Course Descriptions

Undergraduate Courses

001 School and Society
Role and purpose of schools: the historical development of the U.S. education system; struggles for access to education by excluded groups in the United States; theories of multicultural and women's education. Cohen

011 Observing Theory In Action
Examination of the current issues facing schools, such as the achievement gap, equity in school finance, and high stakes testing. Focus on public and independent schools in the metropolitan area. Project component will involve observations in local schools and/or educational institutions. Prerequisite: ED 001 or permission of instructor. Cohen

014 How to Learn Physics
Explanation in a small seminar format of students' hidden assumptions about the physical world and the construction of a consistent understanding of forces and motion. Comparison of knowledge and learning in physics with those in other disciplines. Intended for non-scientists. Members of the department.

Courses for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

101 Introduction to Teaching in Middle and Secondary School
A study of the aims, development, and practice of middle and high schools. Includes 75 hours of pre-practicum observation and participation in a school setting. Students seeking initial teacher licensure are required to take course during the semester prior to supervised student teaching. Prerequisite: consent. Beardsley, Tucker

102 Supervised Teaching in the Middle and Secondary School
Supervised classroom practice in middle or secondary school teaching with a weekly seminar. This course requires presence at the school for the entire school day for a minimum of twelve consecutive weeks. Two course credits. Prerequisite: admission to the initial teacher licensure program. Beardsley, Tucker

103 Supervised Teaching in the Elementary School
Supervised classroom practice in elementary school teaching, accompanied by a weekly seminar. Prerequisite: admission to the elementary school teacher licensure program. Two course credits. Prerequisite: admission to the teacher licensure program. Gravel

110 History and Political Science/Political Philosophy Curricula
Introduction to the differing perspectives influencing the history and political science/political philosophy curricula in middle and secondary education. Examination of the effective use of inquiry-based vs. content-oriented teaching, and exploration of the historical legacy of mainstream and alternative curriculum movements. Students will analyze definitions of multicultural education and ethnic studies as well as the content, tone, and form of the most widely used history and political science/political philosophy teaching materials, while developing their own perspectives on curriculum and ways to adapt these to diverse school settings. Prerequisite: consent. Cohen

111 Development of Knowledge and Reasoning in the Science Curriculum
Through interviews of students and readings from science education research, participants develop multiple perspectives on the development of scientific knowledge and reasoning, consider current teaching practices in middle and secondary school science, and design their own instructional plans. Prerequisite: consent. Hammer

112 Mathematics Learning Environments
Explores models of learning, reasoning, and understanding in mathematics through readings from education and cognitive science research, own practice, and experimental interviews in the context of secondary, post-secondary, middle, and elementary curriculum. Prerequisite: consent. Members of the department.

113 Language Arts Curricula in the Middle and Secondary School
An examination of traditional and innovative curricula in the language arts from a developmental, linguistic perspective. Topics include: language development of children and adolescents at home, in school, and in the larger community; history and structure of the English language and its dialects; current theories, practices, and problems of teaching reading, writing, usage, and vocabulary in middle and secondary schools. Tucker

114 Linguistic Approaches to Second Language Acquisition (Cross listed with German GER 114 and Modern Languages ML 114)
This course explores models of language acquisition, reasoning and understanding in teaching second languages through readings from linguistics, applied linguistics, cognitive science, and education. Students connect theory with practical experience from the context of elementary, middle, and high school levels. Stoessel

115 Applied Elementary Curriculum (Cross-listed with Child Development CD 115)
Seminar examining issues that relate to curriculum and teaching in elementary schools. Topics focus on constructivist theories of learning and development for children with diverse needs, interests, abilities, and educational and cultural backgrounds. Students in this course concurrently teach one day a week in area schools. Prerequisite: consent. Gravel

116, 117 Interdisciplinary Elementary Curriculum (Cross-listed with Child Development CD 116/117)
This two-semester sequence of courses focuses on the curricula of language arts and social studies in the fall semester and on mathematics and science in the spring semester. Emphasis on the intersection between teacher knowledge and children's understanding of content and concepts. Prerequisite: consent. Gravel

119 Development of Knowledge and Reasoning in Engineering
Exploration of topics of engineering and engineering education considering both historical and emerging perspectives. Design of instructional plans and example lessons to teach specific engineering and design concepts to K-12 students. Members of the Department

120 Practice of Teaching: History and Political Science/Political Philosophy
Curriculum, materials, and principles of teaching for middle or secondary school history, political science/political philosophy, and behavioral sciences. Prerequisite: consent. Cohen

