Educational Studies

How have schools changed and how should schools change to ensure “the good life”? This interdisciplinary, team-taught course examines the potential and limits of a human ecological education as an instrument of enlightened progress and lasting positive social, cultural, and environmental change. It explores three essential questions about education and its relationship to human development and social progress. Looking at the role of formal educational institutions and their relationship to government and other social institutions: What is the role of schools in development and social change? Considering the role of teachers as agents of change: What is the role of the teacher in school/organizational change and community development? And finally, reflecting on our subjective motives for working in the field of education: Why do you want to become an educator? Through course activities such as service-learning in schools and group project work on a contemporary educational phenomenon (e.g., school choice, new technologies for learning, single-sex education), students will learn how educational policy at the federal, state, and local levels impacts teaching and learning, investigate the moral dimensions of the teacher-student relationship, and reflect on the construct of teacher-learners. Students will be introduced to a variety of educational research methods (i.e, ethnography, case study, quasi-experimental, correlational) that will allow for critical analysis of the knowledge base that strives to impact educational policy and practice. Evaluation will be based on participation, reflective writing, service learning, and group projects and presentations.

How does a child think? What causes them to learn? What teaching approaches work best with young children? These questions and more will be explored through readings, lectures, field observations, and planned class activities. This course will provide an introduction to early childhood education (preschool to eighth grade). Theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori, Gardner, Erikson, Maslow, Kohlberg, and Gilligan will be used to examine the physical, mental, emotional, moral, and social aspects of childhood growth and development. Students will explore a range of curriculum models, approaches, and strategies as they learn to apply developmental theory to best practices. These best practices will include the role of teachers in creating meaningful learning experiences and classroom environments (curriculum), documenting learning, assessment, inclusion, and family involvement. The primary modes of instruction for this class will be lectures, classroom discussions, field observations/reflections, and cooperative hands-on learning activities. Short reflective papers, an observational journal, and class projects will be used to assess learning.

This course is a broad overview of children’s literature and its place in the elementary school classroom. It examines the range and trends in literature for children that includes all genres, prominent authors, illustrators, awards, critical evaluation, and integration into instruction across the curriculum. Students participate in and design lessons which incorporate or extend children’s response to literature. They survey poetry and media appropriate for elementary students. Students read an extensive amount of children’s literature, keep a response journal, develop an author study, and create a teaching unit using children’s literature.

This course is designed for students planning to teach in schools whether in Maine or outside of the United States. Culturally sustaining/revitalizing education (CSRE) builds on the aims, values, insights, and practices of anti-racist education, culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustaining/revitalizing pedagogy, decolonizing education, global education, intercultural education, and multicultural education. In particular, it aims to contextualize education in the history of colonization, land theft, slavery, the continued struggle for sovereignty and self-determination of native tribes and First Nations, and calls for wider community accountability. This educational approach challenges deficit mindsets and structures that undergird policies and practices that widen the opportunity gap and equitable access to basic human and civil rights and impede educational access for sustaining and revitalizing cultures that settler colonialism has attempted to eliminate, assimilate, or marginalize. Students will practice asset-based and growth mindsets to gain an understanding of the relationship between CSRE and respect for tribal sovereignty and support of contemporary struggles for tribal continuity and resistance to cultural genocide and epistemicide. The course also opens a dialogue on the applicability of CRSE for immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking students whose relationship to their new place of residence may be tenuous at best and whose heritage languages and cultures are also endangered as a result of first- to second-generation assimilation in their adopted communities. Students will gain an understanding of conceptual frameworks, knowledge of empirical studies documenting outcomes and impacts of these approaches, and skills in ethically and effectively teaching indigenous, immigrant, and other culturally and linguistically diverse learners. For students seeking Maine teaching endorsements, this course will prepare them to implement LD291 requiring Maine educators to teach Wabanaki history and culture. Students will learn through field trips, guest speakers, films, discussions, critical exploration and reflection, independent research, observation/fieldwork/practicum, and peer teaching. Evaluation will include artifacts to be incorporated into a teaching portfolio: a lesson plan, teaching video, self-assessment, assessment of PK-12 student work, and communication with families and community members. Although there are no prerequisites, the following are recommended; Learning and/or proficiency in a language other than English; a psychology, sociology, or anthropology course; and/or a prior education course.

Human ecologists who educate, embrace not only the interdisciplinarity of knowledge, but also the complexity of individual student development in political school environments. This course focuses on two essential nuts and bolts of teaching: curriculum design and assessment. How can a teacher learn what students know, how they think, and what they have learned? How can a teacher use this knowledge of students and subject matter to plan learning experiences that will engage diverse interests, adapt to a wide range of learning styles and preferences, accommodate exceptional needs, and meet state-mandated curriculum standards? This course is a required course for prospective secondary school teachers that provides an introduction to the backward design process and diverse assessment strategies. Students will engage in examining theory and practice designing and implementing curricula and assessments. A service-learning component will provide students with the opportunity to observe and participate in a variety of assessment methods in the subject they aim to teach. The final project will be a collaboratively designed, integrated curriculum unit, including lesson plans and assessments. Evaluation will be based on participation, reflective writing, individually designed lesson plans and assessments, and the final project.

Even before John Dewey published Experience and Education in 1938, experiential education had been practiced in various forms around the world. This course explores the philosophy of experiential education and its diverse practices in the realms of adventure education, service learning, workplace learning, environmental education, museum education, and school reform. Group activities and fieldtrips will provide opportunities to participate as both learner and teacher in a variety of teacher-led and student-designed experiences. The final project involves researching an existing experiential education program, its philosophy, and its practices. Evaluation is based on class and fieldtrip participation (including one multi-day fieldtrip), reflective logs, curriculum design, service-learning journal, an oral presentation of the service-learning, and a final essay that articulates a philosophy of experience in education.

