Educational Foundations 320

EDEF 320: Introduction to Professional Education

Pre-or Co-requisite: Course in human growth and development (HUMD 300; EDEF 300; or PSYC 230; or PSYC 218; or PSYC 317; or ESHE 294 for ESHE majors only).

Credit Hours: (3)
 

Introduces teaching as a profession. Topics include the organization, governance, and culture of schools; legal and ethical responsibilities of teachers; historical, philosophical and sociological  foundations underlying education in the United States; how teachers are evaluated; contemporary issues and current trends in education; and teaching from a multicultural perspective.

Note(s): Cultural or Behavioral Analysis designated course.

Detailed Description of the Course

The course will seek to address the following topics:

1. Becoming a Professional Educator 

(Including teacher rights and responsibilities; accountability under Virginia's Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers; professional ethics; being a reflective practitioner who engages in inquiry, research, and continuing professional development in the profession; professional teaching organizations; and characteristics and dispositions of professional educators.) 

2. Philosophical, Historical/Legal, Sociological, Political and Economic Issues in American Education

(Including differing perspectives on the purposes of schools; how philosophical perspectives influence what we teach; the history of American education and how changes in American culture and economy lead to changes in school purposes, organization, and curriculum; school finance; school reform; and school law and governance.)

3. Sociological Issues

(Including diversity in abilities, race, class, and sexual identity and orientation and how these diversities impact a child’s experiences in school.)

Detailed Description of the Conduct of the Course


A variety of instructional methods will be used including lecture, small group work, research, class presentations, guest speakers, university-wide events, videos, case studies, email, the internet, learning management systems, and/or class blogs and threaded discussions

Goals and Objectives of the Course


Goals, objectives, and assignments in this class address the Virginia Department of Education regulations for preparing educators.

A. Issues:  Understand contemporary issues in education and identify major areas of research on teaching and resources available for professional learning on these issues.  

B. Role/Organization of Schools:  Understand the historical, philosophical, and sociological foundations underlying the role, development and organization of public education in the United States.  Understand schools as organizations and cultures within the larger community context and understand the operations of the relevant aspects of school systems. 

C. Environment/School Intersections; Diversity:  Understand how factors in students’ environments outside of school (prior learning, language, culture, family) as well as individual experiences and talents may influence students’ lives and learning. Use a research-based framework for understanding cultural and community diversity. Explore, interrogate, and reflect upon one’s own cultural frames to attend to issues of equity, diversity, access, power, human rights, and social justice within their schools and/or communities.   

D. Legal Rights and Professional Responsibilities:  Understand laws related to students’, families’, and teachers’ rights and responsibilities. Understand the legal status of teachers and students, including federal and state laws and regulations.  Understand the characteristics and dispositions of professional educators.  

Assessment Measures

·Class participation in discussions and small group activities

·Weekly written responses to readings (including summarizing tasks, answering closed-ended comprehension questions, and open-ended evaluative, analysis, and synthesis questions)

·Exams (if deemed appropriate by the specific instructor)

·Research projects and/or service learning projects that result in oral or written reports

·For licensure candidates: proof of having taken proficiency exams in semester of course (or prior) (Praxis I and VCLA)

·The course will include the development of an initial written professional philosophy/vision statement for teaching that will be revisited and revised as teacher candidates mature throughout their courses of study

Review and Approval

March 01, 2021