Middle Grades Certification
Undergraduate
A Middle Grades certification in Rhode Island is attached to an elementary or secondary certificate. The program is rooted in social justice principles and a clinical practice model. The program is built around the question: How, as a middle level educator, can I cultivate and sustain a more just and equitable world through curriculum and critically reflective practices?
The state requirements consist of two parts: middle grades professional education courses and appropriate content preparation for field of instruction. The three professional education courses should be taken in the following order:
MLED 230, MLED 331, and MLED 332
Professional Courses
MLED 230: Young Adolescent Development in Social Contexts. 4 credits
This course addresses adolescent identity development as a time of exploration and coconstruction within the context of middle level structures and policies, families, and communities.
MLED 331: Disciplinary Literacies with Young Adolescents. 4 credits
This course addresses traditional, critical, and digital literacy practices at the middle level. Students develop, implement, and reflect on lessons grounded in CCSS disciplinary literacies and content area standards.
MLED 332: Curriculum and Assessment for the Young Adolescent. 4 Credits
This course addresses curriculum and assessment at the middle level. This course challenges students to interrogate the curriculum and assessment choices they make and to cultivate their learners’ agency.
Student Teaching
Because the required practicum hours are completed throughout the MLED coursework, students complete their student teaching in an elementary school (Grades 1-6) or secondary school (Grade 7-12) depending on which certification they are seeking.
Content
Math
Required:
MATH 209: Precalculus (4 credits)
MATH 212: Calculus I (4 credits)
MATH 220: Formalizing Mathematical Thought (4 credits)
MATH 240: Statistical Methods I (4 credits)
MATH 324: College Geometry (4 credits)
MATH 409: Problem Analysis (4 credits)
Additional Recommended Courses
MATH 213: Calculus II (4 credits)
MATH 210: Trigonometry (4 credits)
MATH 436: Discrete Math (4 credits)
Science
Required:
BIOL 111: Introductory Biology I
BIOL 112: Introductory Biology II
CHEM 103: General Chemistry I
CHEM 104: General Chemistry II
PHYS 101: General Physics I
PHYS 102: General Physics II
Choose TWO of the following:
PSCI 211: Intro to Astronomy
PSCI 212: Intro to Geology
PSCI 214: Intro to Meteorology
PSCI 217: Introduction to Oceanography
ELA - currently suspended
Social Studies - currently suspended
Graduate
C.G.S in Middle Grades Certification
The Certificate of Graduate Study in Middle Grades Certification, which meets RIDE Middle Grades Certification, is a 15 credit program designed to provide advanced graduate study and practicum training for students with an undergraduate degree and either elementary or secondary teaching certificate and who are seeking preparation to become middle level teachers.
Additional information about this program.