Humans don’t have a steady growth rate. In the first two years of life for human children the rate is fast, and then it slows for the next seven to ten years and then things speed up again. Interestingly, a child’s brain is already at 90% of its full size by age five. So many factors go into the development of children from their birth to the time that they enter adulthood. What do children inherit from their parents, biologically, culturally, socially, and how do those influences help us understand individual child development? In this course, students will explore and examine the contributions of prominent theorists and empirical research to foster a deeper understanding of the complexities of child development from birth through adolescence. This foundational learning will support students as they investigate additional influences on development. Students will be asked to reflect on their own development and the factors that helped to shape their own growth. Additionally, students will read and discuss current research in psychology, neuroscience, education, and sociology as integral parts of student learning. Understanding the arc of development is essential for individuals who work in education and related fields. Knowing what to expect in typical development is imperative to providing appropriate experiences and curriculum, and facilitates positive coaching and partnering with parents and caregivers. While this class is primarily geared towards individuals who may pursue education or education-adjacent fields, it is ultimately a class intended to explore what it means to develop and grow as a human from early childhood up to adolescence. Students should expect the following experiences and assessments: rich class discussions based on readings and personal reflections, field observations, hands-on activities, assigned work, and class presentations.

This course is designed to prepare prospective teachers with methods necessary to implement a comprehensive literacy program for grades PreK-3 to include all aspects of literacy acquisition. Major areas of focus will include oral, visual, and technological communication, shared and interactive strategies, phonics, word study and spelling, independent and guided reading, writing workshop, and writing in all content areas. The course content focuses on an integrated approach to the acquisition of literacy skills, current best practice, and lesson design, questioning techniques, formative and summative assessment. Learning objectives address the standards for Maine’s teaching standards and Maine’s Learning Results. There is a fieldwork component of 50 hours for this ten-week course. There will be a weekly one-hour lab, shared with Integrated Methods I: Gr 5-8. Evaluation will be based on the quality of a course portfolio to include class participation, curriculum and assessment design, performance assessments, cooperating teacher feedback, and reflections on the fieldwork and required readings.

This course is designed to prepare prospective teachers with methods necessary to implement a comprehensive literacy program for grades 3-6 to include: motivation and the upper elementary reader; helping middle grade students develop their writing voice through knowledge of language, vocabulary acquisition and use, and working with a variety of text; teaching critical, creative, and collaborative technology use; using multiple tools to differentiate instruction; creating and using rubrics/alternatives for assessing writing. The course content focuses on an integrated approach to the acquisition of literacy skills, current effective practices, lesson design, questioning techniques, and formative and summative assessment. Learning objectives address Maine’s teaching standards and Maine’s Learning Results. There is a field studies component of 50 hours and there will be a weekly one-hour lab, shared with Integrated Methods IA: Gr PreK-3. Evaluation will be based on the quality of a course portfolio to include curriculum and assessment design, performance assessments, cooperating teacher feedback on classroom performance, and reflections on the fieldwork and required readings.

How can an integrated curriculum for elementary school students help to deepen the relationships children and young adolescents construct with the natural and social worlds in a way that promotes their capacity to know themselves and the communities in which they act?

For students interested in working with learners in grades preK-6, this course provides an enriched guided apprenticeship focused on necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to begin integrating science curricula with social studies, math and English language arts. Students will observe and practice creating and maintaining a constructive learning environment while teaching diverse learners using appropriate teaching methods and learning technologies. In addition students will explore providing effective feedback and constructing and implementing relevant assessments. Learning objectives include all eleven of Maine’s teaching standards as well as a working knowledge of the Parameters for Essential Instruction (PEI) for Science. Students will participate in an eight-week field work practicum observing and participating in elementary classrooms as well as planning and teaching in a weekly lab environment. Readings, discussions, and experiential learning in class will complement the field work component. Evaluation will be based on reflection on fieldwork, participation in discussions of readings and field work, curriculum and assessment design and implementation, and professional performance at the practicum site.

How can an integrated curriculum for elementary school students help to deepen the relationships children and young adolescents construct with the natural and social worlds in a way that promotes their capacity to know themselves and the communities in which they act?

For students interested in working with learners in grades preK-6, this course provides an enriched guided apprenticeship focused on necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to begin integrating social studies curricula with science, math and English language arts. Students will observe and practice creating and maintaining a constructive learning environment while teaching diverse learners using appropriate teaching methods and learning technologies. In addition students will explore providing effective feedback and constructing and implementing relevant assessments. Learning objectives include all eleven of Maine’s teaching standards as well as a working knowledge of the Parameters for Essential Instruction (PEI) for Social Studies. Students will participate in an eight-week field work practicum observing and participating in elementary classrooms as well as planning and teaching in a weekly lab environment. Readings, discussions, and experiential learning in class will complement the field work component. Evaluation will be based on reflection on fieldwork, participation in discussions of readings and field work, curriculum and assessment design and implementation, and professional performance at the practicum site.

This course focuses on the segment of the human life span from puberty to early adulthood. In this class we will examine the physical, cognitive, social, and moral aspects of adolescent growth and development. Issues to be considered include adolescent relationships (peers, family, romantic), adolescent issues (identity formation, at risk behavior, schooling, and stereotypes), and critical reflection on one’s own adolescent experience. The main objectives of this course are to: 1) provide students with a working knowledge of the theories of psychology which pertain to early adolescent development; 2) help students develop the ability to critically analyze information and common assumptions about the development of adolescents; 3) consider contemporary issues and concerns of the field; and 4) to afford students the opportunity to explore their own adolescent development. Course work entails lecture, discussion, extensive case analysis, and a field component.