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Education Courses

Courses are listed in the following format:

Course Title
Course number--# of credits (terms offered)

Please use the following key to the codes used to indicate terms offered*:

(A) - All terms (Fall, Spring, Summer I, Summer II)
(F) - Fall term
(S) - Spring term
(Jan) - January term
(S1) - Summer I term
(S2) - Summer II term
(S1-S2) - Across Summer I and Summer II terms
(2/S) - Every other Spring term
(2/F) - Every other Fall term
(2/S2) - Every other Summer II term
(3/S2) - Every third Summer II term

*Every effort is made to offer courses as listed. Offerings are subject to change.

Practicum in Teaching Science I
EDUC 850--3 credits (F)
This Kerlin Science Institute course is the first of a three-part practicum in teaching science, which builds on the content knowledge developed in NSCI 500, Topics in Science. Teachers are coached to introduce and improve their science teaching. Seminar sessions cultivate an "extended inquiries" model of teaching science that encourages learners to construct meaning of phenomena. Prerequisite: NSCI 500. For Kerlin Science Institute fellows only.

Practicum in Teaching Science II
EDUC 851--3 credits (S)
This Kerlin Science Institute course is the second of a three-part practicum in teaching science. Teachers are coached to introduce and improve their science teaching. Seminar sessions cultivate an "extended inquiries" model of teaching science that encourages learners to construct meaning of phenomena. Prerequisite: NSCI 500 and EDUC 850. For Kerlin Science Institute fellows only.

Practicum in Teaching Science III
EDUC 852--1 credit (S1)
This Kerlin Science Institute course is the third of a three-part practicum in teaching science. Teachers are coached to introduce and improve their science teaching. Seminar sessions cultivate an "extended inquiries" model of teaching science that encourages learners to construct meaning of phenomena. Prerequisite: NSCI 500, EDUC 850 and EDUC 851. For Kerlin Science Institute fellows only.

Reading and Writing Problems of Children and Youth with Special Needs
EDUC 860--3 credits (F, S)
This course presents theoretical and practical information for teachers working with children with reading, writing, and language problems. Students learn about the reading/writing process within a developmental framework, and apply the diagnostic and remedial techniques presented in class to the central assignment of the course: clinical teaching in one-to-one interactions with a child or youth for 12 to 15 sessions. Prerequisites: EDUC 505; EDUC 563 or 568.

Formal Testing: Observation and Assessment
EDUC 862--3 credits (S, S1, S2)
The main goal of this course is to familiarize teachers with the process of formal educational and psycho-educational assessment of children with reading, language, and learning difficulties. Students will develop an understanding of the appropriate use, value and limitations of monolingual and bilingual formal tests, and they will learn to evaluate testing instruments and interpret different types of scores. Students will broaden their abilities to incorporate information from diagnostic reports into their teaching. Legal and ethical considerations and the history of intelligence testing will be explored. Controversies surrounding formal testing, including questions related to multicultural assessment, will be addressed throughout the course. Prerequisite: EDUC 860.

Practicum in Clinical Teaching of Monolingual and Bilingual Children and Youth with Learning Disabilities and Reading Problems
EDUC 863--3 credits (F)
This course integrates theory and practice through direct, supervised, intensive work with a learning-disabled child or youth, and reviews theoretical materials and current research. Students meet in weekly seminars to share logs and videotaped sessions of their small group and one-to-one interactions with the child. Videotapes are analyzed and discussed in relation to individual assessments and interventions. Collaborative work with parents and teachers is an integral part of the course, with meetings scheduled periodically. Working teachers in non-inclusion settings must take EDUC 873 during the summer to fulfill additional fieldwork requirements and are not eligible to take this course. Prerequisite: EDUC 860.

Children's Literature for Grades 3-6
EDUC 865--1 credit (Jan)
This course serves as an introduction to some of the important ideas involved in selecting and using literature appropriate to children in grades 3-8. The function and meaning of "story" and/or "narrative" in oral tradition and written literature are organizing concepts in this course. Students will participate in discussion and workshop activities and use their own responses, criteria from the field of literary criticism, and principles of child development to discuss ways of deepening children's connections with literature. Prerequisite: EDUC 564.

A Developmental Interaction Approach to Teaching Geography in the Upper-Elementary Grades
EDUC 866--1 credit (Jan)
This course will focus on the role of language and experience in learning geography, and how geography and map skills support social studies. Through active learning experiences, students will come to a deeper understanding of the underlying geographic concepts and vocabulary that are central to the course. Specific reference will be made to how the active and concrete teaching techniques used in the course, many of which were first developed by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, can foster learning among a wide range of learners. Dialogues that incorporate the vocabulary of geography will occur as students actively engage in terrain building and map making; specific reference will also be made to the value of such experiences in promoting both conceptual and vocabulary development among students who are English language learners. Prerequisite: EDUC 510 or EDUC 514.

