K-12 EDUCATION REQUIRED COURSES

This course provides an overview of the psychology of learning, motivation, growth and development, personality dynamics, and social adjustment with emphasis on the diversity of learners in today's classrooms.

This course, which satisfies the Humanities core requirement for Education majors, provides the knowledge, skills and dispositions that enable K-12 teachers to facilitate learning among students from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Specifically, the course will (1) explore variations in personality, educational background, social class, ethnicity, national origin, language, and culture; (2) analyze the issues of race, racism, and culture in historical and contemporary perspectives; (3) explore strategies for teaching multicultural and multilingual English language learners in K-12 settings; and (4) identify obstacles to participation in the educational process by diverse cultural and ethnic groups. This course is open to all majors, through the focus is on the educational context.

The emphasis of this course is to help students develop into teachers who become reflective practitioners. A case study approach, seminar-type discussion, and numerous writing assignments will be used to involve students in the day-to-day activities that are part of teaching practice. The course will explore the social, cultural, political, historical, and philosophical contexts of schools, and use the perspective gained from this study to consider present day educational issues. Students will begin construction of their teaching portfolio by writing a statement of their philosophy of education. An embedded clinical experience during regular school hours is required. 

This course addresses issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms and programs through policy, research, and practice. Participants will be given an opportunity to explore and develop their personal philosophy toward inclusion and collaboration in schools and communities. Participants will learn tools for collaboration, instructional strategies, assessment, and curriculum design, which will allow them to educate students with disabilities in the general education classroom grades Pre-K through 8. Completion of embedded clinical experience required.

This course prepares teacher candidates to explore the integration of literacy across all disciplines and to develop the idea that all teachers teach literacy. It prepares teacher candidates to support, accommodate, and coach students with disabilities in particular literacy strategies, including the use of assistive technologies relevant to content area subjects in grades Pre-K through 8.

This course is designed to provide secondary students with first-hand teaching experiences in middle and/ or high school classrooms. Students work with mentor teachers in their content areas. During this time they serve as apprentices, assisting the classroom teacher and gradually move from a role of observer to roles of tutor, small group leader, and large group instructor. Interns work at their school sites each Wednesday and Friday during the semester for a total of 60 hours. Each Monday morning the interns participate in a campus seminar that addresses research-based instructional strategies and inclusive classroom practices. This course must be taken the semester immediately prior to student teaching.

This 12-week capstone experience is designed to prepare the pre-service teacher to assume full teaching responsibilities in a secondary classroom. Students will normally teach at both the junior and senior high school levels. A bi-weekly seminar is mandatory.