Education (EDU) Courses

EDU-101 Intro to Child & Adolescent Development

The course examines child and adolescent development through the lens of education. Using a variety of course texts, students are introduced to theories of development and to the concept of diversity as it relates to child and adolescent development. Focusing on elements of development, including biological/physical, cognitive, social, identity, and language with some attention to moral - students engage in school and community-based field placements as they are introduced to qualitative data collection/analysis techniques. EDU 101 students compose a variety of reflective essays and analytical reports based on field work and course texts. Field Component: EDU 101 students are required to complete a total of 15 hours of field work spread across the semester in three school settings (elementary, middle, and high school) and/or community-based organizations (e.g., Boys & Girls Club). While the nature of the field work is largely observational and students do not have explicit teaching responsibilities, they are expected to be engaged in the life of the host classes or community organization, and to interact with hosts in ways that are helpful and foster understanding of child and adolescent development. Background checks are required by local school and community-based settings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Behavioral Science

EDU-201 Philosophy of Education

This class will examine foundational questions about education (e.g., What is the nature and purpose of education?) with a particular focus upon the role of public schools in a democratic society. We will read and watch texts drawn from philosophy, as well as from literature and history, as we consider the nature of teaching and learning at the classroom level and within the broader society. Issues addressed typically include: tensions between individual students' development and the needs of the broader society; the role of the educational system in a diverse and multicultural society; the nature and goals of classroom relationship (teacher/student and student/student); and approaches to educational reform. Level: Open to any student; required of all Education Studies minors. Offered fall and spring semesters.
Prerequisites: ENG-101 or established proficiency
Corequisites: ENG-101 or established proficiency
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
Equated Courses: BLS-287

EDU-203 Adolescent Literacy Development

This course examines adolescent literacy development, defined as an ongoing process distinct from early literacy development and characterized by intellectual and social practices both in and out of school. Students will explore the various dimensions of adolescent literacy, including digital and interdisciplinary literacies as well as the social, cultural, and political domains that inform adolescents' identity development. Students will learn about how the literacy experiences for adolescents have dramatically expanded in recent years. To reflect this expansion, course texts will include classic and contemporary young adult literature, digital texts including blogs and gaming, as well as popular music and social media. Part of the course will be devoted to investigating the ways in which middle and high school pedagogical practices have kept pace with the changing landscape of adolescent literacy. Other topics guiding our discussions will include: the impact multiple literacies have on adolescent development and how those literacies are valued and devalued in schools. EDU-203 counts as curriculum and pedagogy credit for the minor in Education Studies, and is open to all students as an elective. No prerequisites.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies

EDU-230 Special Topics in Education

The content of this course varies from semester to semester, and it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor's approval. Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to Student Planning's section information for descriptions of individual offerings, and applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1

EDU-235 Studies in Rural Education

According to the Center for Public Education Approximately half the school districts in the United States are located in rural areas, yet urban and suburban schools attract most of the nation's attention both in terms of education policy and academic research. This course offers an introduction to rural education, focusing on the various historical, cultural, economic, social, and political factors that shape rural education in the U.S. Students will explore some of the most pressing issues facing rural schools: the ramifications of state and federal funding, the challenges of hiring and retaining teachers, the viability of popular reform initiatives (e.g., school consolidation, rural charter schools, and distance learning), underlying conditions of poverty, and curricular programming including career and college readiness. The course is open to all students.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5

EDU-240 Educational Policy & Evaluation

This course examines educational policy at the federal and state levels. We will explore the role of educational policy in guiding educational evaluation, with particular focus upon the use-and abuse-of statistical approaches to the evaluation of teaching and learning. After an introduction to the assumptions underlying qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs for educational research, the focus turns to the ways in which teaching and learning processes are understood and measured in public education. Standardized testing and common practices such as "quantitizing" qualitative data are examined for their assumptions and limitations in educational settings. The goal of the course is the development of quantitative skills and literacies needed for critical participation in public discussions and decision-making about these metrics as tools for diagnosis and reform in public education. In particular, students will be prepared to better evaluate political debate and news coverage related to the assessment of teaching and learning. Calculation of descriptive statistics commonly used in classroom assessments and in standardized educational measures, including those with normal and with skewed distributions, is taught using Excel. Substantial practice is devoted to representation and interpretation of quantitative data, using Excel's graphing and charting functions.
Prerequisites: FRT-101
Credit: 1
Distribution: Quantitative Literacy,
Equated Courses: BLS-288

EDU-250 Civic Literacy & Democracy

This course examines the role of P12 social studies education in preparing students for participation in democracy in an increasingly diverse and global country and world. We consider what kinds of social studies content would be required to meet the needs of responsible democratic citizenship and governance today, with inquiry into selected current controversies over the teaching of social studies fields including history, geography, psychology, sociology, economics, and government. We explore the underlying social and historic forces that have led to the present moment, and consider the ways in which broader social beliefs and values may interact and conflict with approved and proposed social studies standards and content. Specific topics taught in a given year may vary, but will be drawn from current and recent events. Recent topics have included #BlackLivesMattter; Indigenous treaty rights; the role of Confederacy remembrances in the modern era; immigrant rights and exclusion policies and practices; and the content and focus of U.S. government courses in relation to ongoing questions about individual rights and freedoms that derive from the 1st and 2nd Amendments.
Prerequisites: ENG-101
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
Equated Courses: BLS-289

