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Lasell University
Lasell University

Secondary Education Licensure (grades 5-12) and English

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What You'll Learn
Career Success
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The Secondary Education Licensure (grades 5-12) and English provides a specialization in English while preparing you to teach in secondary classrooms in grades 5-12. You'll complete practicum experiences all four years in suburban and urban school settings through our partner school district sites.

The Education degree program has a Fifth Year option, which allows students to graduate with a Master on Education.

Program Features

  • From your first semester, you will get real classroom experience.

  • Gain additional teaching skills using innovative technologies like TeachLiveE which simulates a real classroom and allows you to try out strategies and methodologies.

  • Complete pre and full practicums in urban and suburban school districts.

  • Students are expected and supported to complete their MTELs so that they can be licensed and ready to teach once leaving Lasell.

Note: Lasell offers licensure and non-licensure degree programs in education that are designed to meet the licensure requirements in the state of Massachusetts. Licensure may be valid in other states but may require additional steps and cannot be guaranteed. To learn more about licensure requirements in other states, please visit the Licensure Disclosure page.

What You'll Learn

From your first day, you’ll take courses in your major and advance towards graduation with a yearly plan. Not sure what classes to take? We’ll help you create the perfect plan. 

Courses and Sample 4-Year Plan

This example four-year plan is provided as a broad framework that you can follow in order to complete your degree within four years. Be sure to always consult your academic advisor before registering for classes.

WRT101
Writing I

In this course, students gain understanding of and confidence in strategies for effective writing by composing and reading in a variety of genres. The course emphasizes writing as a process and focuses on the rhetorical choices writers make. Students engage critically with sources by examining how genre, context, purpose, credibility, and bias work together to create meaning and impact audiences. Students who choose to take Writing I Workshop are provided with time during class to work on their writing while the instructor and a writing tutor are present to provide assistance. Students must earn a “C” or higher in order to pass this course

The First Year Seminar (FYS) is part of the Core Curriculum and a requirement for all incoming first year students and transfer students with fewer than 15 credits. The First Year Seminar is a theme-based inquiry course that engages students in a specific area of interest while providing support for a smooth transition into the Lasell University community and the Connected Learning philosophy. Through studying an academic topic, students develop and apply core intellectual skills and receive an introduction to the core knowledge perspectives. At the same time, students connect to the experiences and people that make up the Lasell University Community. Course outcomes are accomplished through engaging activities including reading, writing, class discussions, presentations, team projects, field trips, and exploration of campus resources. Civic engagement and service-learning activities are often part of this course as is participation in the Connected Learning Symposium. Through the seminar, students develop close ties with faculty and peer mentors who serve as advocates for first year students' academic success. Past course titles have included: The Immigrant Experience, Fashion & Film of the 20th Century, The Social History of Rock & Roll, Exploring Cultures & Languages, The Spark of Creativity, Women and Sports, and Latin America: Food And Traditions. This requirement may be fulfilled by taking either FYS103 or HON101 (for students enrolled in the Honors Program).

This course is the foundational course for mathematical and quantitative reasoning at Lasell College. Mathematical reasoning is the critical skill that enables a student to solve real-world problems involving quantitative analysis by making use of particular mathematical skills. Through the development of their mathematical reasoning skills, students will recognize the power of mathematics in its own right as well as its relevance in the real world. Students will develop and enhance their mathematical reasoning skills through a project/application-based curriculum supported by readily available current technological tools and topics that will include, but not be limited to, the following: solving systems of equations, linear programming, statistical, and graphical data analysis.

This course explores careers in teaching beginning with the unifying question: Why should I become a teacher? Students examine their motivations to become teachers while they learn about college and state requirements and expectations.

This course introduces students to the elements of Spanish through the multiple skills of understanding, speaking, listening, reading, writing, and cultural awareness. It is open to students who are beginning their postsecondary Spanish language study and have not had more than two years of secondary school Spanish.

In this course, students learn to think like psychologists as they study classic and contemporary topics in human behavior, feeling, and thought. Students learn to apply psychological perspectives of thought, including biological, cognitive, sociocultural, humanistic, psychodynamic, and behaviorist, to better understand the human experience. Students will learn to use these perspectives to explore how individual behavior is influenced by and influences one’s biology, family, community and society. Topics may include human development, personality, psychopathology, human relationships, language, memory, perceptual processes, and intelligence, among others.

