Urban Teacher Course

Course Descriptions

"This course is structured to develop competencies in identifying contemporary problems and trends in education facing urban teachers with an emphasis in current research and curriculum design. The course will examine urban education from multiple perspectives in an effort to better examine urban education from multiple perspectives in an effort to better understand: 1) the larger social contexts that shape city schools, including race, culture, and social class; 2) the lived realities of children and families who reside in urban areas; 3) how teaching and learning happen and don't happen in city schools; 4) how teachers challenge the "factory model" of urban schooling and 5) current issues and controversies in urban education (as stated in the Spring 2008 syllabus)."

Major Assignments

Critique 1

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Critique 2

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Trend Paper

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Research Paper

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This paper is a critique of a paper on preparing for the future of education.

This paper is a critique of a paper on the clash of global competitiveness and national equity in education.

This paper is related to social capital and education.

This paper, in accord with my new research interest, is on exceptional students and science education.

In this course the many problems associated with teaching in an urban setting were identified. However, the class climate was kept positive. The professor intentionally kept the focus of the class on possible solutions to these problems.

I gained a lot from the classroom discussions. Collaboration helped us to come up with solutions that were no doubt better than anything we could have come up with independently. If only we were in a position to implement such strategies now.

There is more that I have gained from this course. Having a paper due every other week forced me to implement my time management strategies. Also, I learned to use as ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), RefWorks, Google Scholar, and other tools available online to assist in writing papers.