Begin a career as a licensed teacher in just three years
This accelerated 3-year program gives you the chance to earn a bachelors degree and Wisconsin teaching license through online courses (MI residents see "License" section below). Students take online accelerated courses and begin in-classroom practicums in year one.
Scholarships available for this program.
View ScholarshipsAll courses are offered fully online to fit your busy lifestyle!
You can make a difference in lives of children; you can have a career in education by earning your bachelors degree and teaching license. The Accelerated Elementary Education Licensure program is a fully online teacher education program leading to a Wisconsin license (MI residents see "License" section below) to teach grades K through 9. The accelerated courses can be scheduled to complete this program in 3 years or at the pace you prefer.
This exciting new program format is bound to open new opportunities to provide applicants with an accessible, attainable, and affordable degree. Courses were built upon Concordia's steady and renown traditional undergraduate elementary education courses, graduating teachers successfully teaching in their own classrooms. Yet, we realize living on campus and taking a traditional 4-year program is not for everyone. This online 3-year program may be just the opportunity for you to build a meaningful career and make a positive difference in the lives of young children.
- Online
- Eight week courses
- Begin in July or January
- Professors with real world experience
- Practicums starting with year one
- Program leads to WI teaching licensure in K-9th grade (MI residents see "License" section below)
- Applicants may apply for life and work experience credit toward practicum coursework up to 6 credits.
- Transfer up to 84 credits
- Option to earn Lutheran Teaching Diploma
- Scholarships and TEACH grant qualify
The details:
Online - All of the program courses are online. Practicums (in-classroom experience) and student teaching (leading a classroom as a student teacher) must be done in-person at a school.
Accelerated format - Courses are accelerated. Students take 3 successive 8-week terms within each semester. Students completing the program in three years take two classes at the same time. Students take 6 credits at once (2, 3-credit courses). Courses are 8-weeks in length. The first 7 weeks are content-heavy and the 8th week is designed as dedicated time for you to complete your practicum, or as a low-volume week before the next courses kick off.
Courses - Curriculum was developed in view of the traditional undergraduate program. Within coursework, there are highly-collaborative education courses. There are also non-education courses such as math, science, communications, English, etc. These courses are more self-paced.
Start dates - You have two opportunities to begin this program. Cohorts begin in July and January. Students begin with Foundations of Education.
Practicum and classroom experience -Over the semester students have practicum experiences. This is also known as students "in the field" or field work. This work in the beginning is developmental in nature--observational. Semesters one through five of six total semesters have practicums. The third and final year presents more leadership classroom experience. The 6th and final semester is student teaching.
A background check is required at the beginning of practicum 1 and prior to student teaching. Students need to have a cooperating teacher in a regular school and the teacher needs a valid teaching license, at least 3 years experience, and been in their current building for a year. Concordia is happy to discuss practicum and field work with you.
Credit opportunities - Students may transfer up to 84 credits. Applicants may apply for life and work experience credit toward practicum coursework up to 6 credits.
LTD opportunity - Do you want to get your Lutheran Teacher Diploma? You can take 9 additional credits of theology and education courses to qualify.
Financial opportunity - Uncommon scholarships are available. The TEACH grant qualifies. This program is offered at he accelerated tuition rate.
*License -
- Wisconsin residents: This is a program for Wisconsin teacher licensure. It is fully approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
- Michigan residents: This is a program for Wisconsin teacher licensure. This program does NOT grant graduates a Michigan teacher license. A Michigan resident who takes this program would earn both a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Wisconsin license. If he/she wanted to transfer that license to Michigan (or any other state), there is a process outlined by the individual state education departments. For Michigan residents, the Michigan Department of Education would outline the steps necessary to see if a license can be transferred.
- Other state residents: Your individual state will outline the steps necessary to see if a license can be transferred. Please check with your state’s education department. Many states will allow individuals to teach on a license from a different state for a set number of years before needing to meet certain additional requirements.