This course is a continuation of Writing I and focuses on research and public writing. Theme-based courses provide students with lenses to explore issues of interest and develop their reading, research, and writing skills. Students work with a topic of their choice, broadly based on the course theme. Assignments build upon each other, lead up to a researched position paper, and culminate in a public piece. Students who choose to take Writing II Workshop are provided with time during class to work on their writing while the instructor and a writing tutor are present to provide assistance. Students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in order to pass this course. Prerequisite: WRT 101

This course is a continuation of SPAN 111, with continued focus on understanding, speaking, listening, reading, writing, and cultural awareness. Prerequisite: SPAN 101 or 111 (with C or better), demonstrated competency through placement, or permission of instructor.

This Knowledge Perspective course will provide students with the opportunity to interpret and analyze the complex interrelationships and inequities in human societies in a global historical context. Emphasizing the interrelatedness and mutuality of influence between East and West, we examine questions of exclusiveness, intolerance, and cooperation. Prerequisite: ENG101 with a C or better

Equity & Intersectionality(KP)

This course provides students pursuing or considering initial teacher licensure with an overview of the teaching profession. Students study and discuss history and philosophies of education systems, as well as current trends and issues. Massachusetts professional standards and requirements for licensure are explored. This course is a prerequisite for all other ED courses. Twenty-five hours of observation and tutoring in varied school settings are required. This is a presentation-intensive course.

This course provides students pursuing or considering initial teacher licensure with an overview of the teaching profession. Students study and discuss history and philosophies of education systems, as well as current trends and issues. Massachusetts professional standards and requirements for licensure are explored. This course is a prerequisite for all other ED courses. Twenty-five hours of observation and tutoring in varied school settings are required. This is a presentation-intensive course.

000
Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

This course introduces students to characteristics of learners with special needs in classroom and community settings. It focuses on principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in developing appropriate learning environments to meet the variability of all students in Pre-K through high school settings. A required minimum 25-hour pre-practicum provides opportunities to teach and observe in area classrooms. Prerequisite: ED 110

Field Exp:Supporting Learner Variability

This is a foundations course required for the major and the minor in English. The course provides an introduction to a variety of forms and styles in poetry, drama, short story, fiction, memoir, and essay; European, North American, and world literatures are considered. The focus is on interpreting texts; students are introduced to various schools of interpretation and to standards for supporting an interpretation. Students become familiar with the conventional elements of each genre and with the terminology of critical interpretation. The course introduces print and database tools for research on literature.

This course reviews and reinforces prior grammar knowledge through speaking, listening, reading, and writing; more advanced grammar constructs are introduced to support written and spoken language growth. Texts and discussion focus on Hispanic culture, art, and society. Prerequisite: SPAN 102 or 112 (with C or better), demonstrated competency through placement, or permission of instructor.

In this project-based course, students explore a social or intellectual problem using at least two knowledge perspectives. Faculty and students follow a collaborative process of exploration, discussion, and problem solving that integrates knowledge perspectives and core intellectual skills.

This course surveys British writing in poetry, fiction, and drama, with a focus on key periods in the development of British literature. Emphasis is on representative writers in each period. Periods and movements surveyed include Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary or Postmodern. This is a writing-intensive course.

This course emphasizes the processes of reading and the critical nature of reading to learn in the content areas in grades 5-12th. Focus will be on literacy strategies to support teaching in content areas, the influences of diversity, the current methods of instruction, and assessments used to inform instruction. In addition, the current research on reading to learn will be read, discussed, and integrated in all course activities. Requires a pre-practicum of 25 hours minimum. Prerequisite: ED 219.

This course surveys British writing in poetry, fiction, and drama, with a focus on key periods in the development of British literature. Emphasis is on representative writers in each period. Periods and movements surveyed include Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary or Postmodern. This is a writing-intensive course.

This course emphasizes the processes of reading and the critical nature of reading to learn in the content areas in grades 5-12th. Focus will be on literacy strategies to support teaching in content areas, the influences of diversity, the current methods of instruction, and assessments used to inform instruction. In addition, the current research on reading to learn will be read, discussed, and integrated in all course activities. Requires a pre-practicum of 25 hours minimum. Prerequisite: ED 219.

This course will provide you with an introduction to central concepts/issues related to the developmental phase of adolescence from historical, psychological, social, and cultural perspectives. The course will also focus on major problems and challenges facing adolescents in modern society. Prerequisite PSYC101

Field Exp: Rdg & Wrt Across the Curr

PHIL302
Ethical Reasoning

This course will address the interaction between the lives we lead and the application of traditional (and some nontraditional) ethical theories and principles to important decision points in our lives. Students will take on real-life ethical problems and dilemmas for each class; each student will be responsible for presenting a number of issues, as well as for guiding the discussion of those issues in class. The problems we address will largely span a lifetime of experiences and concerns. Students will also write several papers that evaluate formal arguments, using standard tools of critical thinking and philosophy. The course is discussion based, so a willingness to read carefully, to think critically, and to engage in classroom presentations and discussions is essential. Prerequisite: Junior standing, MDSC203 & ENG102.

