Program Review
Mission Statement
Building on teacher-candidates’ liberal arts education, our program is designed to develop exemplary instructional skills, habits of reflection, and moral and cultural sensitivities that promote lifelong learning of diverse students.
Program Learning Outcomes
The links below lead to information about the department's most recent assessment of student learning relative to our program learning outcomes.
The overarching goal for the Education Department is to ensure that candidates demonstrate mastery of the CTC’s Teacher Performance Expectations or TPEs. TPEs were updated by the state in 2016 and continue to serve as the department’s Program Learning Outcomes. For each education course, department faculty list and link TPEs to assignments at the end of each syllabus. TPEs are demonstrated across the arc of the liberal studies major and program through signature assignments. Heavy and strategic emphasis of the TPEs occurs during the credential year.
The Education Department is committed to developing future teachers:
- as whole persons, multi-dimensional human beings
- with critical and appreciative lenses on the world
- who see situations from multiple perspectives
- with strong oral and written communication skills
Core beliefs pertinent to the preparation of teachers:
- teaching is an extraordinarily complex and demanding profession
- teaching is a collaborative and communal enterprise
- teaching is a deeply personal and human undertaking
- teaching is inherently a moral enterprise
- teaching is learned in large part by doing—along with appropriate reflection
- content and pedagogical content knowledge are critical to success
- preparation for teaching must be aligned as much as possible with the real world
- effective classroom management is a major component in effective teaching
- we want our candidates to value and respond positively to diversity and exceptionality
- we encourage candidates to have a teachable spirit to learn practitioner wisdom
- we value an openness to diverse professional orientations and emphases
- regular and responsible use of assessment should inform instruction
- personal coaching and mentoring empowers our candidates to improve
Alumni Stories
Nicole Aoki ’20, “My professors were able to cater to my individual needs as a student teacher, and they knew me well enough to pair me with a cooperating teacher who complemented my teaching style. Additionally, the courses I took during the credential program were relevant to what I experienced in student teaching. With extensive knowledge about the Common Core State Standards and with the practice of lesson planning during the credential program, I felt better prepared with the rest of my responsibilities in the classroom.”
Kelly Vivanco ’23, “The professors very intentionally invest in you not just as a student or future educator but as a whole person. I was deeply impacted not just by the way they taught me pedagogy but also in the way they inspired me in my core teaching philosophies.”
Kayla Monson ’19, “Westmont’s Credential Program is rich in practical application, relevant teaching strategies, and in preparing teaching candidates for the realities of the classroom. During my credential year, I received hands-on tools and experience through my ED courses, various field sites, observing my cooperating teachers, and through one-on-one mentoring from professors who observed and advised my teaching. One of the most meaningful aspects of my experience was completing the two-week take over in a 4th grade classroom. This was the best way to prepare me for what to expect as I entered a full-time teaching position. Westmont’s teaching program was a wonderful blessing and I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to become a teacher.”
Career Opportunities
Most liberal studies majors pursue a teaching credential and begin a career as an elementary school teacher.
Secondary credentials are offered in
Art English History/Social Science Physical Education/ Kinesiology Music Mathematics | Science: Biology Chemistry Physics Spanish |
See Career Paths for Graduates Who Studied Liberal Studies at Westmont
Faculty and Staff
Opportunites Abroad
- Westmont in Mexico
- Westmont in Northern Europe
- Westmont’s Europe Semester
- Westmont’s England Semester
Sample Tracks by Year
| Regular Track | Fast-Track |
|---|---|
Fall (13 units)
Spring (13 units)
| Fall (17 units)
Spring (17 units)
Mayterm (3-4 units)
|
| Regular Track | Fast Track |
|---|---|
Fall (16 units)
Spring (16 units)
| Fall (19 units -- overload)
Spring (18 units)
|
| Regular Track | Fast Track |
|---|---|
Fall (14 units)
Spring (15 units)
| Fall (18 units)
Spring (19 units -- overload)
|
| Regular Track | Fast Track |
|---|---|
Fall (18 units)
Spring (15 units)
| Fall (18 units) Graduate with 124 units in December
Spring (15 units ) Post graduate units
|
Liberal Studies Handbook
Westmont’s Liberal Studies major is a state-approved program for Elementary Subject Matter, aligned with the CSET examination that allows entry into a teacher preparation program for a Multiple Subject (Elementary) credential.