Program Overview

TEACH Program Overview

The TEACH Program at DePaul University is designed for students who aspire to become teachers in middle grades and secondary education. The program offers a comprehensive curriculum that combines theoretical foundations with practical experiences, preparing students to become effective and responsible educators.

Program Structure

The TEACH Program is structured to provide students with a deep understanding of the subject matter they will teach, as well as the pedagogical skills necessary to engage and motivate their students. The program includes a range of courses that focus on the nature of the discipline, inquiry and application in developing pedagogy, and the teaching of specific subjects such as English, history, mathematics, and science.

Course Descriptions

• TCH 302: Introduction to Middle Grades and Secondary Education: This course introduces students to the field of education and the role of teachers, exploring the expectations of and for teachers and students from fifth through twelfth grade.
• TCH 303: Conceptions of Healthy Adolescence: This course examines varying conceptions of healthy adolescence, considering physical health and development, social and emotional health, mental health, and contextual factors.
• TCH 311: The Nature of English: This course explores the formation of the discipline of English Studies, focusing on the shifting understanding of ways of reading, writing, and thinking about language.
• TCH 312: The Nature of History and the Social Sciences: This course builds on content coursework in the seven disciplines grouped under the heading "social sciences," considering the connections and differences between them.
• TCH 313: The Nature of Mathematics: This course emphasizes the universality of mathematics as a cultural endeavor, exploring historical trends in mathematics and their impact on pedagogical content knowledge.
• TCH 314: The Nature of Science: This course examines the nature of science and its interactions with society, creating opportunities for deeper understandings of the beliefs and assumptions inherent to scientific knowledge.
• TCH 320: Exploring Teaching in the Urban High School: This course invites students to explore the reality of teaching and learning in Chicago-area schools, becoming familiar with different narratives of teaching through biographies, testimonials, literature, film, and classroom observations.
• TCH 321: Inquiry & Application in Developing English Pedagogy: This course prepares teacher candidates to distinguish between what needs to be taught (content) and how it is taught (pedagogy), with an emphasis on understanding historical shifts in the teaching of content.
• TCH 322: Inquiry & Application in Developing History and Social Sciences Pedagogy: This course builds on content knowledge, asking students to make the shift from analyzing social phenomena to teaching the social sciences, developing inquiry-based case studies for their own classrooms.
• TCH 323: Inquiry & Application in Developing Mathematics Pedagogy: This course introduces students to inquiry methods to understand the teaching and learning of mathematics, exploring major paradigm shifts in mathematics education and their impact on pedagogical content knowledge.
• TCH 324: Inquiry & Application in Developing Science Pedagogy: This course transitions from asking "what does a scientist do?" to considering why science literacy in the general public has been difficult to achieve, focusing on how to teach science and what science literacy means.
• TCH 325: Literacy in the Content Areas: This course analyzes the relationships among reading, writing, speaking, and listening, encouraging teachers to plan curricula that include current teaching strategies to enable students to become better readers, writers, and thinkers.
• TCH 365: Art and Pedagogy: This course focuses on teaching visual art, building from content requirements to understand how art studio experiences translate to the preparation of teaching, including curriculum-based projects and reflections on coursework and field experiences.
• TCH 366: Teacher as Artist: This course explores the source materials and major concepts of visual art content, introducing students to a wide range of artists and their work, and examining how emerging artists or pre-service teaching artists draw on their understanding of their own work to build core principles of pedagogy.
• TCH 371: Teaching English in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching English language arts, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 372: Teaching History and the Social Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching history and the social sciences, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 373: Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching mathematics, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 374: Teaching the Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching the sciences, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 380: The Teacher as Professional: This course pulls together significant elements from prior courses and field experiences, furthering development as professional educators, including understanding socio-emotional needs of adolescents, the role of action research, and professional development opportunities.
• TCH 381: Teaching English in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching English language arts.
• TCH 382: Teaching History and the Social Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching history and the social sciences.
• TCH 383: Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching mathematics.
• TCH 384: Teaching the Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching the sciences.
• TCH 387: Capstone Seminar in Secondary Education: This course helps candidates integrate the central emphases of their Liberal Studies curriculum with their professional knowledge and behavior, developing a professional teaching portfolio that reflects standards of guiding professional organizations and the Illinois State Board of Education.
• TCH 390: Capstone: Integrating Education & Disciplinary Foundations: This course helps students conceptualize issues and opportunities in teaching their disciplinary content to diverse students, analyzing and reflecting on how teaching is informed by diverse cultures of schooling and youth.
• TCH 392: Middle Grades and Secondary Student Teaching: This course is the culminating experience for Middle Grades and Secondary Education Program students, requiring 11 weeks of onsite student teaching in a middle school or high school content area classroom.
• TCH 395: Assessment Practices in the Middle Grades and Secondary Education: This course introduces candidates to theoretical and philosophical issues related to educational assessment, addressing the range of assessments teachers encounter and exploring student, program, and curricular assessment issues.
• TCH 401: Teaching as a Profession in Secondary School: This course introduces students to the TEACH Program, including the College of Education's conceptual framework and teacher dispositions, and to the professional world of secondary school teaching.
• TCH 402: Introduction to Middle Grades and Secondary Education: This course introduces middle grades and secondary education teacher candidates to the field of education and the role of teachers, exploring expectations of and for teachers and students.
