Online Bachelors Degree Programs for Teaching

Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching programs offer courses to examine methods to better educate students. These classes include ways to construct more effective lessons. To do this, courses teach about how students learn. This could include subjects like child psychology and productive learning environments.

Then, students could apply this knowledge to in-classroom techniques to address students’ unique academic needs. In addition, students could also have the chance to further concentrate their studies to a unique aspect of education. This could include subjects like special education, secondary or elementary education, and common core topics.

What's the Difference Between a Bachelor of Teaching and a Bachelor of Education?

To many, teaching and education bachelors degrees may seem like the same degree. Both programs do focus on helping students develop techniques in the classroom. But, they differ in a few areas.

Education bachelors degrees usually focus on students learning general teaching methods. Typically in online teaching bachelor degrees, students study a particular subject like math or history that they would want to teach. Then, courses cover teaching techniques that could be applied to many different classroom settings. While this may be effective, it doesn’t delve into why certain techniques are effective. Or, how to address the unique concerns or learning habits of certain students.

But, by pursuing online teaching bachelor degrees, you may focus more on the act of teaching as opposed to general educational methods. This is known as pedagogy. Or, the study of teaching.

Within online teaching bachelor degrees, you could study how to better show information in the classroom. To do so, online teaching bachelor degrees' classes might instruct how to take students’ learning needs into account. This could include many different factors. Some may even be outside the classroom! As part of your program, you study some of the following effects students’ ability to learn.

• Student Psychology
• Classroom Environment
• School Curriculum
• Current Assessment Strategies

The goal of studying these concepts is to help develop your ability to construct lessons that are intuitive for students. That way, your potential future students could possibly better engage with their course materials.

In short, online bachelors degree in teaching programs could be a perfect degree for you if you’re looking to study what goes into creating a supportive learning environment for students.

Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching : Concentrations

As opposed to a bachelors in general education, online teaching bachelor degrees instead focus on developing a students’ abilities in one core area. This way, classes could devote more time to instructing about the specific teaching methods associated with an academic topic. And, students may could also be able to spend more time studying their preferred educational topic. Available concentrations may vary by school. Below, you could read about some possible concentrations.

Elementary Education

The elementary education concentration focuses primarily on teaching strategies for grades 1 to 6. Courses in this concentration are designed to help students better understand the developing brain of younger students. And, how to develop it further! Classes might include childhood development, multicultural education, and psychological development of elementary education. You may also be able to further concentrate your elementary education studies by focusing on a specific academic subject like art, English, math, or science.

Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching : Secondary Education

The secondary education concentration may focus on teaching methods to address the needs of students in grades 7 to 12. Concentrated coursework for online teaching bachelor degrees could include some of the following classes.

• Psychology of Adolescents
• Technology in Education
• Reading & Writing Across Secondary Curriculum

Much like the elementary education concentration, you may also be able to further concentrate your studies with a preferred academic subject.

Specific Topic (History, Math, etc.)

Instead of focusing on an age group, some online bachelors in teaching might focus solely on teaching methods for a specific subject. For example, you might want to concentrate your Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching studies in one of the following areas.

• English
• History
• Art
• Theatre
• Spanish
• Music
• Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Technology
• Physical Education

Available topics may differ by school. Check with your school for more information about their academic concentrations.

Special Education

The special education concentration focuses on teaching techniques that address the unique needs of special education students. Courses might include some of the following classes.

• Behavioral Analysis
• Classroom Environment Management
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Practices
• Teaching to Diverse Learners

When Do I Choose an Online Bachelors in Teaching Concentration?

During your online bachelors in teaching, you might not apply directly to a concentration during your freshmen year. Many schools may not accept students into their concentrations until their sophomore or junior year. Schools often do this so that students engage with general teaching curriculum before moving on to more advanced topics. If you complete these general requirements, you could then apply to the education department for entrance into your preferred program.

Applying may only be the beginning. First, the faculty may conduct an audit of your class so far. This helps them to assess how you’ve been doing into the program up until now.

Some schools may also require students to take an exam prior to entering a concentration. The exam material might address topics that may have been covered in your general teaching courses. Additional requirements for entering concentrations could also include a letter of intent or letters of recommendation from a professor.

Concentration requirements may by school. Be sure to speak with schools for details about the concentration process.

General Core Curriculum

Despite the great number of possible concentrations, there are still some general courses that many online bachelors in teaching may include. These often focus on how you teach as opposed to what you teach. This way, you could better understand what makes an effective lesson to support your students. As part of your program, you could study some of the following.

Diverse Teaching and Instruction

In diverse instruction courses, students may study ways to effectively include a wide variety of students in their teaching methods. This could include students who have behavioral issues, attention deficit disorders, gifted needs, or students with physical disabilities, and more. The main goal of these online teaching bachelor degrees is to teach how techniques to create welcoming and inclusive classrooms for students who have different learning needs.

Environment Management

Environment management courses deal with the classroom itself. Classes for online teaching bachelor degrees may cover how to create a classroom that isn’t distracting to students. Additionally, they may also offer tips how to manage students. This could include methods to reduce bullying or increase students’ self-esteem. By doing this, students may feel more comfortable and confident studying their material.

