Teacher Education

The nine programs in the Teacher Education Department (TED) are designed to provide students with a strong foundation in teacher preparation and to also give students substantial background in the liberal arts and sciences. Here is a list of Teacher Education Contacts.

Childcare/Early Childhood Education

The Childcare/Early Childhood Education Program offers students the choice of a major focusing on infants and toddlers from birth to age three (ECI Major) or preschool to 2nd grade, children ages 3 to 8 (ECP Major).

Childhood Education

The Childhood Education Program offer students a solid foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, as well as several educational foundation courses.  These courses provide beginning preparation for later studies at a senior college with the ultimate goal of obtaining initial New York State certification for elementary school teachers (first through sixth grades).

Students who are fluent in Spanish, Mandarin, or Haitian Creole are encouraged to consider the Bilingual Childhood Education (EDB) major.

Secondary Education

The Secondary Education Program offers students a solid foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, as well as educational foundations and subject concentration courses. The Secondary Education Program offers students the choice of a major focusing in five teaching subject areas:

• Secondary Mathematics Education (SEM)
• Secondary Biology Education (SEB)
• Secondary Chemistry Education (SEC)
• Secondary Physics Education (SEP)
• Secondary Education for Social Studies (SES) (new)

LEAP to Teacher

If you are currently working for NYC Dept. of Education as a teaching assistant/paraprofessional, the LEAP to Teacher program can help you take the next step in your career by pursuing a degree at BMCC.

Non-Majors and Liberal Arts Majors

All childhood education foundations courses and secondary education foundations courses may be taken as electives by students who wish to continue in teacher education at a four-year college but who are not enrolled in any of the BMCC secondary education degree majors. In addition, for Liberal Arts Majors, secondary education foundations courses can be taken to fulfill the Liberal Arts career credit requirements.

Research Opportunities

Teacher Education majors work closely with professors whose research makes a significant contribution to their field. As reported in BMCC News and elsewhere, this includes the work of teacher education professors Kirsten Cole, Jean Plaisir and Mindi Reich-Shapiro, who have presented findings on how to recruit and retain more men, especially those from minority and low-income communities, into the field of early childhood education.

For more information on their work, here is the New York City Early Childhood Research Network press release, as well as a technical report, “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Influencing Men in ECE,” executive summary and research brief.