- Online
You may apply at any point in the year. No need to wait. Concordian operates on a rolling admission basis with new courses beginning every 6 to 8 weeks. This program begins cohorts in early July and early January. Applications are reviewed until about 2 weeks before the start date.
Steps for program admission:
- Submit your accelerated online application by selecting “Elementary Education – Bachelor’s degree” as the academic program.
- We help guide you through: You will receive communication from your helpful Admission Counselor about next steps, entrance requirements, and how to submit supplemental materials.
- Review entrance requirements and submit admissions pieces:
- Cumulative undergrad GPA of 2.75 for full acceptance. *If GPA lower than 2.75, students must meet with Dr. Adam Paape, Program Director to discuss GPA and the GPA requirements for student teaching and standardized exams information.
- Official transcripts
- Any other necessary application materials
- Acceptance! When your application file is complete, it will be reviewed by the department and you will be notified of entrance status.
- Fill out application for Uncommon Scholarship if you qualify.
- Once in the program: Students are required to do a background check upon acceptance to begin the practicum in semester 1. Students will be given the information for the background check upon acceptance.
Adam Paape
Ed.D.
Assistant Dean, Professor
Phone: (262) 243-4203
Bio
Dr. Paape serves as an assistant Dean in the School of Education with a focus on post-traditional teacher licensure (CAPTL - post-baccalaureate, accelerated bachelors, and Project INVEST). He also serves as the chair for the Secondary/K12 department. His instructional focus is in mathematics education, mentoring future teachers of mathematics. His research focuses on student-centered mathematics instruction, with an emphasis on implementing rich, conceptual mathematical tasks.

Education
- EDD - Educational Leadership, George Fox University (2013)
- MS - Educational Administration, Concordia University Wisconsin (2004)
- BA - Secondary Education - Mathematics, Concordia University Wisconsin (2000)
Contributions
- Alles, B., Pingel, J., Paape, A. & Juergensen, J., (2021). Grapes, Giants, and God: Mentoring First-Year Teachers with the Joshua-Caleb Project. (Spring 2021 ed.). St. Louis, MO: Lutheran Education Association. https://leaconnec...
- Paape, A. (2020). "Silent Mathematics." In Susanna M. Steeg Thornhill and Ken Badley (Ed.), Generating Tact and Flow for Effective Teaching and Learning. (pp. pp. 59 -60). New York: Routledge.
- Paape, A. (2019). Review of Contemporary Challenges for Religious and Spiritual Education. (1 ed.,vol. 24,pp. 120-121). International Journal of Christianity and Education . https://journals....
- Paape, A. (2018). Reflections on Professional Coaching: Eight Mathematics Teaching Practices. (pp. 27-36). River Forest, IL: Lutheran Education Journal. http://www.pagetu...
- Paape, A. (2017). (Not) Teaching the Way We Were Taught. (Spring 2017 ed.). River Forest, IL: Lutheran Education Association. http://stf.lea.or...
Presentations
- Paape, A. (2022). Cognitive Science in the Mathematics Classroom. Oral Presentation. Lutheran Education Association Convocation. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Paape, A., Huinker, D., Pettis, C. & Mooney, M., (2022). Learning to Teach with Instructional Materials. Oral Presentation. Wisconsin Mathematics Council Annual Conference. Green Lake, WI.
- Paape, A. (2019). Taking Mathematical Action. Lecture. Lutheran Education Association Convocation. St. Louis, MO.
- Paape, A. (2019). Representations and Conversations. Lecture. Lutheran Education Association Convocation. St. Louis, MO.
- Paape, A. (2018). Using the Desmos Activity Builder to Engage Mathematics Learners. Demonstration. LCMS Northern Illinois District Teachers' Conference. Concordia University Chicago.
Research Interests
- Mathematics instructional methodolgy
- In-service teacher instructional practices
Teaching Interests
- Mathematics education
- Pre-service teacher preparation