Introduction to Education

This course encompasses the structure of American Education by exploring the development of social, economic, political, and cultural constructs in which learning takes place in American society. Included are considerations for social values, education as a profession, education and the community, and impacts of social policy. This course will also serve as a transition to more advanced educational pedagogy by addressing topics such as multiple intelligences, dimensions of learning, differentiated instruction, lesson design, and the Common Core Standards in math and English language arts. We will examine the New Jersey Professional Teaching Standards and the contexts in which teachers teach. A multicultural emphasis and multi-disciplinary approach to schooling in both urban and suburban communities will guide our explanation of schools here in the state of New Jersey. In addition, students will be introduced to methods for finding viable peer-reviewed research articles using Education-specific databases.