EDU-303 Diversity and Multicultural Education

This course introduces students to a sociological study of diversity in the U.S. system of public education, with particular attention to schools as sites of social conservation and reproduction. Readings, discussions, and written assignments explore the ways in which opportunity and (in)equality that exist in the wider society are reflected and perpetuated by typical approaches in U.S. schools. These explorations of challenges for schools are accompanied by an examination of multicultural and inclusive curricula and instructional practices. We consider the theoretical underpinnings of multicultural education as well as examples of curricula and practices designed to ameliorate education inequities. Meets the Diversity Requirement for the PPE major.
Prerequisites: FRT-101 (required), EDU-201 (recommended)
Credit: 1
Distribution: Behavioral Science,
Equated Courses: BLS-303

EDU-310 History & Philosophy of Environmental Ed

This course will explore the ways in which science content focused upon environmental concerns has been taught in K-12 classrooms from historic and philosophic perspectives. We will examine the early models for K12 science education that began to incorporate ecological perspectives in U.S. classrooms within the context of the environmental movement of the 1970s, including the passage of the Environmental Protection Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. The historic and philosophic approach toward environmental education found in the U.S. will be examined in relation to global models of environmental education, including the examination-based systems that prevail in many former colonies in Africa and Asia, as well as the Traditional Ecological Knowlege (TEK) approaches used and advocated by Indigenous groups globally. Particular areas for inquiry will include the development and persistence of environmentally focused coursework in response to political and economic pressures related to economic development and competition. Topics will also include the ways in which curricula for environmental education embody visions of science literacy related to the Science, Technology, & Society (STS) approach, and offer the potential to facilitate improved science literacy as well as environmentally focused action.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion,

EDU-314 Theory and Practice of Peer Tutoring

This course introduces students to composition and rhetoric theories, to theories behind peer tutoring, to the confluences and conflicts between the different theories, and to the, at times, obscured foundations of the different theories. After critically reviewing multiple theoretic approaches, the course shifts to the practice of peer tutoring and reconciling reality with theory when they start observing or conducting sessions in the Writing Center. As the course progresses, the focus shifts to mentoring writing, describing and teaching composition methods, and using grammar options as rhetorical tools. The course is required for all Writing Center Consultants, but it is open to English Majors and Minors and students in Education Studies. Students taking the course to work in the Writing Center will start conducting sessions towards the middle of the semester.
Prerequisites: FRT-101 and FRC-101
Credit: 1
Distribution: Language Studies
Equated Courses: ENG-314

EDU-330 Studies in Urban Education

In this course students study issues related to urban education; in some years it may culminate with an immersion trip in May during the week between finals and graduation. In addition to considering the needs and challenges of urban communities and their schools, we will examine the growing use of alternative licensure programs such as Teach For America (TFA) to provide teachers for high-needs urban school districts across the country.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5

EDU-370 Special Topics

This course is a seminar focused upon historical and/or philosophical topics in education and of considers global and comparative issues. The emphasis is upon shared exploration of the general background to the issue, typically accompanied by development of an independent research project connected to it. Because the content varies from year to year, this course may be repeated for credit with instructor permission. Level: Counts toward the elective requirement for the Education Studies minor. Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to Student Planning's section information for descriptions of individual offerings, and applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1

EDU-372 Colonial & Postcolonial Ed

This seminar in the history of education examines the ways in which colonial systems of education have been envisioned and implemented for the inculcation of colonizing values and perspectives among indigenous peoples. Readings and theoretical approaches include primary colonial accounts, and postcolonial, anti- colonial and decolonial analyses, memoirs, oral histories, and other primary and secondary sources. Regions and groups considered may include any of the following: European colonial activities in the Caribbean, Africa, and/or Asia, as well as internal colonization of indigenous peoples in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. After shared exploration of readings and other materials, students conduct independent research into the educational experiences of a country or region of their choice. This course counts as an elective for the Education Studies minor. Prior course in Education Studies or History above the 100 level required.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion

EDU-387 Independent Study

Individual research projects. The manner of study will be determined by the student in consultation with the instructor. Students must receive written approval of their project proposal from a department Chair before registering for the course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1

EDU-388 Independent Study

Individual research projects. The manner of study will be determined by the student in consultation with the instructor. Students must receive written approval of their project proposal from a department Chair before registering for the course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1

EDU-487 Independent Study

Individual research projects. The manner of study will be determined by the student in consultation with the instructor. Students must receive written approval of their project proposal from a department Chair before registering for the course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1

EDU-488 Independent Study

Individual research projects. The manner of study will be determined by the student in consultation with the instructor. Students must receive written approval of their project proposal from a department Chair before registering for the course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1