Secondary Education (Grades 6-12)- Mathematics

This course surveys principles of development, learning, and evaluation as it relates to the educational process.  Emphasis is placed on understanding the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual aspects of human development. The course is taught from a community of learning perspective and breaks down learning theory according to the frame of six schools of learning: developmentalists, behaviorists, information processors, cognitivists, social cognitivists, and constructivists.  Integration of learning theory into practice and basic understanding of informal, formative, and summative assessment is taught.

This course introduces candidates to the major categories of exceptionality with emphasis on the high incidence categories.  The course teaches candidates how to meet the expectation for “specially designed” instruction using equitable, evidence-based practices to effectively address the unique learning needs of diverse learners.  Candidates will design instruction to address the specific needs of diverse learners to ensure access to the general curriculum so that diverse learners can successfully meet the educational standards appropriate for their grade level.

Twenty-hour clinical observational and participatory experience occurring in a variety of traditional and non-traditional educational settings. The community engagement clinical experience for the course provides candidates the opportunity to (a) understand and support local educational communities (b) recognize how communities meet the specific needs of diverse learners.

Schools have the potential to be spaces that affirm the value of diverse identities and lived experiences, promote collective action and inclusive communities, and to orient U.S. society toward (educational) equity. Achieving these goals requires culturally competent teachers who can both properly contextualize themselves and their students within the larger socio-political and structural landscape. To sharpen the cultural competencies of pre-service teachers, this course emphasizes the complexities and intersections of race, gender, sexuality, religion, ability, neurodiversity, class, and community. The course then explores the concepts of meritocracy and structural racism before providing a critique of other critical arenas where the opportunity gap is evident (e.g., housing, healthcare, transportation, and nutrition). Finally, the course provides a training in liberatory teaching practices (e.g., culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining pedagogies, socio-emotional learning, and trauma-informed pedagogies) to assist pre-service teachers in facilitating the voices and resistance of marginalized students and local communities.

Three-week, full-day, clinical practicum taken before student teaching. Candidates teach in a grade-level range different from their student teaching placement, but within their range of licensure and certification. Candidates teach a minimum of two times and participate in all professional activities of their classroom cooperating teacher and engage in reflective seminars back on campus, or through online delivery. Note: Those seeking ESL endorsement take this course the junior year but after having taken EDUC-372E.

Fifteen-week final clinical experience involving instructional planning, observation and teaching. Supervised by the classroom cooperating teacher and a college supervisor. Students are expected to assume complete responsibility for the classroom during the student teaching experience and engage in all activities related to teaching in the school community.