Our Inclusive Childhood Education Major leads to two teaching certifications for grades 1-6: Childhood Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities. This major, supported by a liberal arts minor, a multi-subject liberal arts core and a full semester of student teaching in general and special education classrooms, prepares you for working in today's diverse elementary classrooms. Our Adolescence Certification Program, which pairs rigorous liberal arts majors with a rich, field-based education minor and a full semester of student teaching, prepares students for classrooms of their own after their four years at Wells. Our stand-alone minors in Childhood or Adolescence Education offers students a solid grounding in current educational theory and practice that prepares them for graduate study or work with children outside the classroom.
Inclusive Childhood Education Major leading to certification
Students earn New York State certification to teach in grades 1-6 general and special education classrooms. Leads to a Bachelor of Science degree.
Adolescence Certification
Students earn New York State certification to teach in a specific subject area for grades 7-12.
Education Minor
Students receive a solid foundation in current education theory and practice.
Wells-Warner 4+1 Program
Students earn New York State certification (either Childhood or Adolescence) at Wells and need only one additional year to complete their M.A.T. or M.S. at the Margaret Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester.
We endeavor to prepare teachers for the complexity of the 21st century classroom. Therefore, our methods courses have a significant field placement component, in which students observe current classroom teachers in their chosen field and are given the opportunity to practice the strategies they're learning in their Wells courses with elementary and secondary students. Our students complete an education internship as well as their student teaching placements; the combination meets the Wells College experiential learning requirement. Thus, by the end of their four years at Wells, students in the education program are well-versed in current, effective, research-based instructional practices and have a deep understanding of not only what works in the classroom, but why.
Our education program is accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). See the College's 2022 annual report.
All students seeking certification in either Childhood or Adolescence Education are required to complete an 80 – 120 hour internship. This experience is designed by the student in collaboration with the sponsoring faculty and cooperating teacher and frequently occurs during the January intercession. Wells students develop goals for their internship that allow them to target their personal learning needs and create an experience that both supports and enhances their course learnings.
Students have recently completed internships at:
