Education

This course examines the strengths and critiques of various learning theories. Specifically, we focus on a variety of individual and sociocultural factors that impact cognitive, socioemotional, identity, and moral development of learners.

This interactive, interdisciplinary course introduces students to key debates and dilemmas in K-12 public schooling. Students will grapple with what schools are for, why we have them, and whether our school system lives up to its stated ideals. Students will scrutinize everyday practices and rituals of school life and imagine alternatives for how we might "do school." In tracing the evolution of our public schools, students will also critically examine their own personal schooling histories.

This course will introduce students to a comprehensive developmental counseling and guidance program in schools. It will examine the ethical and legal practices, as well as, the current framework that is used to address challenges that students and staff face in today's schools. Students will develop the skills necessary to respond to these challenges in a way that will support academic/social growth, relationship building, and college/career readiness while promoting a positive school environment.

This course will examine the literacy development of middle and high school students. Students will explore a range of factors that influence the acquisition of literacy skills. Topics such as reading motivation, disciplinary literacy, diversity in student reading profiles, and equitable and inclusive literacy instruction will be explored.

This course examines the complexities and promises of fostering home-school partnerships. We will begin by examining who is considered a "good parent" and interrogate the universality of various ideals. We will problematize the kinds of parental involvement that schools reward and those that often go unnoticed, particularly within the context of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. We will unpack a wide range of current topics regarding the distribution of power between families and educators in schools.

This course will examine the literature and law as it relates to special education and inclusion grades 5-12. This course focuses on best practices for teaching and learning in inclusive settings.

This interactive, interdisciplinary course introduces students to urban schools distinctive complexities, challenges, and possibilities. Students will develop nuanced understandings of the urban context and what this context means for students, teachers, families, and schools. Bringing this investigation to life, students will visit a range of urban school models in Worcester. Finally, students will explore existing urban school reforms and design improvement plans of their own.

This is a foundation course in elementary education. In this course, students will explore how elementary schools were developed and examine current pedagogies and instructional strategies for elementary school students. This course will also examine necessary teacher skills such as curriculum planning and assessment, strategies for teaching all students, family engagement, and professional culture. There will be a field-based component associated with the course.

Students examine and demonstrate various teaching methods. Students will pursue questions concerning the middle and secondary school curriculum, discipline and motivation, and instructional materials. Secondary and middle school goals and principles are also examined. Methodological and curricular questions specific to the discipline will be illustrated and discussed. Includes a field-based experience.

A 30-hour, on-site period of observation and work in the public schools along with a weekly, one hour meeting with the Pre-Practicum instructor to debrief observations, complete state requirements, and prepare for full-time student teaching.

This course focuses on current theories and their applications related to the teaching and learning of English Learners (ELs). It will expand students' knowledge of how language functions within academic content teaching and learning, and how children and adolescents acquire a second language. Throughout the course, effective research-based strategies for teaching English Learners will be modeled. Teacher Education Program (TEP) students who complete this course will qualify for a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement.

A full-time practicum experience of supervised teaching in the high school, middle school, or upper elementary school. Open only to TEP students. This course fulfills the capstone requirement for the Education minor.

A seminar to accompany the Education 320 Practicum. Addresses issues arising in the practicum experience, as well as current topics in education in order to meet the professional standards for teachers. Open only to TEP students.

Culture, Identity, and Schooling is an advanced seminar exploring how culture, power, and identity shape teaching and learning in K12 settings. Grounded in multicultural education theory and intersectional analysis, the course engages scholarship on race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexuality, disability, and multilingualism to interrogate curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and policy. Emphasis is placed on culturally sustaining pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, anti-bias practices, and linguistically responsive teaching for multilingual learners. By the end of this course students will be able to connect theory to action in order to advocate for equity at classroom and systems levels.

This course examines the mission and identity of Catholic K-12 schools and institutions of higher education, particularly in the U.S. We will discuss how the mission of Catholic education has evolved and shifted over time, especially in response to developments in the Catholic Church, rising secularism and changing cultural norms, market pressures, and the changing educational landscape. We will also pay special attention to the stories of those who have worked in, attended, and experienced these school communities.

This interactive, workshop-style seminar introduces students to uses, possibilities, and dilemmas of qualitative research methods in education. Carrying out self-designed, semester-long research projects of college life with Holy Cross as their research site, students will gain practice conducting interviews, observations, and document analyses as well as analyzing, writing up, and presenting their findings. In the process, students will become critical consumers of qualitative research and careful researchers of college life. Topic varies per year.

This capstone seminar is designed for education minors at the end of their minor. Students apply and integrate their knowledge from previous coursework. The seminar will be organized through an essential question and topic. Previous topics have included: educational policy, adjusting to COVID, and student mental health and socioemotional learning. This course fulfills the capstone requirement for the Education minor.

Tutorial projects designed by students and faculty members. Admission determined by evaluation proposal.

Students may undertake an independent research project under the direction of a faculty member. Permission required.

This practice-centered capstone course focuses on the day-to-day work of becoming an equity-minded educator. In this course, Education minors will examine how their beliefs about learners and learning take shape and how to align their instructional practices with their commitment to fostering a just classroom. Course topics include abolitionist approaches to teaching, relationship-centered classroom communities, and equity-oriented curriculum and assessment design.A semester-long teaching portfolio anchors the course. Portfolio components include a philosophy of teaching statement; a discipline-based inquiry into how knowledge in ones field has been centered and whose voices have been marginalized; an annotated website highlighting efforts to decolonize teaching in that discipline; and an equitable unit plan and grading system. A field-based experience will connect course ideas to practice.

Although suburban public schools enroll the largest share of the nations public-school students, they receive considerably less attention than their urban counterparts. This interactive seminar examines the history, culture, and changing dynamics of suburban schools and communities. Students will explore how public policy, housing, race, class, and school district boundaries shaped suburban schooling and how families navigate educational choices through parenting, housing, and school selection. As suburbs become increasingly diverse, students will investigate how demographic and political change is reshaping suburban schools and communities. Through historical and sociological inquiry, contemporary case studies, and original research, students will develop nuanced understandings of suburbia and its influence on the broader American educational landscape.