The Teacher's Role in the Development of Reading Comprehension: Strategic Teaching (Grades K-6)
EDUC 867--1 credit (S, S1, S2)
This course will enable teachers to extend their theoretical and practical understanding of the ways to support children's reading comprehension in kindergarten through 6th grade. Using theoretical frameworks, students will investigate comprehension skills and strategies by identifying and matching the demands of text with the multiple needs of emergent to fluent readers. Students will develop competencies in current literacy practices such as "Interactive Read Aloud," "Think Aloud," "Guided Reading," and "Questioning the Author." In addition, they will analyze the ways in which teaching reading comprehension strategies empowers children to be independent readers. Teachers will be able to use the strategies demonstrated in this course with all learners, including English language learners and children with special needs. Prerequisite: EDUC 563 or EDUC 567 or 568 or permission of the instructor upon demonstrated knowledge of experience with reading instruction.

Current Topics in Reading and Writing Difficulties in Multicultural Classrooms: Approaches to Decoding
EDUC 868--2 credits (F, S)
This is an advanced course for students interested in expanding their knowledge of current issues in the field of reading. Prerequisite: EDUC 860.

Early Language and Literacy in Sociocultural Contexts: Supporting Development and Adapting for Disability
EDUC 869--2 credits (F, S)
This course examines communication, language, and literacy as they emerge in infancy through early childhood (birth-8). Special attention will be given to the integrated nature of learning in these early years, encompassing social, physical, emotional, and cognitive growth. Language socialization, communicative competence, and literacy are seen as expressions of sociocultural learning. The students will learn about similarities and variations in the linguistic and discourse traditions of different cultural groups, as well as the developmental pathway for children learning two or more languages. Throughout the course students will be introduced to communication disorders and other disabilities of the early years that affect language and literacy learning. Students will assess language and literacy development and plan activities appropriate for different early childhood settings. Specific practices will be identified to enhance the experience of young children who are English language learners. Modifications and adaptations to support the learning of children with disabilities will be explored. Prerequisite: EDUC 500 or EDUC 800. Pre- or Co-requisite: EDUC 505.

The Teaching of English as a Second Language
EDUC 870--2 credits (S)
After a review of second language acquisition theories, this course will address the teaching of reading, writing, and content areas through a second language. Students will examine how children learn to read and write in the first language and what the differences and similarities are when they read and write in a second language. The focus will be on the methodology of teaching a second language, appropriate second language materials, effective class organization for a second language classroom, and lesson planning that involves all of these components, including assessment. One of the requirements of this course is individual work with second language learners. Prerequisites: EDUC 537 and EDUC 561 or permission of instructor.

Writing Case/Progress Reports
EDUC 871--l credit (F, S)
This course, taken during the year of supervised fieldwork, prepares students to interpret case studies written by experts in diverse fields, systematically assess and record children's behaviors using formal and informal assessment tools, develop educational case studies of individual children with whom they are working, identify a range of developmental variations in the development of reading, writing and language acquisition, develop pedagogically sound literacy curriculum that meets the needs identified in these case studies, and share findings recorded in these case studies with parents, colleagues, administrators, and children. Corequisite: EDUC 941 or EDUC 942.

Summer Practicum in Clinical Teaching of Monolingual and Bilingual Children and Youth with Learning Disabilities and Reading Problems
EDUC 873--3 credits (S2)
This practicum is designed for candidates in the Childhood and Middle School Special Education programs who are working teachers or assistant teachers and have already participated in Supervised Fieldwork, but need this summer experience to fulfill additional fieldwork requirements. This course meets twice/week and integrates theory and practice through direct, supervised intensive work with a diverse group of learners, including those at risk of failure in general or special education programs. The practicum emphasizes review and application of theoretical materials and current research in design and implementation of differentiated instruction based on individual learning profiles. In addition to class time, participants in this practicum will work 5 full days/week for the month of July in a classroom with students exhibiting varying learning styles. Prerequisites: EDUC 803, EDUC 860, and Supervised Fieldwork/Student Teaching/Advisement. Pre- or Corequisite: EDUC 862.

Insights from Occupational Therapy: Understanding Children's Sensory-Motor Development
EDUC 880--l credit (F, S)
This course will introduce students to several neurobiological frames of reference, including sensory integration. Emphasis will be on learning principles that can guide daily care and intervention for young children. The course will, in five sessions, go from neurobiological theory, to processing theory, to sensory integration theory, to analysis of behavior and activity, to practical applications of the above. It will include concepts of sensory tolerance, self-regulation, behavioral organization and motor planning. Students will be assisted in developing skills in task and behavioral analysis to support young children's neurobiological development. Pre- or Co-requisite: EDUC 892.