121 Practice of Teaching: Science
Participants develop frameworks of organization, reflection, and assessment to specify aspects of students' knowledge and reasoning in middle and secondary school science teaching. Focuses on current teaching experiences presented in journals and videotapes. Prerequisite: consent. Members of the Department

122 Practice of Teaching: Mathematics
Curriculum, materials, and principles of teaching for middle or secondary school mathematics. Prerequisite: consent. Members of the Department

123 Practice of Teaching: English
Curriculum, materials, and principles of teaching for middle or secondary school English and language arts. Prerequisite: consent. Tucker

124 Practice of Teaching: Languages
Curriculum, materials, and principles of teaching world languages for elementary, middle, or secondary school. Prerequisite: consent. Members of the Department

125 Practice of Teaching: Latin and Classical Humanities
Curriculum, materials, and principles of teaching Latin and classical humanities for elementary, middle, or secondary school. Prerequisite: consent. Members of the Department

129 Practice of Teaching Engineering and Design
Exploration of the teaching of engineering and design in the K-12 setting based on current education literature and with application to the issues faced by the student-teacher. Members of the Department

130 Human Development and Learning
Basic psychological theories of human cognitive development and learning and their relevance to education. Emphasizes biological, environmental, constructivist, information processing, and socio-cultural approaches to the analysis of learning and cognitive development from infancy to adolescence. Some field experience is included. Members of the department 

140 Behavior Management in the Classroom
Theory, research, and practice of management of student behavior in elementary and high school classrooms. Practical and empirically derived classroom-based interventions intended to have beneficial effects on the academic, behavioral, social, or emotional functioning of children and adolescents, including but not limited to individualized contingency contracts, group token economics, and student self-management training. An iterative, problem-solving approach to intervention will be emphasized. Members of the department.

142 Education of the Exceptional Child
Characteristic features, methods of diagnosis, psychological factors and, where known, etiology of forms of the exceptional including persons who are gifted, mentally retarded, blind, deaf, language impaired, and emotionally disturbed. Educational planning within each form of exceptionality. Current state and federal legislations pertaining to the education of children with various disabilities. Rogers and Seaton

160 Comparative Education
Education theory and practice in selected global settings and, for comparative purposes, the United States. The purpose is to broaden the student's under-standing of educational problems beyond the borders of his or her own country. Members of the department

161 Sociology of the School
Educational institutions as social systems and the various external and internal social forces that shape them. Representative ethnographic studies of schooling with an emphasis on ethnicity, class, and gender as organizing categories of student experience and school social organization. Vaught

162 Class, Race, and Gender in the History of U.S. Education
History of education in the United States as a struggle over access and control. Relation to class reproduction, social mobility, the maintenance of and resistance to racial boundaries, and gender issues, emphasizing the struggles of disempowered groups to gain access to schooling in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Members of the department

163 Philosophies of Education
Examination and evaluation of philosophies of education in Western society from Plato to Paulo Freire, principally as they raise issues applicable to contemporary educational concerns. Weiler

164 Education for Peace and Justice (Cross listed with Peace & Justice PJS 164)
This course explores historical and contemporary efforts to use education as a means to build a just and peaceful society. It examines educational theorists and activists who have argued for the importance of education in democratic societies, including such historical figures as Dewey, DuBois, and Freire, as well as contemporary critical, anti-racist, and feminist theorists. Contemporary examples of peace pedagogies, curricula, and programs focused on social justice will be studied. The course includes an experiential component in which students will undertake a "mini-internship" in educational settings such as schools, after-school programs, or organizations creating curricular materials and media focused on peace and social justice issues. Donahue-Keegan

165 Educating Women and Girls
Use of feminist theory to explore how women and girls of different race, class, and ethnic identities have struggled to define and claim a meaningful education for themselves both globally and locally. Analysis of educational theories, curriculum and classroom practices from the perspective of gender. Weiler

166 Masculinities in Urban Schooling
This seminar addresses issues of masculinity in schooling through narrative, ethnographic, and sociological analyses. We will frame this investigation through the intersecting lenses of race, class, and sexuality. Specifically, we will explore these intersections in the context of urban schooling, engaging schools as socio-cultural institutions that reflect, mediate, and reinforce larger structures and processes of masculinity. Students will engage both feminist theoretical and empirical bodies of literature and develop a complex understanding of the issues facing scholars, students and school communities broadly conceived. Topics will include: masculinities and music, media, family, athletics, the juvenile justice system, and classrooms. Vaught

