Curriculum & Instruction + Learning, Design, & Technology

This course will provide students with an intensive study of pedagogical approaches and materials for teaching including state curriculum documents, the curricular recommendations of professional associations, recommendations that have emerged from recent educational research, and the recommendations of recent reform movements. Specific emphasis will be given to the study of alternative approaches to curriculum theory, design, practice, and evaluation.

This course will address a variety of issues regarding stress and violence in children's lives as students discuss how the nature and content of culture are reflected in the symptoms and causes of stress and violence. Included in the discussion will be the role of schools and teachers, from preschool through high school, in providing support for children experiencing stress and/or violence and how teachers can provide assistance to the larger family structure through broadened knowledge of cultural stressors, use of age appropriate and culturally sensitive coping skills, and how they can serve as active agents of social change leading to advocacy for children.

This course will provide students with skills that offer effective approaches in working with family and community members from culturally and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds within the larger political and social context of today’s world. The student will explore the relationship of schools to other community agencies and investigate approaches to provide socio-educational services to children and their families. The student will examine ways to exercise leadership to initiate, develop, and implement programs and policies to foster success for all students.

This course will examine the historical, legal, social, political, ethical, and economic perspectives that have impacted schools in America as students examine the dynamics of curriculum change and the key role leaders play in creating a learning community. Opportunity will be provided for students to debate the problems and possible approaches in dealing with the issues confronting schools with an emphasis on the importance of involving communities in the life of a school. Persons and groups involved in establishing and developing educational policies will be discussed and the practice of meeting the diverse needs of the public will be explored.

This course will provide students with the resources and skills necessary to help integrate ethical themes and character development into today’s schools. Students will be provided the opportunity to explore and develop their moral perspectives so that they will be empowered and equipped to integrate values education into their school setting. Students will be able to apply principles demonstrated by historical leaders and current research in character learning and generalize the information into situations from their personal and professional life.

In a world where shifting to various forms of online learning is a reality for all teachers, classroom technology integration is more essential than ever. This course will introduce a model for the integration of technology, teacher pedagogy, and classroom content in order to focus technology use in an authentic and meaningful way. Given the widespread nature of Google tools in school culture, integration strategies will be introduced through a lens of preparation for completion of Google Educator Level 1 Certification.

Meeting and exceeding the needs of all learners is central to the role of a powerful educator. This course will examine best practices for designing learning environments that expand access, differentiate instruction, and provide interventions for diverse or underrepresented learners. As part of the course, students will explore topics such as differentiated instruction in live/online settings, Universal Design for Learning, adaptive technology as a subset of educational technology, and a Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.

Emerging Trends in Educational Technology explores the current and potential future impacts of emerging and rapidly evolving technologies on learning and pedagogy. This course will challenge students to evaluate emerging technologies, design projects around those technologies to apply in classroom experiences, and stay informed about future trends and innovations. Students will also gain insights on how to lead change within their instructional environment, and the challenges of system change in relation to emerging technologies.

Designing online learning environments is an essential skill for today's teacher. This course will present a structured model for generating solutions to the pedagogical challenges that educators face when creating online learning experiences for students. Special attention will be given to strategies for fostering empathy, inquiry, and community with students in the online setting. Additionally, students will explore various learning theories to better understand how educational psychology can empower the human-centered design process.

Powerful learning and instruction emerge not only from sound, authentic pedagogical design, but from intentional reflection and analysis of one’s own teaching practice. This course will provide strategies and examples for integrating the art of critical reflection into the teaching vocation. As part of this course, teachers will investigate the intersection of technology, pedagogy, and content in their own practice, and explore methods for sharing their work with colleagues within and beyond their teaching community.