College Bulletin Description: This course introduces the pre-service elementary teacher to the teaching of social studies in the primary and intermediate grades. The course covers the social studies disciplines, methodologies for teaching social studies, and available resources. The course content and requirements reflect the impact of culture, heritage, and socioeconomic level, curriculum development, classroom management, and technology. An intensive field component allows students the opportunity to teach and then reflect on their experiences with children.
Instructor’s Approach: The instructor has three areas of emphasis. Students will: 1) Examine the diverse intersecting identities of themselves as Social Studies teachers and their future students in the context of our current sociopolitical system; 2) Learn Social Studies (pedagogical) content knowledge and explore discipline-specific pedagogical tools/strategies and relatedly, experiment with justice-oriented/transformative teaching approaches to create equitable learning for all students; and 3) Plan Social Studies lessons and a unit with thoughtfully constructed goals/objectives, assessments, and learning activities that engage students’ higher-order thinking and are aligned with professional standards at the city, state, and/or national levels.
Course Bulletin Description: This course introduces teachers to the teaching of social studies in the primary and intermediate grades. The course covers the social studies disciplines, methodologies for teaching social studies, and available resources. The course content and requirements reflect the impact of culture, heritage, and socioeconomic level, curriculum development, classroom management, and technology. A field component allows students the opportunity to teach and then reflect on their experiences with children.
This course is aligned with the Core Values of the Education Unit of promoting Equity, Excellence, and Ethics in urban schools and communities. More specifically, the Education Unit is committed to preparing teachers and other school professionals who: a) build inclusive communities that nurture and challenge all learners; b) demonstrate professionalism, scholarship, efficacy, evidence-based practice and reflection; and c) value diversity, democracy, and social justice.
Instructor’s Approach: The instructor has three areas of emphasis. Students will: 1) Examine the diverse intersecting identities of themselves as Social Studies teachers and their future students in the context of our current sociopolitical system; 2) Learn Social Studies (pedagogical) content knowledge and explore discipline-specific pedagogical tools/strategies and relatedly, experiment with justice-oriented/transformative teaching approaches to create equitable learning for all students; and 3) Plan Social Studies lessons and a unit with thoughtfully constructed goals/objectives, assessments, and learning activities that engage students’ higher-order thinking and are aligned with professional standards at the city, state, and/or national levels.
This course introduces students to the field of education through examination of its cultural, social, historical, and philosophical aspects. This course makes explicit the assumption that schools are situated in a societal context. This course engages students in a critical debate about schooling, society, and their role as teachers. In our section we will explore aesthetic education as an integral component of the social foundations of education and of our own learning. 3 cr
This course makes explicit the assumption that schools are situated in a societal context and engages students in a critical debate about schooling, society, and the role of teachers. Schools are often thought of as the “great equalizers” of opportunity. However, empirical evidence suggests that more often than not, a child’s socioeconomic status, race, and English language proficiency are better predictors of how well they will perform in school and what types of opportunities will be available to them after they leave school. We will examine why schools frequently struggle to serve traditionally marginalized children well and consider the role of public education in creating a more just and equitable society.
As educators, we have an agenda; we are not impartial observers of students and schooling. This course is grounded in the field of social foundations of education which entails an inherent activist stance: we work not only to understand, but to improve ourselves, our students, and society. To be an educator, particularly in New York City, is to work for social justice. We inquire, question, and learn so that we can improve schools, the lives of children, and our world.
This course is aligned with the Core Values of the Education Unit of promoting Equity, Excellence, and Ethics in urban schools and communities. More specifically, the Education Unit is committed to preparing teachers and other school professionals who: a) build inclusive communities that nurture and challenge all learners; b) demonstrate professionalism, scholarship, efficacy, evidence-based practice and reflection; and c) value diversity, democracy, and social justice.
College Bulletin Description: This course is part of semester III in the undergraduate initial certification sequence in Childhood Education, 1-6. This course will examine the major learning theories and general principles underlying effective instruction. Classroom structures and management, intelligence, learning styles, individual assessment, and the impact of culture and class will be explored. There is an intensive field component that allows students the opportunity to observe, teach, and reflect on their experiences with children. This course requires 15 hours of fieldwork with young children.
Instructor’s Approach
The field of educational psychology is vast and complex. In this introductory course, I aim to provide students with a strong foundation of the major theories in the discipline and their application in the classroom. I will support students to analyze the assumptions embedded in the theories in terms of children, teaching, and learning, and to consider what these assumptions suggest about classroom practices. Alongside topics in learning sciences, I will share examples of other worldviews as alternative approaches to the positivist leaning in psychology. Finally, this class provides students with opportunities to reflect on their classroom observations, practice presenting/teaching content, and develop a lesson plan.
This course is an introduction to curriculum design and development. We will explore several different curriculum visions as we begin to construct our own views of the nature and purpose of curriculum beyond content and teaching materials. We will study frameworks for designing curriculum and instruction that enable us to make curricular decisions aligned to our aims and inclusive of diverse voices, interests, and learning styles. Along the way, we will collaboratively and individually analyze curricular samples and develop a curriculum project. Our collaborative learning will take place online, both synchronously and asynchronously, exploring how technology might be used to facilitate different relationships to knowledge, to notions of expertise, and to curriculum design.
Basic assumptions of this course or enduring understandings that guide its development are: 1) curricula are not defined as content and teaching materials; rather, curricula are the result of numerous decisions made by educators and students based on their best understandings of the needs of learners, the socio-political-cultural-economic milieu and the moral and ethical dimensions of schooling; 2) in our diverse world we are fast becoming a global community, and therefore curriculum development must necessarily acknowledge and address questions of diversity, multiculturalism, pluralism and equity as these issues play out locally and abroad; 3) curriculum change and innovation require that educators collaborate, build consensus, and share perspectives and expertise using the tools and technologies that currently mediate communication, relationship building, and learning; and 4) evaluation and assessment are integral aspects of the design of curriculum and instruction.
The course is structured as a series of three interconnected threads:
Thread 1 – Conceptualizing Curriculum – understanding that curriculum has aims and rationale that guide decision making
Thread 2 – Curriculum in Conversation – exploring theories and perspectives that highlight particular contexts, values, and meanings for curricular rationale
Thread 3 – Crafting the Curriculum – strategies and conventions for organizing selected content that is consistent with the bigger picture rationale
We will explore how each of these threads is woven through every topic essential to curriculum making.
Students will be prepared to
Engage in critical discussions about curricula and negotiate diverse perspectives about the socio-political-cultural-economic dimensions of schooling with colleagues;
Integrate awareness of these issues in a collaborative statement about curriculum content (what to teach) and rationale (why);
Use the tenets of the Understanding by Design curriculum framework to independently interpret the curriculum rationale for a specified population and content area, including the design of inclusive learning activities and assessments; and
Submit a final document that demonstrates how the individual design choices relate to the overarching curriculum aims expressed in the rationale.