Education for Sustainability Concentration

Students will examine contemporary learning theories, models, and research-based practices in education which have evolved from historical and psychological perspectives on human development and learning. Working from these theoretical frameworks and approaches students will develop plans for student learning in inclusive, prosocial learning environments using a variety of instructional strategies. Students will explore community-based professional educational contexts.

Students will learn to construct a framework for supporting and teaching reading in the content area. We will focus on developing research-based methods, strategies, and procedures for designing instruction that supports literacy in each of the core disciplines: Math, Science, English, and History. We will develop skills in assessing reading levels and teaching vocabulary development and reading strategies. Students spend two hours a week in a field experience.

The Vermont and NSTA Standards are used as the basis for course content. Topics will include science process skills, physical science, life science, earth and space science, science and technology, and the scientific experiment. Students complete a long-term thematic unit on a topic of interest, relating lessons to the Vermont and/or NSTA Standards. Commercial science materials and texts will be examined and evaluated. Students will spend two hours per week observing and working in a kindergarten through sixth grade. (Spring only)

Students will investigate and implement differentiated instruction as a philosophical approach to meeting the instructional needs of all students in a middle/high school classroom. We will also examine and apply differentiated learning strategies to real life situations. Differentiating lesson plans and instruction will be modeled throughout this course. This course will include a two-three hour field placement in a differentiated classroom.