Education

Colleges and Programs of Study

You will be exposed to a variety of classroom experiences, mentored by certified and talented teachers, and work with a wide range of student populations in the public schools. On campus, small interactive classes and a dedicated and accessible faculty whose priorities are teaching and advising allow students to benefit from a highly personalized educational experience.

Our education graduates are active learners and decision makers. From their first day in the classroom, teachers are prepared to lead and instruct at the level they have chosen. Moreover, our program stresses fundamental Wesleyan values: appreciation for the breadth and richness of culture, and a respect for the dignity, diversity, and worth of individuals.

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  • Teacher Education Mission

    West Virginia Wesleyan College seeks to prepare graduates who are knowledgeable of lessons from the past, aware of demands of the present, and prepared to creatively face the challenges of a changing global community. Wesleyan seeks to assist teacher candidates to identify career goals and to develop a broad background in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to become successful classroom teachers.

    Upon completion of the teacher education program, candidates will be knowledgeable in all aspects of teaching and demonstrate the effective use of active learning in the classroom. Candidates will consciously make effective empirical and data based classroom decisions, reflect upon their impact, and modify instruction and practice for the future. Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to adapt instruction to the cultural and social contexts of the school community and provide for individual differences and diversity.

    Candidates must be able to design instruction and learning activities based upon contemporary research, theories, and best practice. Personal, ethical, and professional roles of teachers are identified and nurtured through coursework and experiences. Candidates must possess the personal dispositions necessary to be successful teachers – initiative, responsibility, emotional maturity, being a positive role model, a sincere concern for students, ability to collaborate with colleagues, professional commitment, and reflective evaluation of one’s own dispositions and decisions.

    Content knowledge is a prerequisite for teaching. Through a comprehensive study in one’s teaching field, the development of effective teaching strategies, and the desire to exhibit recognized qualities of a professional, the candidate becomes a viable practitioner.

  • Faculty

    Dr. Tammy Samples, Director – School of Education, Associate Professor
    B.A., West Virginia University
    M.Ed., Marshall University
    M.Ed., Marshall University
    Ed.D., West Virginia University

    Area of Instruction: Education
    Email: samples_t@airllevant.com
    Phone: 304-473-8142

    Dr. Michael Mendicino, Assistant Professor
    M.S., California University of Pennsylvania
    Ed.D., West Virginia University

    Area of Instruction: Special Education
    Email: mendicino_m@airllevant.com
    Phone: 304-473-8345

    Vicki Sharp, Director of Clinical Experiences
    Email: sharp.v@airllevant.com
    Phone: 304-473-8048

    Dr. Shirley Fortney, Emeriti Faculty
    Area of Instruction: Special Education
    Email: fortney@airllevant.com
    Phone: 304-473-8107

    Dr. Karen R. Petitto, Emeriti Faculty
    Area of Instruction: Technology Education
    Email: petitto@airllevant.com

    Dr. Lynn Rupp, Emeriti Faculty
    Email: rupp_l@airllevant.com

  • Majors
    • Elementary Education (K-6)

      Students will:

      • Incorporate technology and 21st century knowledge, skills, and techniques into instructional strategies to promote higher-level student learning.
      • Design and implement a variety of instructional strategies that promote learning experiences connected to students’ diversity in culture, gender, disability, linguistics, and family differences
      • Synthesize and apply the various learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism to facilitate the learning of diverse students.
      • Apply decision-making skills to the analysis of the curriculum and modifications necessary to meet individual learner needs and comply with legal and policy requirements.
      • Apply subject matter pedagogy and ability to design instructional experiences that promote creativity innovation, and problem solving.
      • Demonstrate an ability to prepare and apply balanced assessment and to use assessment results to modify instruction.
      • Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions appropriate for meeting state standards and content specialization standards expected for professional teaching candidates.
    • Music Education (PreK-Adult)

      Students will:

