Bachelor of Behavioral Studies in Elementary Education

Our Interdisciplinary Generalist program is dedicated to preparing future EC-6 classroom teachers who understand how to provide positive and productive learning environments as well as engaging and developmentally appropriate instruction that is respectful for diverse learners in public, private, or charter school classrooms.

Because of our faculty members’ past teaching, administrative, or regional consultant experiences, the mosaic of the Interdisciplinary Generalist program is highlighted with reality while learning how to apply researched-based theories. Through the various hands-on learning experiences with HSU faculty members, local certified educators, and administrators, our HSU Education majors develop a personal and professional philosophy of teaching that targets the whole child – socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically.

The Hardin-Simmons University Interdisciplinary Generalist program is accredited by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which reviews our Educator Preparation Program yearly with a review of test scores and other accountability requirements.

Accredited Program

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and Texas Education Agency (TEA) Office of Accountability has awarded Hardin-Simmons University Teacher Education Program a rating of “Accredited” under the Accountability System for Educator Preparation authorized by Texas Education Code 21.045 every year since the rating of teacher preparation entities has been awarded. Educator preparation programs are held accountable for the performance of their graduates on the state credentialing examinations required for certification. Programs must achieve a minimum pass rate on the tests by disaggregated subgroups (All, Male, Female, White, Hispanic, African American, Other) to receive a rating of “Accredited.”

HSU EPP Technology

Hardin-Simmons University Educator Preparation Program (EPP) begins teacher certification coursework with a freshman-level educational technology course that introduces future teachers to the standards developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). These standards require students to apply for the roles as a Learner, Leader, Citizen, Collaborator, Designer, Facilitator, and Analyst. Within the technology class, EPP faculty members utilize the SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification, or redefinition of a task or product) and RAT (replacement, amplification, or transformation) models of instruction within the course applications while introducing real-world connections with the Google’s G-Suite for Education (i.e., Docs, Classroom, Sheets, Forms, etc.). Throughout the remaining EPP pedagogical classes for all certification programs, faculty members require future teachers to apply, analyze, evaluate, and create technological integrations within instruction and assessments for course requirements. Ultimately, all HSU education majors are given an opportunity to gain Level 1 Google Certification prior to graduation.

Hardin-Simmons University EPP prepares teachers to use technology effectively to improve teaching and learning for the purpose of increasing student academic achievement in various junior and senior-level content and pedagogical classes. Future teachers focus on analyzing data from informal reading and writing assessments to determine differentiated instruction for diverse learners as well as analyzing sub-populations, frequency distribution, scaffolding TEKS in order to close the achievement gaps (i.e., Eduphoria, Lead4ward, IXL, MobyMax, iStation, Success Maker, Education Galaxy, Starfall, Pebble Go, and Formative Loop) during a senior-level capstone course.

You’ll never find another place like Hardin-Simmons University. We are a Baptist university in Abilene, Texas, with 127 years of history and traditions that aren’t matched at any other school, and that gives HSU a personality as big as the West Texas horizon.

Our Mission and Vision

• Mission: The mission of Hardin-Simmons University is to be a community dedicated to providing excellence in education enlightened by Christian faith and values.
• Vision: Hardin-Simmons University will be an innovative community of servant scholars engaging the minds and nurturing the spirits of future Christian leaders.

So, what does make HSU different?

Honestly, you won’t know what makes Hardin-Simmons different from other universities until you visit. When prospective students visit the campus, they use the words “family” and “home” to describe HSU. We think that says a lot about us, and we’d love to have you come visit.

But right now, you want to know why you should even come to visit. So, let’s start at HSU’s beginning … actually before its formation.

The Legacy of James B. Simmons

Our namesake founder, Dr. James B. Simmons, was a Baptist minister from the Northeast before and after the Civil War. He preached freedom for slaves before the war, which earned him threats of tar and feathers … and got his church in Indianapolis burned to the ground. After the Civil War, he helped found seven colleges for freed slaves because he knew education was essential for their success as free citizens.

Finally, he helped a group of merchants, ranchers, and pastors in the frontier town of Abilene, Texas, start a new Baptist university to serve a huge area of the country where no higher education yet existed. The legacy of Dr. James B. Simmons is still strongly felt and embodied at Hardin-Simmons University today.

Simmons was a frontiersman who never lived on the frontier. Through his thoughts and prayers and dreams, he helped others push boundaries and break barriers. Simmons asked himself two questions, “What is the greatest thought that has ever occupied your mind?” and, “What is your duty toward fulfilling it?”

His pioneering spirit and those two huge questions produced a mission that lives on at HSU, “So that Christianity may reach the whole globe, all barriers must be removed.”

The HSU Family

Our students have big dreams, and HSU exists to instill the knowledge and nurture the confidence to identify and fulfill those dreams. We do that by embracing every student as a member of our Family. You will matter at HSU, and you will matter to us when you go into the world.

Our students will tell you that they came here to be part of that Family. Our alumni will tell you, from all around the world, that they are still part of the HSU Family.

Prospective students who visit HSU tell us all the time, “I just knew HSU was where I was supposed to be.” Our campus is welcoming and not intimidating. Everything is easy to find and all classes are within quick walks of residential buildings.

HSU Traditions

Big Texas universities are famous for their traditions, but big schools aren’t famous for their family atmospheres. At Hardin-Simmons, though, you can find traditions like Beanie Capping, Ring Dunk, the Six White Horses, and Cowboy Band – all while keeping your chance to be a big fish in a small pond.

Academic Excellence

We also have a ratio of 1 professor for every 12 students. That ensures that you will get personal attention from your professors, and every class will be taught by a professor. There aren’t any crowds for you to get lost in at HSU. In fact, you’ll probably get invited to dinner at a professor’s house every so often. You will be pushed to do your best, but you’ll always have assistance to achieve it.

Can you feel the difference, yet?

Families love, protect, support, and challenge each other. We challenge you to come to Hardin-Simmons, become part of our family, have fun, learn a lot, find your dreams, break barriers, blaze new trails – and change the world for Christ.