200 Philosophy of Education
This course is
designed to help students articulate and critically
examine their own philosophical notions of
education. It addresses questions such as: What is
education? What are the aims of education? What does it mean to be educated? What are the
processes of education? What should be the
relationship between education and society?
Throughout the course, an emphasis is placed
upon conceptual analysis of the problems of
education in terms of contemporary educational
practice. This course is run as a seminar; with the
guidance of the instructor, students are responsible
for preparing and presenting units of study to be
discussed by the entire class. (Collins, Fall, offered
alternate years)
201 History of
Education
The public school
system of today—its organizational style, systems
of values and meanings, and social relationships
and conflicts—is the present manifestation of
historical trends. This course takes a critical look
at how the schools came to assume their
particular character and functions in contemporary
mass society by tracing the roots of school
back to the colonial period. It deals briefly with
the development and extension of the American
common school in the 19th century, before
focusing upon the transformation of the schools
during the progressive era in the early 20th
century and upon the aftermath of progressivism.
The course ends with an effort to make sense of a
number of contemporary educational issues,
conflicts, and trends of historical developments.
(Staff, offered occasionally)
202 Human Growth and
Development-
This is a
survey of the major theories of human development.
Topics include the progression and
determinants of the development of personality,
intelligence, language, social competence,
literacy, and artistic and music ability. Readings
are taken from works by Freud, Erikson, Piaget,
Gardner, Gilligan, and others. (Sherman, Fall,
offered annually)
203 Children with
Disabilities
The intent of
this course is for students to develop a thorough
understanding of and sensitivity to children and
youth who experience disabilities. The course
examines the following questions: How does
society determine who is disabled? What impact
does labeling have on children’s lives? How
special is special education? What are the various
disabilities children experience? How do
children with disabilities fit in the mainstream of
American life? (Staff, Fall, offered annually)
208 Teaching, Learning and Popular Culture
This course examines the spaces where school,
youth, and popular culture intersect. It looks at
the ways popular culture and education oppose
each other and investigates reasons why. Since
young people are often at the center of this
disconnect, students explore how they shape and
reflect popular culture, how the meaning of youth shifts over time, how they use popular
culture to learn, and how they negotiate
disconnects between their lived experiences
outside of school and what goes on in school.
This course also looks at the multiple ways youth
and teachers are constructed in various pop
culture forms. Students examine how markers of
identity like, race, class, gender, ability, age and
sexuality are represented and what this means for
educational practice and policy. (Banks, Fall,
offered alternate years)
220 Storytelling and the Oral Tradition
Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching;
knowing how to marshal words, voice, gestures
and sense to steer an audience’s collective
imagination is still a useful part of any
communicator’s competence. The scholarship
concerning story and the oral tradition is hefty
and interesting. In this course students develop
and refine their skill as story tellers, as they
consider dozens of stories from many traditions,
and read scholarly analyses of the oral tradition.
Students perform several stories in the course of
the semester, both in class and for out-of-class
audiences. The course is intended to fulfill a
performing arts goal. (Temple, offered occasionally)
Typical readings: Campbell, The Hero With
1,000 Faces; Hearne, Beauties and Beasts; Luthi,
The European Folktale; MacDonald, Storyteller’s
Start-Up Book; Bettelheim, The Uses of
Enchantment; Rodari, The Grammar of Fantasy;
Zipes, The Brothers Grimm; Yolen, Favorite
Folktales From Around the World
221 Understanding Autism
This course provides
an introduction to the complexities and
controversies surrounding Autism Spectrum
Disorders. The course begins with an examination
of behavioral, social, language, and
cognitive characteristics of Autism, Aspergers,
and other conditions referred to under the
umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
The controversy surrounding possible causes of
autism is discussed. The course also involves an
in-depth study of research regarding current
educational and behavioral intervention
strategies for Autism, including the controversies
surrounding various treatment approaches.
(McCabe, Fall, offered alternate years)
222 Learning, Teaching, Schools, and
Mathematics
Contemporary society—through
the sciences, many jobs, industries, health issues,
economic theories, and technologies—depends
upon mathematics and quantitative literacy.