167 Critical Race Theory Seminar: Issues in Urban Education
This course is organized around thematic investigations of the political policies and socio-economic processes that contain and inform urban schooling. Students will explore a political economy of schooling related primarily to race and class, with opportunities to explore gender, language, and so on. Specifically, we will examine the ways in which policies and practices, such as the racialization of welfare and the legalization of Whiteness, inform school policies and practices, including funding, governance, and so on. Students will engage an interdisciplinary body of scholarship framed by Critical Race Theory. Vaught

181 Curriculum Development
Analysis of curriculum and the ways it is shaped to fit diverse learning styles and educational levels. Emphasis is placed on the role of the teacher or education professional in planning and designing curriculum. Students will participate in a group project to create curricula related to a selected topic. Members of the department

182 Technological Tools for Thinking and Learning (Cross listed with Child Development CD 145) Explores the design and use of new tools to think with, including "hands on" technological tools (software) and "heads in" theories and values to examine tools suitable for a wide variety of age levels, settings, and topic areas. Prerequisite: consent. Bers

184 Geography in the Curriculum
Study of five themes adopted by the National Geographic Alliance: location, place, relationships within place, movement, and regions. Examination of recently developed curriculum materials for teaching these themes. Summer only. Daly

183 Grammar and Writing for Teachers
The teaching and learning of grammar and writing in the context of research, classroom practice, diverse populations, and high-stakes testing. Topics include composition theory, writing in a variety of genres, the implementation of writing programs K-12, teaching grammar in the context of composition and real-life situations, teaching Standard Written English to students of color and bilingual students, and response and evaluation. A thorough review of English grammar is included. Summer only. Tucker.

185 Economics in the Social Studies Curriculum
This course will focus on the fundamental economic concepts that middle and high school history and social studies teachers are expected to understand and incorporate into their curriculum. Using examples from history, students will study critical economic concepts, with special attention given to state curriculum frameworks and expectations for educator licensure, as well as social studies curriculum development. An economics text, primary course documents and current articles will be used to analyze concepts and content. At the end of the course, students will be required to create a model curriculum unit using interactive pedagogies that employ the economic concepts they have learned. Summer only. Rono

186 Leadership in Community Service
Introduction to theories and practice of service. Development and integration of community service with academic curricula in schools. Students will analyze existing service programs and design and implement projects with schools, community centers, shelters, hospitals, and other service programs. Members of the department

187 Teaching through Drama and Improvisation (Cross-listed as Drama 187 and Child Development 143)
Review of the theory and practice of using drama in education. Aspects of dramatic expression, including dramatic play, improvisation, and story dramatization, as tools for extending the educational experiences of children and adolescents. Particularly suited for those interested in teaching preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school. Members of the department

188 Museums, Education, and Society
Social forces shape museums as venues of cultural identity, civic engagement, and lifelong learning. A paradigm shift from an inward focus on collections and scholarship to outward focus on audiences, education, and community involvement is generating both new opportunities and controversies. Topics include evolution of museums, museum learning theory, audience engagement strategies, illicit trade and repatriation, interpretation battles, and museums as sites of conscience. The course is interdisciplinary in nature addressing science, history, children's and art museums. Robinson

189 The Role of "Story" in Education
An examination of the role of narrative in education, including storytelling, autobiographical narrative, journaling, reflection on learning and on teaching practice, narrative theories, and presentation at conferences and publication. Attention given to “story” as a way of relating to students K-12, as a means for teachers to make meaning of their practice, and for students to make sense of their learning and development. A variety of fiction and non-fiction, theories of narrative, and educational texts that use narrative as a tool of learning and reflection will be read. Writing and sharing of writing will be a component of each class session. Summer only. Tucker.

191, 192 Special Topics in Education
Educational problems of interest and value to the individual student investigated under the supervision of a member of the department. Prerequisite: open only to advanced students on approval of the instructor. Credit as arranged. Members of the department

198, 199 Field Studies in Education
Participation in applied activities or in research or educational projects involving the development of programs and materials in schools and museums, or in other educational settings, such as those associated with clinical settings, media studios, or industry. In addition to the field experience, students are required to attend bi-weekly seminars devoted to the analysis of the theoretical and practical issues related to the fieldwork. Prerequisite: consent. Members of the department.