The interactive and interdisciplinary nature of education at College of the Atlantic serves as a model for the kind of education our students hope to create as teachers. The goal of the Educational Studies Program is to develop committed, reflective educational leaders who will be able to bring intellectual passion and ecological wisdom into their own teaching. Graduates in educational studies have discovered personal strengths and have developed teaching and thinking skills which allow them to take their places in the field of education. Becoming a teacher requires students to reflect on their own learning, to assess their values and to commit to a rewarding profession. All students in the Educational Studies Program complete five core courses in human ecology and the social, psychological and philosophical foundations of education.
Students then concentrate in either museum education or teacher certification.
Teacher Certification Teacher education based on the study of human ecology encourages students to explore the relationships between separate disciplines and to bring such interdisciplinary thinking into their classrooms. We expect that teachers so trained will appreciate the rich, natural, technological and social contexts of their culture and become active and responsible participants in society. College of the Atlantic began certifying elementary and secondary science teaching in 1987 and social studies teachers in 1990. Advanced course work in teaching methodology as well as advanced subject matter courses provide the academic component to the training. These settings provided students with the opportunity to watch master teachers and to participate in the daily life of schools.