The following courses are offered by Teacher Education Department:
Bilingual Childhood Education
- 3 CRS.3 HRS.1 LAB HRS.Schools in a Linguistically Diverse American Society: Bilingual Education
- This course focuses on the historical, sociological, philosophical and linguistic foundations of bilingual education. It analyz3es how educational practices and schools influence society in general, while also exploring issues affecting the academic achievements of bilingual and language minority groups in particular. Students participate in a minimum of 30 hours of course-related fieldwork.
Prerequisite: EDU 201
Course Syllabus
Child Care/Early Childhood Education
- This course examines the psychological and psychosocial foundations of early childhood and relates these foundations to educational practice with your children, birth to eight years. It focuses on historical and contemporary theories of childhood development. Early learning is considered in relation to biological factors, child and family factors, program factors and social factors, particularly in diverse urban settings. Young children?s physical, cognitive, communicative, social and emotional development is explored as contributors to and as consequences of early learning experiences. This course requires 15 hours of fieldwork.
- This course focuses on the theories, methods and materials of early childhood education for infants (birth to 18 months), with emphasis on addressing developmental needs and culturally appropriate practices in their education and care. The following topics are explored in depth: social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of infants; basic principles of infant care giving, including providing culturally sensitive and consistent care; arrangement of the environment and developmentally appropriate experiences to promote infant growth and learning; the role of parents and establishing partnerships with families.
Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 110 - This course provides an overview of the social context of early care and education. It focuses on the historical, philosophical, sociological, and political foundations of programs for young children, birth to eight years. The following topics will be explored in depth: Historical and contemporary theories of early childhood education, multicultural and social ecological factors in early care and schooling, particularly for diverse urban settings; early childhood programming; family and community involvement; advocacy, trends and current issues in early childhood practice. This course requires 30 hours of fieldwork. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 110
- This course is an introduction to the theories, methods and materials of curriculum planning in early childhood education (preschool to 2nd grade), with an emphasis on providing developmentally and culturally appropriate learning environments and experiences that encourage creativity in young children. The following topics are explored in depth: the intellectual and emotional importance of fostering creativity, the role of play in learning, the design of effective arts-based learning environments; the role of visual arts, music, movement and language arts/emergent literacy in developing children?s cognitive, social-emotional, physical, language and self-help skills. Course work includes workshops in planning and implementing creative arts experiences for your children. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 110
- This is a fieldwork course focusing on the observation and assessment of infants and toddlers. It requires supervised participation in an assigned early childhood education setting (birth to 36 months) and attendance at a weekly seminar. Students will learn the appropriate use of assessment and observation strategies to document the development, growth, play and learning of infants and toddlers; and how authentic assessment methods can be used to tailor curriculum to promote children?s success. Recording strategies, rating systems, child studies/portfolios, and various assessment tools are explored. Students spend a minimum of 60 hours in the field. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 209 and ECE 210
- This course is a continuation of ECE 209, focusing on the theories, methods and materials of early childhood education for toddlers (ages 18 months to 36 months). The following topics are explored in-depth: social, emotional, cognitive, physical and self-help development of toddlers; basic principles of toddler caregiving, including providing culturally sensitive and consistent care; arrangement of the learning environment and developmentally and culturally appropriate experiences to promote toddler growth and learning; the role of parents and establishing partnerships with families. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 209 and ECE 210
- This is a fieldwork course focusing on the observation and assessment of young children. It requires supervised participation in an assigned early childhood education setting (preschool to second grade) and attendance at a weekly seminar. Students will learn the appropriate use of assessment and observation strategies to document the development, growth, play and learning of young children; and how authentic assessment methods can be used to tailor curriculum to promote children?s success. Recording strategies, rating systems, child studies/portfolios, and various assessment tools are explored. Students spend a minimum of 60 hours in the field. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 210 and ECE 211
- This course is a continuation of ECE 211, focusing on the theories, methods and materials of curriculum planning in early childhood education (preschool to 2nd grade). The emphasis in this course is on providing developmentally and culturally appropriate learning environments and experiences that encourage foundational social scientific, mathematic and scientific thinking and skills in young children. The following topics are explored in-depth: social studies as a lens by which young children can explore our diverse ethno-cultural society and their place in it; the use of materials and play-based techniques to facilitate ways of constructing everyday mathematical ideas; the creation of environments and experiences that stimulate children?s scientific curiosity and playful exploration of our natural and human-made world; the use of block/construction and cooking experiences for the integration of social studies, mathematics, science, literacy and the arts. Course work includes workshops in planning and implementing inquiry/play-based experiences for young children. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 210 and ECE 211
- This capstone fieldwork course is designed to (1) reflect a strength-based stance toward children and families and affirm the identities and cultural and linguistic diversity of all learners, (2) develop practical and evidence-based knowledge for supporting language and literacy acquisition and development, and (3) enable students to demonstrate their competencies teaching infants and toddlers. It requires supervised participation in an early childhood education setting (Birth- thirty-six months) and participation in a weekly seminar. Students will explore principles, methods, and materials, informed by current research, for supporting young children’s language and literacy acquisition and development. Students will utilize practical classroom experiences to make connections between theory and practice, develop professional behaviors around working with infants, toddlers, families, and build a comprehensive understanding of the role of language and literacy in an integrated curriculum. Students will design, implement, and evaluate learning experiences that integrate language and literacy learning for infants and toddlers with diverse learning styles and needs, with strong emphasis on child centered, play-oriented, and culturally responsive approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, as well as knowledge that is integrated across the curriculum. Students spend a minimum of 90 hours in the field.
Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 308 and ECE 309 - This course examines the education of children (birth to 8 years) with special needs, along with the historical, social, cultural, and legal foundations of special education in the U.S. It explores the causes and effects of various exceptionalities, including: emotional, intellectual, physical, visual, auditory, orthopedic, speech and/or language and giftedness. Techniques for differentiated learning and universal design are analyzed; issues of ethno-cultural diversity are explored, including methods for working with the families of children with special needs in respectful non-biased ways. This course requires 25 hours of fieldwork. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 308 and ECE 309 or Grade of C or better in ECE 311 and ECE 312
- This capstone fieldwork course is designed to (1) reflect a strength-based stance toward children and families and affirm the identities and cultural and linguistic diversity of all learners, (2) develop practical and evidence-based knowledge for supporting language and literacy development, and (3) enable students to demonstrate their competencies teaching young children. It requires supervised participation in an early childhood education setting (preschool to second grade) and participation in a weekly seminar. Students will explore principles, methods, and materials, informed by current research, for supporting young children’s language and literacy development. Students will utilize practical classroom experiences to make connections between theory and practice, develop professional behaviors around working with children and families, and build a comprehensive understanding of the role of language and literacy in an integrated curriculum. Students will design, implement, and evaluate learning experiences that integrate language and literacy learning for young children with diverse learning styles and needs, with strong emphasis on child centered, play-oriented approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, as well as knowledge of curriculum content areas. Students spend a minimum of 90 hours in the field.
Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 311 and ECE 312
Childhood Education
- This course focuses on children's physical, cognitive, linguistic and socio-emotional development, and the related implications for learning. Within the context of race, class and culture, the following topics are explored in depth: the nature of intelligence, gender identity, attachment and other psychosocial attributes (typical and atypical). Students participate in a minimum of 20 hours of course-related fieldwork.
Prerequisites: PSY 100
Course Syllabus - This course provides an overview of the social context of schooling within the diversity of American society. It focuses on the historical, philosophical, social, and political foundations of education, especially in urban settings. The following topics are explored in depth: the notion of schooling, culturally relevant pedagogy, school reform, and issues of inequality and privilege. Students participate in a minimum of 20 hours of course-related fieldwork.
Prerequisite: EDU 201 or EDS 201
Course Syllabus - This course is an introduction to the theories, methods and materials for integrating visual arts into the elementary school curriculum. Through reading, writing, and viewing of visual art and participation in hands-on studio projects, student will explore the intellectual and emotional importance of expressing creativity through visual art.
Course Syllabus - This course will prepare future elementary school teachers to bring music to the classroom. Elementary level vocal music will be studied with an emphasis on singing, conducting, and choreographing. The first several weeks will be devoted to gaining an understanding of rhythmic notation through written work and score study. An understanding of time signatures and meter will be emphasized through classroom and homework. Subsequent lessons will focus on pitch and reading melodies. An understanding of basic musical forms such as binary and ternary will be gained with consideration given to body movement. Each student will prepare a sample lesson plan for teaching movement in a simple choral piece and teach it to the class. Discussion of standard public school requirements for lesson planning will be included.
- This course is designed to develop your theoretical, practical, methodological and evidence-based knowledge for teaching literacy in grades 1-6. It will also introduce you to key findings that have emerged across the past several decades of literacy research. You will explore principles, methods, and materials for teaching emergent to fluent literacy within a developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive interdisciplinary curriculum that encompasses strategies for developing children’s listening, speaking, reading and writing competencies. Throughout the semester you will be introduced to curriculum development and planning, and assessment tools for teaching literacy with an emphasis on multiethnic and multi-racial children’s literature, as well as the importance of oral storytelling in literacy development. This course offers a flexible set of tools for achieving equitable literacy outcomes with diverse student populations.
Prerequisite: Grade of “C” or better in EDU 202 - This class provides students with lenses to analyze how disabilities are represented and understood in cultural, historical, and social contexts, emphasizing how these contexts help inform inclusive education. The historical basis for the disability rights movement and inclusive education will be addressed, including legislation and litigation that has had a significant impact on the field. Pre-service candidates will learn about the characteristics of individuals with diverse abilities, current trends in educational services, as well as ethical principles and professional standards. Pre-service candidates will observe for 24 hours in an inclusive classroom.
Prerequisite: EDU 201 - This course is designed to investigate current pedagogical approaches and strategies including universal and design, tiered intervention models to address different learning needs for students with disabilities. Students will develop an understanding of the many ways inclusion can be implement through the full range of special education services.
Prerequisite: EDU 201 and EDU 206
Corequisite: EDU 208 - Pre-service candidates will explore and develop the competencies needed for working collaboratively with families, professionals, and the community, including understanding the theories and elements around professional collaboration. This course will reflect a strength-based stance toward children and families and affirm the identities and cultural diversity of all learners and families. The course will focus on developing the skills needed for collaborative service delivery options for students.
Prerequisite: EDU 201 and EDU 206
Corequisite: EDU 207
Secondary Education
- This course links theories and research on learning and development to teaching practices for urban adolescent populations. Students will explore techniques and strategies that foster independence, community, self-regulation and well-being during adolescence. In addition, approaches and classroom applications, related to adolescent development will be covered: learning styles, intelligence, motivation, affect, parenting styles, cultural competence, classroom communication, management strategies and development (cognitive, social emotional, linguistic, and physical). This course includes 15 hours of field work in junior or senior high school classrooms.
- This course focuses on literacy development, second language acquisition and special education accommodation strategies, which constitute three major competency areas in the professional development and the education process of middle and secondary school teachers. In addition to providing firm theoretical groundings in those three overarching and interlocking topics, class sessions will address issues of particular concern to and interest of both middle and secondary education candidates. Prerequisite: PSY 100
