Why Apply? What Our Students Have to Say
Anoush Arakelian '14
Elementary Certification
I started to think about getting my
teaching certification after working for
Breakthrough Collaborative the summer
after freshman year. I then began to
realize how I could combine my passions
for Neuroscience, working with students,
and wanting to have a career that makes a
tangible difference. I believe that the
future in education lies in fully integrating
brain research into teaching techniques. I
want to gain the skills to help meld the
two fields effectively in and out of the
classroom, and the TEP focuses on just
that.
Dartmouth College
Department of Education
Elementary Teacher Education Program
Certification to Teach
in Public Elementary Schools
Clarisse Benoit ‘14
Elementary Certification and Education Minor
I learned about the elementary TEP when
I started working in the Reading Brains Lab
my freshman year. This was my first
exposure to Mind, Brain, and Education
and the idea of using neuroscience
research to inform classroom practices. It
is only logical to use what we know about
how the brain learns in our teaching
practices, since teaching is literally
changing brains. I am really excited to use
the neuroscience background and skills
that I am gaining in the TEP to be part of
the movement to “bridge the gap”
between research and practice in the
classroom.
“None of us got where we are solely by pulling
ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here
because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy
League crony or a few nuns - bent down and
helped us pick up our boots.”
– Thurgood Marshall
Our Approach
The Dartmouth Teacher Education Program (TEP) takes a researchbased approach to developing teachers who can think analytically
and use research to continuously improve their practice. In our
program, students:
• Read and analyze research about the mind and brain, learning,
child and adolescent development, pedagogy, and their subject
areas.
• Develop research methods that they can use to test and improve
their pedagogy in the field, and produce their own action research
to investigate specific problems of practice.
What We Look for in Elementary
Teacher Education Candidates
• Evidence of a strong grasp of key disciplines, reflected in your GPA
and rigorous coursework and wide experiences in the language arts,
social studies, sciences, and math.
• Demonstrated understanding of connections between your work
with children and concepts in cognitive science, developmental
science, neuroscience, social science, and theories of learning (based
on your experiences in Education courses).
• Curiosity and a love of learning.
• A demonstrated belief that success is based on hard work and
learning.
• A commitment to and enthusiasm for working with children.
• An ability to take - and constructively use - feedback.
• An appreciation of the responsibility that comes with taking care of
the growth and development of someone else’s child.
Program Details
Fourth and Fifth Fall Options
You can complete certification requirements within your four
undergraduate years at Dartmouth, or you can choose to return for a
‘Fifth Fall’ (the Fall term after you graduate) for your in-classroom
student teaching experience and culminating seminar (EDUC 42, 43,
and 44).
Courses Required for Public School Certification
The following Education courses are required for elementary
candidates:
EDUC 01: The Learning Brain: Introduction to Child
Development and Education (Fall, 10A)
EDUC 50: The Reading Brain: Education and Development
(Spring, 9L)
EDUC 64: Development in the Exceptional Child (Winter, 9L)
EDUC 41: Principles of Teaching and Learning in the Elementary
School: Theory and Practice (Junior Spring if completing
TEP in 4 years, or Senior Spring if enrolled in the Fifth Fall
Track, Time: TBA)
EDUC 42, 43, and 44: Student Teaching and Seminar (Senior Fall if
completing TEP in 4 years, or the Fall after graduation if
enrolled in the Fifth Fall Track, Time: TBA).
The Minor in Human Development and Education
It is strongly recommended that elementary candidates also minor in
Human Development and Education.
Applying to the Elementary Teacher Education Program
As part of the application process, you must schedule an initial
meeting with Professor Mandy Bean, Director of the Teacher
Education Program. Applications are available at:
www.dartmouth.edu/~educ/teacher/index.html.