This course provides an overview of the American education system and the teaching profession. Its focus is teacher preparation for the 21st century. It examines the history of education, educational philosophies, school governance and funding, the rights and responsibilities of teachers and students, academic standards, teaching and assessment methods, digital literacy, and the needs of diverse learners. A special emphasis is placed on Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPs) and Florida standards, including B.E.S.T standards (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking). The course has a mandatory 15 hour field experience component which is to be completed in a K12 school or similar setting.

This course provides the educator with varied research based instructional strategies to reach all 21st century learners in the K-12 classroom setting. The course convers multiple aspects of teaching such as organizational, leadership, student centered and teacher centered theoretical frameworks applied to the teaching profession.

This course helps pre-professional teachers develop a philosophy of assessment; understand how various measures combine to create a picture of student progress; and acquire knowledge and skills necessary to assess students using traditional and alternative assessment methods. Topics include B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) standards, measurement, formative and summative assessments, performance assessments, test construction, data interpretation, and accommodations and/or adaptations for diverse learners.