Mathematical knowledge has also been part of
human culture since the earliest civilizations.
Being more informed about mathematics
education helps students be more responsive to
contemporary educational issues. Student interest determines topics selected from: effective
pedagogy, the cognitive nature of mathematical
problem solving, the roles of mathematics in
education and society, state and federal
standards, comparative education, curriculum,
assessment, and equity. Crosslisted with
Cognition, Logic and Language. (Kehle, Spring,
offered alternate years)
270 Social Class, Consumption and Education
This course explores multiple theoretical spaces
that surround the concept of social class in the
U.S. It examines the many ways histories,
biographies, and societies intersect to inform
economic relationships and institutions like
schools. This course investigates social class in a
variety of contexts and as lived experience. It
differentiates between systemic and individual
responsibility, recognizing that each stance is
represented in social and political discourse.
Students pay close attention to how identity
markers like race, ability, sexuality, and gender
intersect with social class to form complex layers
that infiltrate policy and pedagogy at all levels of
schooling. (Banks, Fall, offered alternate years)
295 Theater and
the Child
Students in this
course examine both the theoretical and practical
dimensions of producing theatre for and by young
people. Students examine the production process
in terms of the developmental needs of children
and critically review a wide range of dramatic
literature written for young people. Students are
required to make a substantive contribution to a
theatre education project in the local schools.
The emphasis throughout is upon exploring the
educational potential of theatre as an art form.
(Collins, offered occasionally)
301 Drama in a
Developmental Context
Students in this course study the relationship
between dramatic experience and human
development with an eye toward examining the
educational potential of drama. In addition to
exploring various perspectives on drama in
education, students complete readings that
analyze the functions of drama in human
development. The course runs as a workshop/
seminar in which students experience and
analyze various methods of using drama for
educational purposes. Students also develop a
drama project with a group of local children.
(Collins, Spring, offered annually)
302 Disability in China
This course uses the lens
of state and society reform to examine disability
in mainland China. The course begins with an
introduction to limited services for individuals
with disabilities before 1949 (establishment of
the People’s Republic of China), and then
examines reforms in society that impacted this population since 1949. A significant portion of
this course is spent studying disability and
society in China after 1978, the beginning of the
reform period. While the course focuses on
disability, readings include more broadly focused
works to introduce students to the context of
China in which persons with disabilities live.
(McCabe, Fall, offered alternate years) 304 Representations, Inferences, and Meanings
Learning, teaching, research, artistic expression,
and everyday life all involve making sense of
aspects of the world around us. In these
activities, and across diverse disciplines, humans
employ the same fundamental cognitive
mechanisms and processes but generate very
different results: mathematical proofs, poetry,
scientific or historical explanations, paintings,
etc. Students use cognitive science frameworks
to trace the roles played by different ways of
representing and connecting thoughts, and to
explore how they simultaneously enable and
constrain understanding. Students analyze
episodes of sense-making and become more
aware of their own cognition and better able to
help others construct meaning. (Kehle, Spring,
offered alternate years) 320 Children's
Literature
This course considers
contemporary works that represent the main
forms of literature for children: tales and poems
from the oral tradition; picture books; “easy
readers”; chapter books; young audiences.
Participants in the course are expected to tell
and read stories in local schools and day care
centers. (Temple, Fall, offered alternate years)
332 Disability,
Family, and Society
In this
course, students examine the experiences of
individuals with disabilities and their families.
Students learn about issues of family and
disability at the individual, school, and societal
level, including an introduction to multicultural
and international perspectives on these issues.
Students learn about different ways to understand
families that incorporate environmental
and social influences. Both the challenges and
unique positive impacts of having a family
member with a disability will be discussed.
