Total credits: 124
Upper-division credits: 40
Credits in residence at CSUMB: 30 (24 upper-division)
Credits in the major: 24 (12 upper-division)
In California, students wanting to become teachers need to pass two standardized tests prior to entering a teaching credential program. The California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) evaluates competency in basic reading, writing, mathematics, critical analysis and evaluation, and comprehension. Most students should take this test in their sophomore or junior year. More information can be obtained from the cbest.nesinc.com website.
At the conclusion of the Liberal Studies major, in order to enter a Multiple Subjects (Elementary School) Teacher Education Credential Program, students must pass the California Subject Examination for Teachers--Multiple Subjects (CSET). This examination is used to demonstrate competency in the subject areas completed as part of the Liberal Studies program and taught in K-8 curricula: mathematics; English writing, reading, and literature; history and social science; visual and performing arts; science; physical education and development; human development; linguistics; and cultural diversity. Most students take this test in their senior year. More information can be obtained from the cset.nesinc.com website.
You officially begin the major by enrolling in LS 300 Major ProSeminar where you work with the instructor to create or revise your Individual Learning Plan. That ILP maps out how you will achieve each of the Major Learning Outcomes designated below by successfully completing the listed courses or alternative assessment options. You conclude the major by completing your Capstone, a publicly presented project that displays your cumulative learning in the major. [Learn more at CSUMB.EDU/capstone].
MLO 1 Knowledge and Lifelong Learning ~ Students contextualize meanings, concepts, information, and theories acquired in the humanities, mathematics, social sciences, natural sciences, technology, human growth and development, language studies, and the arts. ~ Students integrate knowledge across disciplines and use such knowledge when demonstrating achievement in diverse ways of knowing and making responsible and ethical judgments.
Teaching Pathway and Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 2 Orientation, Foundations, and Perspectives in the Major ~ Students explore fundamental concepts, perspectives, and principles related to the issues and conditions regarding social, philosophical, and historical perspectives of education or applicable context in a multicultural and multilingual society. ~ Students investigate their own position regarding the characteristics of a well-educated person in a pluralistic society. ~ Students understand the interaction among local, national, and global histories, cultural development, and practice.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 3 Cross-Cultural Competence ~ Students understand the complexities that underlie values and assumptions about race, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, physical and cognitive disabilities, age, religion, ethnicity, cultural heritage, environmental/species rights, and nationality. ~ Students understand and compare their own cultural values and relationships across cultures with the values and relationships of other cultural groups. ~ Students understand that diversity, pluralism, and globalism span all human and social potential (race, class, sexual orientation, language, age, disabilities, religion, ethnicity, environmental/species rights, etc.) and is not limited to nation state borders. ~ Students participate meaningfully and successfully in social and verbal discourse across these differences. ~ Students foster cross-cultural understanding and globalism and respect for humanity and the earth as the social responsibility of themselves as well-educated people.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 4 Critical Communication in English, Language, and Literature ~ Students effectively and purposefully make meaning and examine assumptions using a variety of communication modalities, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking, in a given communication situation and disciplinary framework. ~ Students communicate creatively in ways that demonstrate integration across disciplinary frameworks. ~ Students understand principles of linguistics, language structure, language development, acquisition, and language use and can apply those concepts to real-world literacy. ~ Students can analyze multicultural literature in cultural, social, and historical contexts as appropriate for a given audience and level of literacy. ~ Students can apply diverse theoretical lenses to evaluate and assess the assumptions in the content and format of communications media regarding underrepresented and misrepresented voices. ~ Students comprehend the ethically and aesthetically transformative nature of language and communications media, especially with regard to global/social equity.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 5 Technological and Information Literacy ~ Students demonstrate comfort and confidence with technology and information search and discovery methods. ~ Students use tools effectively for the discovery, acquisition, and evaluation of information. ~ Students can manipulate and present information in a creative and ethical manner. ~ Students use accepted word-processing techniques to produce a well designed and aesthetically pleasing formal document, use spreadsheet features to produce a representation and analysis of numerical data, access informational retrieval sources to locate and evaluate information relevant to research endeavors, and create an original digital image.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 6 Histories and Social Sciences ~ Students analyze human interactions and change in sociological, multicultural, and educational contexts. ~ Students understand the histories of multiple peoples and various perspectives of events from ancient civilizations through the medieval and early modern times, U.S. histories from early exploration to industrial America, and California history and government.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway:
MLO 7 Mathematics ~ Students explore and question mathematical problems and their characteristics. ~ Students develop strategies related to solving problems and demonstrate an understanding of the paths to acceptable solutions. ~ Students can explain mathematical ideas and reasons why algorithms yield correct results.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 8 Natural Sciences ~ Students observe, record, analyze, and interpret scientific phenomena which occur in earth science, life science, and physical science. Students are aware of the impact of humans on ecosystems and ecosystems as influential in sustaining life on earth.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 9 Creative and Aesthetic Responsiveness ~ Students understand the basic skills, techniques, and conceptual frameworks unique to at least four of the following art forms: visual art, dance, music, and theater. ~ Students respond to and produce art through written, visual, or performance modalities that communicate effectively to a diverse audience. ~ Students articulate a personal response to various works of visual and performing arts and communicate the significance of personal and cultural factors that shape their own responses and the cultural and historic factors that influence the responses of a specific audience to works of arts.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 10 Human Development ~ Students observe, record, analyze, and interpret behavior of individuals across the lifespan. ~ Students understand and draw upon a variety of theoretical perspectives to instruct and interact with others. ~ Students identify the influence of context (e.g. socioeconomic status) on individual, family, and cultural development.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 11 Physical Development and Health ~ Students demonstrate understanding of the basic components of movement and physical activity including locomotor skills and biomechanics. ~ Students identify the common causes of and interrelations among physical fitness, health, and learning. ~ Students understand scientifically-based principles of health promotion and disease prevention across the lifespan and in specific populations. ~ Students can integrate physical development, health, and wellness into other areas of the curriculum.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 12 Area of Emphasis/Focus of Study ~ Students create a 12-unit curricular focus of study that expands the knowledge of humanities, mathematics, social sciences, natural sciences, technology, human growth and development, language studies, and the arts.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 13 Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility ~ Students participate responsibly in discipline-based and/or profession-based group situations and communities. ~ Students can engage in critical self-reflection of their participation in the community including their own assumptions and stereotypes and their contributions as service learners and future professionals to the community's efforts to change systemic inequities and injustice. ~ Students examine and analyze a community issue in the context of systemic inequities and injustice. ~ Students recognize the importance of guiding principles in personal and professional conduct, such as truth, justice, honesty, and sensitivity to differing values (including cross-cultural variances) and ethical systems. ~ Students are knowledgeable of the demographics, sociocultural dynamics and assets of a specific community, school, and/or profession-based setting. ~ Students understand reciprocity in the dynamics of service work and learning in community situations.
Teaching Pathway
Non-Teaching Pathway
MLO 14 Synthesis and Assessment in the Major ~ Students identify and refine a topic and formulate a research question related to that topic. ~ Students describe and categorize the types of information and methodologies utilized for a single topic. ~ Students locate, retrieve, and evaluate scholarly information relevant to the research question and organize, interpret, and communicate research findings and conclusions. ~ Students design a research proposal, articulate a problem solving approach, and complete their project. ~ Students integrate and reflect on their learning experiences in Liberal Studies.
Teaching Pathway and Non-Teaching Pathway
Revised 6/10/05