This course provides a grounding in current theory and practice related to teaching English Language Learners in Sheltered and bilingual programs. In particular, students learn to effectively shelter their content instruction, so that ELL students can access curriculum, achieve academic success, and contribute their multilingual and multicultural resources as participants and future leaders in the 21st century global economy. This course meets Massachusetts DESE standards for the required SEI endorsement. Course includes a minimum 25-hour pre-practicum in license-appropriate classrooms.Placement in schools is assigned by the Education Program Placement Coordinator or the Program Director. Prerequisite: ED110

This course surveys current literature for adolescent and teen readers. It prepares students to evaluate young adult books in terms of literary quality, reader interest, and social and political perspectives. Strategies for use in the classroom are explored; various genres are examined. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

This course considers both written and oral traditional texts. Texts originating in expressions of faith, devotion, cultural origin or expression, and ethnic identity are examined, with attention to narration, characterization, sacred mystery, moral /ethical content, and interpretation. Readings include selections from ancient Greek and Roman literature, the Bible and/or the Qur’an, and world myths and folktales.

Choose an Elective or Minor course

In this course, students consider issues, movements, or traditions in literatures that respond to a history of colonization and/or imperialism. Latin American, African, and Asian cultures or traditions are emphasized in English or in English translations; issues addressed might include matters of publication and criticism, myths about the "third world," nationalism, fundamentalism, human rights, technology, and cultural resistance. Example topics include The Novel in India, Caribbean Dub Poetry, Prison Writing, Major South African Writers, Magic Realism. This is a presentation-intensive course.

Choose an Elective or Minor course

This course engages students in mathematical concepts through examples, investigations, and active problem-solving explorations. Content is drawn from subject matter knowledge required for elementary and early childhood licensure, with emphasis on number theory and operations. This course is for students seeking elementary or early childhood licensure.

Students will develop strategies and tools necessary to be responsive secondary. Participants in this course will observe secondary teachers, develop lesson plans, reflect on their teaching philosophy, apply leadership theory to classroom practice, explore current trends and issues that impact secondary classrooms, increase their cultural competence, and expand their toolkit of strategies for differentiating instruction to address the variability of secondary students. A minimum of 25 hours of classroom observation, reflection and teaching is required. Placement in schools is assigned by the Education Program Placement Coordinator or the Program Director. Pre-requisite: ED 219

Choose an Elective or Minor course

ED433
Pre-practicum: Secondary English

Through a minimum of 150 hours of observation and reflection in public schools, and regular meetings with school and Lasell faculty, students in this course become familiar with the curriculum and organization of middle and/or high schools and English classrooms in preparation for the practicum. Placement in schools is assigned by the Education Program Placement Coordinator or the Program Director. Prerequisite: Senior standing; passing scores on all required MTEL; permission of Education Program Director. Co-requisite: ED421

This capstone course serves as the direct complement to HUM420. Whereas HUM420 is a writing-intensive course, this course is research and reading intensive; students work in a tutorial fashion (i.e., one on one) with the instructor to choose a research topic, read closely in pertinent sources, and report back through informative and exploratory writing assignments and conversations. Like HUM420, this course focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and the solution of problems; when taken together, these courses serve as a capstone experience. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Humanities Department and IDS majors only.

In this capstone course, students integrate theory and previous field experiences with their 150-hour pre-practicum. Research and discussion topics include classroom management and organization, use of various curriculum materials and resources, and ethical issues in educational settings. Students design a classroom-based research project which will be completed during the practicum (ED 496 or 498). Prerequisites: Senior standing, pass all required MTEL, concurrent enrollment in ED433, 435 OR 437

This course focuses on the history, variety, and aesthetic conventions of one or more racial-ethnic traditions in American writing. Individual courses might focus on key forms or authors; distinct traditions such as African-American, Latino, Asian-American, or Native American literature; or a survey across several traditions. Examples include Barack Obama and the African-American Tradition, Contemporary Latino Literatures, or Haiti and the US in Haitian-American Writing. This is a presentation-intensive course.

In this course, students complete a minimum of 300 field hours observing and teaching in a secondary English classroom. Students will meet regularly with both Lasell and school supervisors and complete the Comprehensive Assessment of Performance requirement. Assignments incorporate all Massachusetts requirements for licensure and include topics such as the ethics of teaching, legal and moral responsibilities, student confidentiality, and working parents and community members. Permission of the Education Program Director is required.

