EDU 290 - Introduction to English/Language Arts Education Credits: 3

Offers Secondary English certification students a foundation in English/Language Arts education. The first of three pedagogy courses, it provides the history of American education with an emphasis on middle and high schools and the fundamentals of educational and adolescent psychology and then moves to a more specific focus on the secondary ELA classroom. Introduces the philosophical beliefs and practical realities of American education (with a special focus on middle and high schools), the array of learning and development theories that inform effective educators, and the range of effective literacy practices involved in ELA teaching and learning at the secondary level. Curriculum, student diversity, assessment, technology, differentiation, and classroom management are topics explored both generally and with an ELA focus as students work toward becoming reflective collaborative decision-makers. Readings, assignments, and practical demonstrations will provide an opportunity to engage with theory and research that will be relevant to future course work and eventual middle and high school ELA classrooms.