Whether as a teacher or administrator, parent, or citizen, nearly all adults in this society have a stake in the education of the nation’s children and young people.
The education department offers courses designed to examine the historical and philosophical roots of education in the United States; the role schools plays in the socialization and preparation of children for their place in society; the concerns of equal educational opportunity; the considerations of development and diversity; and other issues of educational theory and practice.
Education courses (except 267) apply to the social science and humanities (selected courses) distribution areas.
A minimum of 20 credits of departmental offerings and must include courses taught by at least two different members of the department. No more than four credits earned in off-campus programs or transfer credits may be used to satisfy the minor requirements. Courses taken P-D-F may not be used to satisfy the course and credit requirements for the minor.
Students interested in obtaining certification to teach in public schools should refer to the Combined Plans section in this Catalog. Certain combined 4-1 certification programs may have specific requirements. Students interested in those programs should meet with the Chair of the Education Department for more details.
201 Special Topics in Education
1-4, 1-4
This course focuses on selected topics within education. These may be taught through lectures, seminars or group research projects.217 School and Society
4, x Kitchens
The course provides an introduction to education in the United States through exploration of educational history; problems confronting education in an increasingly pluralistic society; and contemporary educational issues. More specifically, topics will include: school law and student/teacher rights, standardized testing, school reforms, school financing, school choice, vouchers, societal functions of schools, and private vs. public schooling.267 Classroom Field Experiences
x, 2 Kitchens
Many Masters in Teaching and post-baccalaureate teaching certification programs require students to have structured and supervised experiences in classrooms as a prerequisite for acceptance into their programs. This course is designed to provide such an experience. Students will spend a minimum of three hours a week observing and working in local classrooms. They will keep a directed journal that will be turned in at regular intervals through the course of the term. A final paper will also be required. This course will be graded credit/no credit and does not count towards fulfilling the requirements for the minor. Prerequisite: at least two education courses, which may be taken concurrently. Instructor consent required. Distribution area: none.278 Strategies for Teaching Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students
x, 4 Fenimore-Smith
The purpose of this course is to provide students the appropriate knowledge and skills necessary for effective instruction of second language learners. This will include examination of current research on second language acquisition and instructional approaches for teaching English to speakers of other languages. The course will address student evaluation, evaluation of resources, and adaptation of published and unpublished materials for instruction. Specific attention will be paid to identification and application of developmentally and linguistically appropriate strategies and materials to effectively engage English language learners of varying ages. The course will include a field experience for application of learned strategies. This course is appropriate for students aspiring to be bilingual teachers in public schools and those interested in teaching English abroad. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.301 Special Topics in Education
1-4, 1-4
This course focuses on selected topics within education. These may be taught through lectures, seminars, group research projects.301A ST: Multimedia and Interdisciplinary Methods of Instruction
4, x Kitchens
This course combines alternative research methods with various modes of presentation and instruction including, but not limited to, video production and performance strategies. Beginning with a consideration of qualitative research and interdisciplinary studies, students will then engage in research and activities using a range of tools such as visual and auditory media, reader’s and newspaper theater and other creative drama, photo collage, etc. Topics that will be considered: alternative methods of research, interdisciplinary studies, media literacy, performance studies, aesthetics, and ethics. Students will critically observe and analyze various oral histories, documentaries and other materials for underlying problems and/or advantages. Students will also take on a final research project applying what they have learned. This class is intended to provide teachers of all levels with the means to critically use multimedia and interdisciplinary methods in their classrooms but will be of interests to anyone concerned with the intersections of research, multimedia, aesthetics, and education.301B ST: Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Education in the Matrix
x, 4 Kitchens
Since the 1980s popular culture has increasingly become a topic of critique among academics in the field of education. The images, messages, and effects of popular culture, whether in the form of advertising, fashion, or ipods, are ubiquitous. This raises important and arguably imperative considerations for educators. This class will investigate ways popular culture itself becomes a topic of education in the form of media literacy and efforts to produce a critical consciousness regarding students’ consumption of popular culture. Literature related to critiques of popular culture as well as varied examples and forms of popular culture will serve as the bases for class discussions.320 Intellectual and Cultural Foundations of Education