Family experiences are explored through
readings that include research reports, family
accounts, and first-person narratives. (McCabe,
Spring, offered annually)
333 Literacy
Sixty million adult Americans are
said to be functionally illiterate. This course
examines reasons why and considers what
literacy contributes to ways of thinking and
seeing the world. Students explore methods of
teaching reading and writing, and carry out an
extended practicum in the local schools, where they tutor children, young people, or adults in
literacy. The course has an accompanying
laboratory. (Spring, offered alternate years) 334 Science and
Cognition: Ways of Thinking in Science
Students in this course study the
psychological foundations of learning science and
how these ideas are revealed in standard school
science curricula and practice. Topics include
science as a specific way of thinking and acting,
the content of science, the relationship between
the construction of science meanings and learner
discourse, and current trends in science education.
Students consider the role of social and aesthetic
components of science, as well as gender and
global perspectives on science and science
learning. (MaKinster, offered occasionally) 336 Special Topics
in Education
The purpose of
this series of courses is to investigate a variety of
specific, salient social issues in the field of
education. Prerequisite: faculty recommendation.
(Repeatable) (Staff)
338 Inclusive
Schooling
This course focuses on
children with special needs within the larger
context of general education and public school.
Students discuss and debate the following issues:
Who are schools for? How has society historically
perceived children with disabilities? In what
ways has the creation of special education
impacted the field of education? Are inclusionary
schools too idealistic to work? Is the merger of
general and special education beneficial for all
students? The class examines models of inclusive
classrooms and schools with teachers, parents,
students, and administrators who presently work
in inclusive settings. Site visits are included.
(Staff, Spring, offered alternate years)
346 Technology in Education
This course
explores the relationship between the evolution
of educational technology and the pedagogical
purposes that technology serves. Beginning with
an examination of educational technology
throughout the 20th century (radio, television,
film, etc.) students explore ways in which
computers and online communities are currently
used, and might be used, to create opportunities
for meaningful learning. Some of the topics
explored are historical patterns of technology
use, identity in online environments, communities
of practice, the digital divide, apprenticeship,
discourse, and conflict management.
(MaKinster, Spring, offered alternate years)
348 Our National Parks
The U.S. National
Park Service functions to preserve unique and
invaluable cultural resources throughout the
country. At the same time, our parks serve a number of more personal purposes. They renew
our spirits, provide endless formal and informal
educational opportunities and are diverse settings
for recreational activities. Students explore our
National Park system from educational,
historical, sociological, cultural, scientific,
political and economic perspectives. Controversies
abound when one examines the history and
current state of our parks. At the same time,
contemporary threats to our parks include
financial troubles, overuse by the public,
pollution, industry pressures and political
agendas. The complexity of these situations
create a series of educational challenges in terms
of helping visitors, regional citizens and
politicians make well-informed personal and
political decisions. This course requires at least
two weekend field trips. (MaKinster, Fall, offered
alternate years)
360 Teaching for a Sustainable Environment
Teaching to help solve environmental problems
must occur across all segments of society: homes,
schools, places of work, business and industry,
laboratories, political arenas, and recreational
venues. Teaching is defined very broadly as any
action directed at people or institutions to
promote a sustainable environment. Students
examine the roles of ethical reasoning and
critical pedagogy in helping address educational
challenges posed by conflicting value systems.
Students design projects to meet related
environmental education needs on campus or in
the surrounding community. Prerequisites: At
least one course in environmental studies.
Crosslisted with Environmental Studies. (Kehle,
Fall, offered annually)
370 Social Foundations of Multiculturalism
This course examines the institution of
schooling, broadly conceived, as it is positioned
in a multicultural and diverse society. It looks at
historical and contemporary debates surrounding
the concept of multiculturalism and explores
how the ideas are played out in U.S. education
systems and in our everyday, public and private
social experiences. Students examine the
relationship of schooling to other societal
institutions in order to understand the academic,
political, and social effects on students and
society. Throughout the course students tackle
topics with an eye for meaningful incorporation
of personal and systemic dimensions of diversity
and broaden their knowledge about being
responsible citizens of the world. (Banks, Spring,
offered annually)
401 Analysis of
Teaching in Secondary School
This seminar accompanies EDUC 402-403,
student teaching in the secondary schools and is
open only to adolescent teacher certification participants engaged as full-time student teachers.