      • Incorporate technology and 21st century knowledge, skills, and techniques into instructional strategies to promote higher-level student learning.
      • Design and implement a variety of instructional strategies that promote learning experiences connected to students’ diversity in culture, gender, disability, linguistics, and family differences
      • Synthesize and apply the various learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism to facilitate the learning of diverse students.
      • Apply decision-making skills to the analysis of the curriculum and modifications necessary to meet individual learner needs and comply with legal and policy requirements.
      • Apply subject matter pedagogy and ability to design instructional experiences that promote creativity innovation, and problem solving.
      • Demonstrate an ability to prepare and apply balanced assessment and to use assessment results to modify instruction.
      • Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions appropriate for meeting state standards and content specialization standards expected for professional teaching candidates.
    • English Education (5-Adult)

      Students will:

      • Incorporate technology and 21st century knowledge, skills, and techniques into instructional strategies to promote higher-level student learning.
      • Design and implement a variety of instructional strategies that promote learning experiences connected to students’ diversity in culture, gender, disability, linguistics, and family differences
      • Synthesize and apply the various learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism to facilitate the learning of diverse students.
      • Apply decision-making skills to the analysis of the curriculum and modifications necessary to meet individual learner needs and comply with legal and policy requirements.
      • Apply subject matter pedagogy and ability to design instructional experiences that promote creativity innovation, and problem solving.
      • Demonstrate an ability to prepare and apply balanced assessment and to use assessment results to modify instruction.
      • Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions appropriate for meeting state standards and content specialization standards expected for professional teaching candidates.
    • Math Education (5-Adult)

      Students will:

      • Incorporate technology and 21st century knowledge, skills, and techniques into instructional strategies to promote higher-level student learning.
      • Design and implement a variety of instructional strategies that promote learning experiences connected to students’ diversity in culture, gender, disability, linguistics, and family differences
      • Synthesize and apply the various learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism to facilitate the learning of diverse students.
      • Apply decision-making skills to the analysis of the curriculum and modifications necessary to meet individual learner needs and comply with legal and policy requirements.
      • Apply subject matter pedagogy and ability to design instructional experiences that promote creativity innovation, and problem solving.
      • Demonstrate an ability to prepare and apply balanced assessment and to use assessment results to modify instruction.
      • Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions appropriate for meeting state standards and content specialization standards expected for professional teaching candidates.
    • Social Studies Education (5-Adult)

      Students will:

      • Incorporate technology and 21st century knowledge, skills, and techniques into instructional strategies to promote higher-level student learning.
      • Design and implement a variety of instructional strategies that promote learning experiences connected to students’ diversity in culture, gender, disability, linguistics, and family differences
      • Synthesize and apply the various learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism to facilitate the learning of diverse students.
      • Apply decision-making skills to the analysis of the curriculum and modifications necessary to meet individual learner needs and comply with legal and policy requirements.
      • Apply subject matter pedagogy and ability to design instructional experiences that promote creativity innovation, and problem solving.
      • Demonstrate an ability to prepare and apply balanced assessment and to use assessment results to modify instruction.
      • Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions appropriate for meeting state standards and content specialization standards expected for professional teaching candidates.
    • Special Education (Multicategorical K-12)

      Students will:

      • Incorporate technology and 21st century knowledge, skills, and techniques into instructional strategies to promote higher-level student learning.
      • Design and implement a variety of instructional strategies that promote learning experiences connected to students’ diversity in culture, gender, disability, linguistics, and family differences
      • Synthesize and apply the various learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism to facilitate the learning of diverse students.
      • Apply decision-making skills to the analysis of the curriculum and modifications necessary to meet individual learner needs and comply with legal and policy requirements.
      • Apply subject matter pedagogy and ability to design instructional experiences that promote creativity innovation, and problem solving.
      • Demonstrate an ability to prepare and apply balanced assessment and to use assessment results to modify instruction.
      • Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions appropriate for meeting state standards and content specialization standards expected for professional teaching candidates.
    • Programs of Study