4, x Kitchens
This course is an introduction to the philosophical and historical foundations of contemporary education in the United States. Topics include an examination of various and competing educational philosophies from Plato to John Dewey and how they play out in the policies, structures, curriculum, and conceptions of teaching and learning found in contemporary schools; the theoretical and cultural issues surrounding curriculum and instruction; and how these intellectual foundations have historically shaped the development of schools in the United States.340 Child Language Development
4; not offered 2007-08
Students will study children’s language development using several approaches including Behaviorist, Structuralist, Psycholinguistic and Sociolinguistic. The course will explore theories of acquisition, structural features, stages of development, cultural influences, language variations and stabilities, and second language acquisition. Students will participate in ongoing investigations of the processes of children’s language development through field and class projects.348 Multicultural Education
4, x Fenimore-Smith
This course will provide a broad overview of the issues surrounding education of diverse learners within the sociopolitical context of schooling. Discussion of issues will be grounded in classic and emerging theoretical frameworks of multiculturalism. Primary focus of the course will be contemporary concerns and approaches to education of Native American students. This course is designed to challenge students to critically analyze the institutions and practices that impact the success of diverse learners in educational environments.360 Educational Equality
x, 4 Kitchens
This course examines several sociological models of schooling and the ways in which these models explain the socializing functions played by schools, especially as they relate to the school’s egalitarian mission in a democracy. Topics discussed will include the hidden curriculum; tracking and testing; teacher expectation; class, culture, and curriculum; and the effects of school funding. Specific attention will be paid to the ways students who differ by race and ethnicity, ability, gender, or class, for example, are affected by the functions and structures of schooling. May be elected as Sociology 370.368 Information Technology in Education: Risks and Promises
4; not offered 2007-08
This course will explore the promises and possible dangers that information technologies such as the In-ternet and the World Wide Web bring to the enterprise of public education. Topics will include: the dilemmas of access and credibility, the nature of hypertext and hyper-reading, the paradox of infoglut versus censorship, concerns of privacy and commercialization, and an examination of the future of cyber-education.375 Development and Exceptionalities
4; not offered 2007-08
In this course we will examine the interactions among the cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, and physical development of school-age children. The course will attend to some of the larger questions about development, such as the relationship between nature and nurture; the role of developmental theory; and the tension between the search for developmental universals and the reality of individual differences. Special attention will be given to the etiology and characteristics of exceptional children. The goal is to make developmental theory vibrant and meaningful so as to better inform how one understands individual children and the pedagogical implications of individual differences. Students will have the opportunity to combine theory and practice through participation in an ethnographic study in an elementary or secondary school setting.380 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
x, 4 Fenimore-Smith
This course will examine the variety of ways in which learning, teaching, and assessment are organized in classroom settings. It will examine the classroom as a dynamic cultural unit, embedded in larger social institutions. Readings will reflect theories and research related to substantive pedagogical issues, sanctioned knowledge in school curricula, the politics of instruction and curricular design, and how learning is influenced by standardized educational goals and measurement of student achievement. Students will examine their own beliefs about learning and teaching by considering the various ways in which teaching methodologies, assessment, curriculum issues, and interpersonal relationships interface in the classroom.408 Independent Study
1-4, 1-4 Staff
Independent investigations of approved educational problems, resulting in oral and written reports. For teacher education candidates; open to others with consent of instructor.427 Seminar: Special Topics in Education
490 Seminar: Essential Readings in Education
1-4, 1-4
Seminars that examine special topics in education not regularly covered in other education courses.
1-4; not offered 2007-08
This course will explore selected topics of educational policy such as educational reform movements, critical perspectives of education, and issues of educational equality, through the reading of contemporary and historical primary texts.
Whitman College is associated with the University of Puget Sound School of Education in a cooperative 4-1 Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) certification program. Upon completion of a Whitman baccalaureate degree, students who have applied to the program and met program requirements are admitted to the School of Education for a fifth year of study culminating in a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree and a Washington State Teaching Certificate.
Whitman also maintains contact with other Northwest colleges that offer MAT programs. See education department faculty for more information.
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