Typically, middle-level teachers in Illinois have come from an elementary or secondary education background. At Illinois State a student can prepare to teach specifically at the middle level. The Middle Level Education major at Illinois State is one of only two in the State of Illinois. Graduates of this program receive a certificate to teach kindergarten through ninth grade. Their preparation is to teach at the middle level—5th through 8th grade—in two subject areas.
The Middle Level Education major conducts its PDS program at Bloomington Junior High School. The senior year is composed of Illinois State classes taught on site at the junior high school combined with extensive classroom experience in the classroom with mentor teachers. During the second half of the year, the intern takes over the classroom in the subject matter that they are preparing to teach.
Read the Handbook for the Middle Level PDS (pdf) to get an idea of what the first semester of the program entails. This handbook contains an old syllabus and is subject to some minor changes, but it will provide an idea of what the first semester is like.