• TCH 403: Conceptions of Healthy Adolescence: This course introduces varying conceptions of healthy adolescence, considering physical health and development, social and emotional health, mental health, and contextual factors.
• TCH 411: The Nature of English: This course explores the formation of the discipline of English Studies, focusing on the shifting understanding of ways of reading, writing, and thinking about language.
• TCH 412: The Nature of History and the Social Sciences: This course builds on content coursework in the seven disciplines grouped under the heading "social sciences," considering the connections and differences between them.
• TCH 413: The Nature of Mathematics: This course emphasizes the universality of mathematics as a cultural endeavor, exploring historical trends in mathematics and their impact on pedagogical content knowledge.
• TCH 414: The Nature of Science: This course examines the nature of science and its interactions with society, creating opportunities for deeper understandings of the beliefs and assumptions inherent to scientific knowledge.
• TCH 421: Inquiry & Application in Developing English Pedagogy: This course prepares teacher candidates to distinguish between what needs to be taught (content) and how it is taught (pedagogy), with an emphasis on understanding historical shifts in the teaching of content.
• TCH 422: Inquiry & Application in Developing History and Social Sciences Pedagogy: This course builds on content knowledge, asking students to make the shift from analyzing social phenomena to teaching the social sciences, developing inquiry-based case studies for their own classrooms.
• TCH 423: Inquiry & Application in Developing Mathematics Pedagogy: This course introduces students to inquiry methods to understand the teaching and learning of mathematics, exploring major paradigm shifts in mathematics education and their impact on pedagogical content knowledge.
• TCH 424: Inquiry & Application in Developing Science Pedagogy: This course transitions from asking "what does a scientist do?" to considering why science literacy in the general public has been difficult to achieve, focusing on how to teach science and what science literacy means.
• TCH 451: Research Methods & Disciplinary Inquiry: English: This course introduces students to education research methods and discipline-specific research and inquiry, focusing on research related to the teaching of English language arts.
• TCH 452: Research Methods & Disciplinary Inquiry: History and the Social Sciences: This course introduces students to education research methods and discipline-specific research and inquiry, focusing on research related to the teaching of history and the social sciences.
• TCH 453: Research Methods & Disciplinary Inquiry: Mathematics: This course introduces students to education research methods and discipline-specific research and inquiry, focusing on research related to the teaching of mathematics.
• TCH 454: Research Methods & Disciplinary Inquiry: Science: This course introduces students to education research methods and discipline-specific research and inquiry, focusing on research related to the teaching of the sciences.
• TCH 455: Readings in American History: This course prepares students for teaching American history at the secondary level, focusing on foundational texts and applying content knowledge to teaching in the secondary classroom.
• TCH 465: Art and Pedagogy: This course focuses on teaching visual art, building from content requirements to understand how art studio experiences translate to the preparation of teaching, including curriculum-based projects and reflections on coursework and field experiences.
• TCH 466: Teacher as Artist: This course explores the source materials and major concepts of visual art content, introducing students to a wide range of artists and their work, and examining how emerging artists or pre-service teaching artists draw on their understanding of their own work to build core principles of pedagogy.
• TCH 471: Teaching English in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching English language arts, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 472: Teaching History and the Social Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching history and the social sciences, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 473: Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching mathematics, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 474: Teaching the Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 1: This course introduces students to theoretical and practical issues of teaching the sciences, practicing and reflecting on instructional objectives, lesson plans, curriculum design, and classroom environments.
• TCH 480: The Teacher as Professional: This course pulls together significant elements from prior courses and field experiences, furthering development as professional educators, including understanding socio-emotional needs of adolescents, the role of action research, and professional development opportunities.
• TCH 481: Teaching English in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching English language arts.
• TCH 482: Teaching History and the Social Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching history and the social sciences.
• TCH 483: Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching mathematics.
• TCH 484: Teaching the Sciences in the Middle Grades and High School 2: This course continues students' immersion into pedagogical content knowledge development and practices, exploring and developing research-based best practices in teaching the sciences.
• TCH 495: Assessment Practices in the Middle Grades and Secondary Education: This course introduces candidates to theoretical and philosophical issues related to educational assessment, addressing the range of assessments teachers encounter and exploring student, program, and curricular assessment issues.
• TCH 525: Reading, Writing, and Communicating Across the Curriculum: This course analyzes the relationships among reading, writing, speaking, and listening, encouraging teachers to plan curricula that include current teaching strategies to enable students to become better readers, writers, and thinkers.
• TCH 565: Independent Studio Topics: This course is a self-directed graduate course in the K-12 Visual Arts Education Program, allowing candidates to develop a written proposal for their work and identify professional expectations of this quarter-long immersion in advanced study.
• TCH 589: Thesis Research in Teaching and Learning: This course is for students writing a thesis, registering for four quarter hours of credit, with the option to register for additional credit if the thesis research and writing are prolonged.
• TCH 590: Middle Grades and Secondary Student Teaching: This course is the culminating experience for Middle Grades and Secondary Education Program students, requiring 11 weeks of onsite student teaching in a middle school or high school content area classroom.
• TCH 591: Middle Grades and Secondary Student Teaching Seminar: This course must be taken concurrently with TCH 590, providing students an opportunity to reflect on their student teaching experiences and consider what they have learned in their teacher preparation programs and their next steps as practicing teachers.