Practicum in Developmental Assessment of Infants and Toddlers
EDUC 891--3 credits (S)
This Practicum prepares students to assess and support families with very young children across a wide developmental range, including those with developmental delays. Taking a relationship-based developmental approach to the observation and assessment of infant/toddler behavior, students will use the assessment process to provide a close look at development within each of the developmental domains. Students will be trained in a collaborative approach with families, learning to support families throughout the assessment process, focusing on the strengths and challenges to the child¡Ás development. Students come to understand the young child within the sociocultural context of his/her family. Families with a range of cultural, economic, and racial backgrounds participate in the assessment process of the course. The course requires students to make a play-based developmental assessment, including observations of the child and dialogue with parents in the family's home. In class, students learn to administer The Bayley Scales of Development. They also meet with the family to discuss the assessment process. Various video, audio, and computer-based technology experiences enhance the student's learning. Prerequisites: EDUC 801 and EDUC 802.

Developmental Systems I: Connecting Research in Early Development to Practice in Early Childhood Education
EDUC 892--2 credits (F)
This course is designed to deepen a student's understanding of the processes of development and developmental variations in infancy and early childhood. By considering current research from neuroscience, psychology, and the social sciences, students will develop an appreciation of the complex interactions between early brain development and the social environment. Students will identify forces that impact typical development and the range and variety of developmental pathways within different cultural and environmental contexts. Students will develop their understanding of the characteristics, etiology, and developmental variations of specific disabilities that occur in young children, and the implications of these differences for development and learning. Students will consider and critically analyze the theoretical, practical, and research foundations of different intervention approaches in early childhood education. Prerequisite: EDUC 500 or EDUC 800.

Developmental Systems II: Approaches to Early Childhood Assessment
EDUC 893--2 credits (S)
This course introduces and explores informal and formal assessment practices for young children. Students will learn about various ways of observing, collecting, documenting, and analyzing children's work and learning experiences in a variety of settings. Students will also become familiar with formal and informal assessment procedures and terminology, standardized testing, and strategies for test selection to ensure results that are valid and unbiased. Students will also examine legal, ethical, culturally responsive, and professional considerations of assessment. Students will be given practical experience in the preparation and administration of different forms of assessment, including the construction of simple performance assessments. Critical attention will be given to careful interpretation and utilization of assessment data in developing meaningful curriculum and educational plans for individual children. Culturally responsive approaches to assessment and involving the family with the assessment process will also be addressed. Prerequisites: EDUC 892 or EDUC 894.

Early Childhood Practicum I: Observing a Child Through Family/Cultural Contexts
EDUC 894--2 credits (F)
Early Childhood Practicum I and II is a year-long course that provides graduate students in the Special and General Early Childhood Education programs the opportunity to integrate theoretical knowledge with guided practical experience as they work individually with a child and the child's family. Early Childhood Practicum I addresses two areas of study that are fundamental for early childhood professionals: 1) observation as the basis of early childhood assessment and 2) culturally responsive, family-based practice. The overarching goal of the course is that students become reflective teacher/practitioners, developing a deeper awareness of themselves and of the life experience of the children and families with whom they work. During Early Childhood Practicum I, students learn to observe and record children's behavior in a variety of settings: home, school, and community. Through regular interactions with a child, students construct a full, respectful and increasingly complex understanding of the child, as he/she exists in his/her family, culture, and community, with special emphasis on the strengths of the child and his/her social environment. Based on analysis and synthesis of their observations, students will develop and present a thorough, detailed, and respectful study of a child that will inform their work with the child during the second semester. Through discussion, course readings, and analysis of observations, students develop greater awareness of their own perspectives and beliefs and the ways their personal experiences affect what they notice and how they interpret their observations of children and families. Students will also begin to integrate information on adult development, family systems theory, and cultural/linguistic diversity as a basis for developing relationships with the child's family. Prerequisites EDUC 500 or EDUC 800; and EDUC 803.Co-requisite: EDUC 892.

Early Childhood Practicum II: Collaboration with Families and Colleagues About the Cycle of Assessment, Planning, and Instruction
EDUC 895--2 credits (S)
This course completes a yearlong sequence of work with a child and the child's family. The focus in the second semester is two-fold: 1) developing a responsive collaboration with the family about the child's learning and development and 2) analyzing the graduate student's own interactions and instructional strategies with the child. Through conversations with the family, students will learn about the family's view of the child. Students will engage in a variety of informal assessment practices designed for the needs of their study child. Based on their growing understanding of the child and the child's interests and developmental needs, students will design and implement interactions, activities, or instructional strategies during scheduled meetings with the child. Students will develop their ability to record and monitor the child's learning in short weekly progress notes, and will plan their future work through reflections on their own actions and the responses of the child. Students will learn to analyze the environment, task, child characteristics and interests, instructional approaches, and their own responses in order to more fully support the child's development and learning. Students will work with families to jointly plan IEP/IFSP or other goals. Prerequisite: EDUC 894. Co-requisite: EDUC 891 or EDUC 893.

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