Application of Assessment

Tests and exams are usually given to assess how students are engaging with their material for online teaching bachelor degrees. But, it’s also important to make sure that teachers are assessing their student’s knowledge correctly. Application of assessment courses teach ways to accurately judge student progress. This may also be a great way to study how to structure your courses so that they intuitively lead up to exams.

Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching : Instructional Design

Instructional design classes teach how to create an overarching curriculum for a classroom. This way, you might be able to create lesson plans that naturally feed into each other. This could make it easier for students to follow along in classes. Also, this could help you structure your classes so that students don’t burn out early in the year or have a lot of work at the end!

Student Teaching

Online teaching bachelor degrees may require you to student teach. These programs are often designed to help you practically apply your teaching knowledge to an actual classroom.

It’s important for online students to know that student teaching may require you to go to a physical school location for one or two semesters during your degree. Typically, schools consider where a student lives when placing them. This way, students may have minimal travel when going to their program. In some instances, students may be required to live on campus to be close to the school they’re teaching in while they earn online teaching bachelor degrees.

During these semesters, students may start off by shadowing a current teacher in their preferred concentration. This may involve you sitting in on their classes to see how they teach. Shadowing might also include with things like lesson planning, attending faculty meetings, and advising extracurricular activities.

Then, students may transition into teaching the class themselves. This could start with teaching a portion of a lesson. And then, you could gradually work up to teaching a full lesson by yourself. By the end of your placement, you might have the chance to teach large portions of the class curriculum under the supervision of your placement advisor.

The length of the student teaching semester and placements may differ by school. Ask your intended program for more student teaching details.

Applying to Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching Programs

Online teaching bachelor degrees usually focus on past academic performance. First, schools may ask students to submit a 2.75 or higher high school GPA. Also, they may request you to provide SAT/ACT scores.

When applying, you may have the chance to take part in an optional entrance interview with admissions and education department staff. In the interviews, faculty might ask you questions about why you’re interested in studying educational teaching methods. They may also ask you if you’re interested in any of their available concentration. If you choose to interview with a school, be sure to emphasize your own personal academic goals clearly. Your answers could highlight your interest in the degree or a particular concentration.

Graduating with Online Teaching Bachelor Degrees

Much like many other bachelor programs, earning an online bachelors degree in teaching could take students 4 years or more to complete. During this time, students could have the chance to take 115-123 credit hours’ worth of courses. This means that students might take a median of 15 credit hours per semester. Program length may vary by school. Check with your intended school for more information.

What’s Next?

Many online bachelors in teaching are offered in conjunction with a masters program. In these programs, students tackle masters coursework as part of their bachelors classes. Then, immediately after graduation, students be to pursue their masters degree.

Since students may have taken graduate courses during their bachelors program, they could potentially earn a masters in teaching faster than normal. For more information, check out the online masters in teaching page.

What Could I Do with an Online Bachelors Degree in Teaching?

Many students who earn a bachelors in teaching online may choose to pursue a career in the education field after graduation. Specifically, many with online teaching bachelor degrees choose to pursue positions in the teaching sphere. Depending on your concentration, you could consider some of the following career opportunities. Also listed are their median salaries as of 2015.

• Kindergarten & Elementary School Teacher, $54,550ⁱ
• Middle School Teacher, $55,860ⁱⁱ
• High School Teacher, $57,200ⁱⁱⁱ
• Special Education Teacher, $56,800^iv

Entry-level positions in these fields typically require students to have earned a bachelors in education or a related field. Additionally, teachers may be required to receive additional state certification to teach in the classroom. To earn a license, students may have to spend a set amount of hours student teaching or pass a standardized exam. Requirements vary by state. Speak with your school or state department of education for more details.

It’s important to note that to maintain licensure, teachers may be required to earn a masters degree in a related educational field. This usually does not need to be completed immediately after earning a bachelors degree. For more information about this, check out the online masters in teacher education page.

But, there are some teaching careers that don’t require a license to pursue. Below are a few careers that you could apply your online bachelors in teaching to, as well as their median salaries.

• Teacher Assistant, $24,900^v
• Preschool Teacher, $28,570^vi

These positions often require a bachelors in education or a related field for entry-level roles.

Continue Your Search for Online Teaching Bachelor Degrees

Online teaching bachelor degrees might be the push you need to enhance your teaching capabilities. With these skills and knowledge you could potentially support your students as they move forward in their own education.

To start your search, browse the list of programs on this page. To read more about a program, click its link. While you’re there, you could also request additional information. This could be a good way to find out more about schools’ admissions deadlines, courses, and student teaching placements. It might also be a great way to start talking with potential schools. Good luck finding a perfect online bachelors in teaching for you!

[i] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/kindergarten-and-elementary-school-teachers.htm | 
[ii] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/middle-school-teachers.htm | [iii] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/high-school-teachers.htm | 
[iv] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/special-education-teachers.htm | [v] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/teacher-assistants.htm#tab-1 | [vi] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers.htm#tab-10