Fall 2024

  • EDUC 100: Will This Be on the Test? Standardized Testing and American Education

    How and why have standardized tests become so central to our educational system? This seminar will explore the following topics, among others–the invention of standardized tests and the growth of the testing industry; psychometrics (the science of mental measurement); and the controversies surrounding the use of standardized tests, including charges that they are culturally biased and do not positively contribute to student learning. Our analyses will be informed by a close examination of authentic testing materials, ranging from intelligence tests to the SAT.

     Prerequisites:

    Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

     6 credits; AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1; offered Fall 2024 · Jeff Snyder

  • EDUC 110: Introduction to Educational Studies

    This course will focus on education as a multidisciplinary field of study. We will explore the meanings of education within individual lives and institutional contexts, learn to critically examine the assumptions that writers, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers bring to the study of education, and read texts from a variety of disciplines. What has “education” meant in the past? What does “education” mean in contemporary American society? What might “education” mean to people with differing circumstances and perspectives? And what should “education” mean in the future? Open only to first-and second-year students. Prerequisites:

    Student has Sophomore Priority.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, SI, Social Inquiry, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025 · Anita Chikkatur, Jeff Snyder

  • EDUC 234: Educational Psychology

    Human development and learning theories are studied in relation to the teaching-learning process and the sociocultural contexts of schools. Three hours outside of class per week are devoted to observing learning activities in public school elementary and secondary classrooms and working with students. 6 credits; SI, Social Inquiry; offered Fall 2024 · Deborah Appleman

  • EDUC 250: Fixing Schools: Politics and Policy in American Education

    How can we fix American public schools? What is “broken” about our schools? How should they be repaired? And who should lead the fix? This course will examine the two leading contemporary educational reform movements: accountability and school choice. With an emphasis on the nature of the teaching profession and the work of foundations, this course will analyze the policy agendas of different reform groups, exploring the dynamic interactions among the many different stakeholders responsible for shaping American education. 6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, SI, Social Inquiry; offered Fall 2024 · Jeff Snyder

Winter 2025

  • EDUC 110: Introduction to Educational Studies

    This course will focus on education as a multidisciplinary field of study. We will explore the meanings of education within individual lives and institutional contexts, learn to critically examine the assumptions that writers, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers bring to the study of education, and read texts from a variety of disciplines. What has “education” meant in the past? What does “education” mean in contemporary American society? What might “education” mean to people with differing circumstances and perspectives? And what should “education” mean in the future? Open only to first-and second-year students. Prerequisites:

    Student has Sophomore Priority.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, SI, Social Inquiry, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025 · Anita Chikkatur, Jeff Snyder

  • EDUC 367: Culture Wars in the Classroom

    This course examines past and present school controversies, including school prayer, banned books, and student protests. Who controls the curriculum? How do we teach contentious issues such as evolution, racism, and climate change? To what extent do teachers and students enjoy the right to free expression? These are the kinds of questions “Culture Wars in the Classroom” will explore, as we consider the purpose of public education in a diverse, multicultural nation.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, No Exploration; offered Winter 2025 · Jeff Snyder

Spring 2025

  • EDUC 110: Introduction to Educational Studies

    This course will focus on education as a multidisciplinary field of study. We will explore the meanings of education within individual lives and institutional contexts, learn to critically examine the assumptions that writers, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers bring to the study of education, and read texts from a variety of disciplines. What has “education” meant in the past? What does “education” mean in contemporary American society? What might “education” mean to people with differing circumstances and perspectives? And what should “education” mean in the future? Open only to first-and second-year students. Prerequisites:

    Student has Sophomore Priority.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, SI, Social Inquiry, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025 · Anita Chikkatur, Jeff Snyder

  • EDUC 242: The Future is Now: Education and Technology in the 21st Century

    This course will examine the increasingly prominent role that technology is playing in education, inside and outside of schools. How is technology transforming teaching and learning? What are the potential costs and benefits of relying on technology to provide educational opportunities? Is technology re-wiring our brains? And who needs brains when we have Google and ChatGPT? This course will examine the following topics, among others: digital literacy, virtual reality, cyborgs and artificial intelligence. 

     6 credits; SI, Social Inquiry; offered Spring 2025 · Jeff Snyder

  • EDUC 338: Multicultural Education

    This course focuses on the respect for human diversity, especially as these relate to various racial, cultural and economic groups, and to women. It includes lectures and discussions intended to aid students in relating to a wide variety of persons, cultures, and life styles.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One 100 or 200 level Educational Studies (EDUC) course with grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, SI, Social Inquiry; offered Spring 2025 · Anita Chikkatur

  • EDUC 385: Schooling and Communities: A Practicum for Teacher Candidates

    This course permits licensure candidates to become more familiar with their student teaching sites through frequent observation and interaction. The course provides an opportunity to work directly in schools and community organizations related to schools and to reflect on that experience in a classroom setting. Recommended Preparation: Acceptance into Teacher Licensure Program and registration for fall student teaching.

     6 credits; No Exploration; offered Spring 2025 · Deborah Appleman

  • EDUC 395: Senior Seminar

    This is a capstone seminar for educational studies minors. It focuses on a contemporary issue in American education with a different topic each year. Recent seminars have focused on the school to prison pipeline, youth activism, intellectual freedom in schools, and gender and sexuality in education. Senior seminars often incorporate off campus work with public school students and teachers. Prerequisites:

    Student is an Educational Studies minor.

     6 credits; No Exploration; offered Spring 2025 · Deborah Appleman