GEOG 1112K Introduction to Weather and Climate
GEOG 1113K Introduction to Land Forms
GEOL 1121K Principles of Physical Geology
GEOL 1122K Principles of Historical Geology
PHYS 1111K Introductory Physics I
PHYS 1112K Introductory Physics II
PHYS 2211K Principles of Physics I
PHYS 2212K Principles of Physics II
ASTR 1000 Introduction to the Universe
BIOL 1050 Human Biology
BIOL 1080 Conservation Biology
DATA 1501 Introduction to Data Science
ENGR 1010 Technological Problem Solving
GEOG/GEOL 1110 Our Hazardous Environment
GEOG 1125 Resources, Society, and Environment
MATH 1112 Trigonometry
MATH 1261 Survey of Calculus I
MATH 1401 Elementary Statistics
MATH 2261 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I
MATH 2262 Analytic Geometry and Calculus II
PHSC 1100 The Universe of Energy
ISCI 2001 Exploring Our Ecosphere
ISCI 2002 Physical Science for Early Childhood Education Teachers
ELED 4500 Science and Technology in Elementary Education
POLS 1101 American Government
HIST 2111 United States History to 1865
HIST 2112 United States History since 1865
AFAM/WGST 2020 Race, Class, and Gender
ANTH 1102 Introduction to Anthropology
ECON 1500 Survey of Economics
ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics
GEOG 1100 Introduction to Geography
GEOG 1101 Introduction to Human Geography
GEOG 1102 World Regional Geography
GEOG 1103 Geographic Perspectives on Multiculturalism in the U.S.
HIST 1011 History of Civilization I
HIST 1012 History of Civilization II
HIST 1013 History of Civilization III
POLS 2101 Introduction to Political Science
POLS 2401 Introduction to Global Issues
POLS 2501 Current Issues in American Politics
PSYC 1101 Introduction to General Psychology
SOCI 1101 Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 1160 Introduction to Social Problems
AFAM/WGST 2020 Race, Class, and Gender
ANTH 1102 Introduction to Anthropology
ECON 1500 Survey of Economics
ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics
GEOG 1100 Introduction to Geography
GEOG 1101 Introduction to Human Geography
GEOG 1102 World Regional Geography
GEOG 1103 Geographic Perspectives on Multiculturalism in the U.S.
HIST 1011 History of Civilization I
HIST 1012 History of Civilization II
HIST 1013 History of Civilization III
POLS 2101 Introduction to Political Science
POLS 2401 Introduction to Global Issues
POLS 2501 Current Issues in American Politics
PSYC 1101 Introduction to General Psychology
SOCI 1101 Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 1160 Introduction to Social Problems
ELED 4400 Social Science Methods in Elementary Education

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See the recommended courses for elementary candidates at your institution.

Here NCTQ outlines (1) the set of courses providing candidates with the content most aligned with what elementary teachers need within current institution and program requirements, and (2) suggestions for courses to fill in gaps where candidates still lack coverage.

"Most Aligned" Set of Courses

Social Studies Requirement 01
POLS 1101 - American Government
Social Studies Requirement 02
HIST 2111 - United States History to 1865
Social Studies Requirement 03
ECON 1500 - Survey of Economics
Social Studies Requirement 04
GEOG 1103 - Geographic Perspectives on Multiculturalism in the U.S.
Social Studies Requirement 05
ELED 4400 - Social Science Methods in Elementary Education

How to Improve Content Coverage

Using the “Most Aligned” Set of Courses, current course requirements can address up to 69.23% coverage of social studies topics.

The topics still lacking coverage include:

World History - 20th Century and Beyond
Geographic Representations
US History - 20th Century and Beyond
Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations

To improve content coverage, the institution or teacher preparation program may need to require additional courses for their candidates to achieve coverage across all topics. Our analysts identified the following courses to cover these topics:

World History - 20th Century and Beyond: HIST 1013
Geographic Representations: GEOG 1100
US History - 20th Century and Beyond: AFAM/WGST 2020
US History - 20th Century and Beyond: HIST 2112
Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations: HIST 1011
Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations: HIST 1012

Analysis of Content Covered with "Most Aligned" Set of Courses

= Course is Currently Recommended or Required by Program

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Themes:	Civics	Economics		History						Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Themes:	Civics	Economics		US History				World History		Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Topics (hover to see name):	A Political institutions, Participation, Rules, and Laws	B Economic Principles and Exchange	C The Economy	D European Exploration and Colonization (up to 1700)	E The American Revolution and Founding (1700s)	F Growth and Expansion of the American Republic (up to 1900)	G Twentieth Century and Beyond	H Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations	I Twentieth Century and Beyond	J Geographic Representations	K Human-Environment Interactions	L Diverse Perspectives	M Cross-cutting Concepts
POLS 1101 American Government
HIST 2111 United States History to 1865
ECON 1500 Survey of Economics
GEOG 1103 Geographic Perspectives on Multiculturalism in the U.S.
ELED 4400 Social Science Methods in Elementary Education
Total Content Covered: 69.23%
If a candidate takes the above courses, this is the topic coverage they would experience overall:

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Catalog Year: 2021-2022

Valdosta State University

This tool provides individual preparation programs with a customized analysis of the courses required by the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program and by the institution’s undergraduate general education courses to determine how well these requirements cover essential content in science. This tool also uses information about existing coursework on their campuses to provide guidance on a recommended course sequence.

This is a summary of the coverage of science content for undergraduate elementary candidates at your institution.

To determine if an elementary teacher preparation program provides adequate coverage¹ in the primary subject area of science through its own requirements or the institution’s requirements, we ask three sequential questions exploring:

Evidence of any science coverage;
Evidence of coverage of the three science themes; and
Evidence coursework encompasses the nine topics of science knowledge required of elementary teachers.