It provides a structure within which participants
critically examine their classroom experiences of
teaching, learning, and curriculum development,
with the goal of becoming reflective practitioners.
Texts and readings are selected from those that
provide analysis of the experience of secondary
school education, as well as those that provide
rationales for the methods and purposes of the
academic disciplines. This course must be passed
with a C or better in order to be recommended for
certification. (Staff, offered each semester) 402-403 Practicum
in Secondary School Teaching
The practicum experience includes
supervised observation and teaching of an
academic subject in a secondary school. Students
spend the entire day at a secondary school for the
complete term. EDUC 402-403 must be taken on
a credit/no credit basis. EDUC 401 is taken
concurrently. This course is open only to
candidates seeking secondary-school teacher
certification. The readings for this course are
determined by the subject and grade level being
taught. (Staff, offered each semester)
404 Analysis of
Teaching in Elementary and Special Education
This course is a required
complement to EDUC 405-406 and 407 and is
open only to elementary and special education
teacher certification program participants
engaged as full-time student teachers. It provides
student teachers with an opportunity to critique
education as it is offered in school settings for all
children. Participants focus upon
self-evaluations, curriculum development and
enrichment, and the diagnosis of learning
problems. Emphasis is placed on application of
the above to the teaching of reading. Recent
research pertaining to education is discussed.
Students must pass EDUC 404 with a grade of C
or better in order to be recommended for
certification. (Sherman, offered each semester)
405-406 Practicum
in Elementary School Teaching
Students plan and direct instructional
and ancillary activity in an elementary school
classroom setting for an academic term. It is
expected that the student take on all responsibilities
normally accepted by elementary teachers.
These include supervision of children, curriculum
planning and evaluation, reporting to parents,
direction of paraprofessionals and classroom
assistants, participation in professional conferences
or in-service training sessions, and budgeting.
EDUC 405-406 is open only to seniors who
participate in the elementary teacher certification
program. This course must be taken on a credit/no
credit basis. (Staff, offered each semester)
407 Practicum in
Teaching Children with Special Needs
This practicum is open to seniors
who have completed all other requirements of
the department’s program in special education.
Participants carry out full-time student teaching
with children who have special needs. This
practicum is taken in tandem with EDUC 405
and must be taken on a credit/no credit basis.
(Staff, offered each semester)
412 Analysis of Teaching the Arts
This course
is open only to students pursuing certification in
art who are engaged in full-time student
teaching. It provides a structure within which
students critically examine their classroom
experiences of teaching, learning, and curriculum
development within the arts, with an eye towards
helping students become reflective practitioners.
Emphasis is placed upon helping students meet
the developmental needs of all students (p-12)
while also exploring means of helping all learners
meet the New York State Learning Standards in
the Arts. This course must be passed with a grade
of C or better in order to be recommended for
certification. (Offered each semester)
420 Research in Education
Open only to
students enrolled in the Master of Arts in
Teaching Program, this course is a survey of
educational research methods with a special
emphasis on qualitative and teacher-generated
research. The course is intended to support
students as they prepare and present a proposal
for a master’s thesis. (MaKinster, McCabe, Spring,
offered annually)
Typical readings: Bogdan and Biklen,
Qualitative Research for Education; Wolcott,
Writing Up Qualitative Research
450 Independent Study
460 Baccalaureate
Seminar: Moral and Ethical Issues in Education
The course focuses on
ethical and moral issues central to the process of
education and the experience of schooling.
Participants are expected to develop a position
paper in which a point of view pertaining to a
specific issue is articulated. (Sherman, Spring,
offered alternate years)
Typical readings: Dewey, Experience and
Education; Sizer, The Students are Watching;
Coles, The Call of Stories; Garbarino, Lost Boys
495 Honors
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The
Education Department offers a range of liberal arts education courses,
open to the Colleges' community. Click on each individual
course for a full course description. 
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