This capstone seminar offers intensive coaching on practical aspects of course development and design, management of class discussion, and selection of class assignments in a college course setting. Students may collaborate with faculty members teaching existing courses, or may design and teach a one-credit seminar (ED 112). Course is offered as needed. Prerequisite: Permission of Department Chair.

This capstone course focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and problem solving. The topic will change; however, the course emphasizes extensive research projects related to students' fields of interest. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisites: HUM419 and Junior or Senior standing. Humanities Department and IDS majors only.

Student teachers attend the site full-time (Monday - Friday) for the full semester. Working under the supervision of specific teachers, they take on increasing responsibility for planning, teaching, and evaluating lessons; interacting with children; and managing all aspects of the classroom. For two weeks near the end of the placement, student teachers take over the full day, including all planning, teaching, and management.

Freshman Tutoring
Freshman Requirements: Tutoring in Wednesdays at Williams (math) or other formal setting approved by ED 110 instructor. Licensure students begin teaching young learners in their first year at Lasell. These structured tutoring programs give them experience in meeting various needs and using appropriate materials.

Sophomore, Junior Pre-Practicum
Sophomore Requirements: A minimum of 25 hours per semester connected to literacy and math methods courses.
Junior Requirements: A minimum of 25 hours per semester connected to literacy, science, and social studies methods courses. Students work in specific classrooms with assignments specific to methods courses in which they are enrolled. Assignments begin with observing the classroom teacher and aspects of organizing for particular subjects, and include planning, teaching, and assessing using materials and objectives appropriate to the grade level and subject in urban and suburban schools.

Senior Pre-Practicum
Senior Requirements: A minimum of 150 hours in fall (pre-practicum) and a minimum of 300 hours in spring (practicum). Students attend the site two full days per week for the full semester. Working with one teacher, they take responsibility for various aspects of the curriculum. By the end of the semester, they have planned and taught lessons in all subjects in urban and suburban schools.

Sample practicum sites:

  • Cabot Elementary School, Newton
  • Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, Waltham
  • Franklin Elementary School, West Newton
  • Gardner Pilot Academy, Allston
  • Hurley K-8 School, Boston
  • Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School, Newton
  • McDevit Middle School, Waltham
  • Mission Hill K-8 School, Jamaica Plain
  • Oakdale Elementary School, Dedham
  • Pierce School, West Newton
  • Saint Bridget School, Framingham
  • Summer School, Lynnfield
  • Ward Elementary School, Newton
  • Whittemore Elementary, Waltham
  • William H. Lincoln School, Brookline
  • Williams Elementary School, Auburndale

This example four-year plan is provided as a broad framework that you can follow in order to complete your degree within four years. Be sure to always consult your academic advisor before registering for classes.

4-Year Plan
Student Profile
Autumn headshot

"The Education program has made me incredibly confident to pursue a career in teaching."

Autumn Walker '26

Secondary Education, English

Read More about Autumn
Autumn headshot
isabelle headshot

"I love the close-knit campus community Lasell offers."

Isabelle Conway '25

Elementary Education

Read More about Isabelle
isabelle headshot

Colleges of Distinction - Education 2020-2021
Lasell University's education program has been recognized by Colleges of Distinction for its excellence.

 

Learning Outcomes

  • Become am effective and engaging teacher who can write a lesson plan and lead a classroom.
  • Create learning environments to support:
    • learners’ diverse needs (e.g., hearing or vision needs, learning styles, multiple intelligences)
    • students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds
    • opportunities for all students to demonstrate academic ability
  • Be understanding of own learning style and be able to to evaluate and modify your own teaching methods. plan and implement their own professional development based on their critical reflections.

For a complete list of courses and Learning outcomes, view the Academic Catalog

Career Success

Lasell’s degree in Secondary Education Licensure with English degree prepares students for careers in teaching and education.

Our students have had practicums with:

  • Boston Public Schools
  • Dedham Public Schools
  • Newton Public Schools
  • Waltham Public Schools
  • Watertown Public Schools
  • Other school districts and private schools in the metropolitan Boston area
Ninos de Veracruz

The non-profit was started by six students in 2003. The club raises money for micro-loans and scholarships for children in Veracruz, Mexico, so they can further their education and build a brighter futures.

Tomorrow's Teachers

This club provides students with opportunities to interact with and learn from their fellow education majors and professors while also receiving MTEL support and the opportunity to meet professionals in the field of education.

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