Help

This course has an assignment that is due by Noon Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class. Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

Course Special Requirements

Because this course requires you to observe a middle school classroom, you must be registered with the Family Care Safety Registry. Failure to register by Wednesday of the first week of class will result in your removal from the course.

If you have questions regarding this requirement, please contact Jane Bethel, jbethel@centralmethodist.edu. ONLY contact Jane Bethel with questions about the Family Care Safety Registry.  You must contact the instructor of this course if you have any other questions, including questions about your practicum placement.  Contact information for your instructor is located on the Faculty Information portion of this course. 

Textbooks

Knowles, T. & Brown, D. (2014). What every middle school teacher should know, (3rd ed.). Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-325-05755-2

Course Description

ED314 History, Philosophy, and Curriculum of Middle- Level Education . 3 hours. Study of the historical background, philosophy, organization, and curriculum of middle-level education, including discussion of teaching techniques and practices that best serve middle-level students. Areas of emphasis are teaming, advisor/advisee programs and co-curricular, extracurricular, and instructional methods. Prerequisites: ED101 and PY223.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, each participant should be able to:

  1. Provide information about the history, philosophy and curriculum of Middle Schools (MoSPE 5C3)
  2. Provide information about the ways societal, cultural, cognitive, psychological and physical factors impact middle school education. (MoSPE 2C6, 5C3)
  3. Encourage students to consider the teachers/administrator's role in designing and implementing curriculum to mitigate the effects of societal, cultural,   cognitive, psychological and physical factors that impact middle school education (MoSPE 3C1, 3C2, 3C3)
  4. Engage in and develop critical thinking strategies and learn how to incorporate critical thinking strategies in the middle school curriculum. (MoSPE 4C1)
  5. Utilize instructional media and learn how to incorporate instructional media in curriculum design. (MoSPE 6C4)
  6. Have firsthand experience in a middle school setting. (MoSPE 5C1, 5C2, 5C3)
  7. Experience inquiry, choice, and decision making while writing papers based on articles about middle school education. (MoSPE 1C3, 6C3)
  8. Read, discuss, and apply theory and research from professional literature to teaching practice. (MoSPE 1C1, 1C2, 1C4)