EDU Education Courses at Global Campus

This course introduces students to education as both a professional pathway and a dynamic social institution. Students will explore the personal, ethical, and professional qualities that define effective educators while examining how cultural, economic, and policy factors shape schooling in diverse societies. Through the lens of the social sciences, students will analyze human behavior, equity, and institutional practices that influence teaching and learning. Emphasis is placed on developing a personal “why” for teaching, fostering culturally responsive mindsets, and understanding how evidence-based instructional models promote access and achievement for all learners.

This introductory course will cover learning theories including behaviorist, cognitive, constructivist and social learning as well as examine their relationship to instructional practices and course design. Basic principles and vocabulary for instructional design will be introduced. Additional topics covered will include factors that influence learning including motivation, learner engagement and learning styles. Students will begin to identify learning outcomes that can be addressed in an instructional design setting.

This course will introduce students to a variety of e-Learning strategies preparing them to select and evaluate e-Learning for a variety of learners and organizational contexts. Throughout this course, students will explore e-Learning theory and practice while having an opportunity to design and develop effective eLearning activities. Additionally, students build on prior learning about needs assessment in instructional design contexts. Prerequisite: EDU 120.

Introduction to Education, exposes students to current theories, issues, and practices that apply to the field of education. Students will learn about and apply varied instructional strategies, both individually and collaboratively. Topics include the role and responsibilities of professional educators, federal and state legislation in education, and serving students with special needs and language barriers. Students will discuss the importance of standards-based instruction and effective assessment methods. The concepts of educational equity, diversity, and inclusive practices for special populations are emphasized and woven into the instructional techniques, strategies, and developmental theories, taught in EDU 304. This course is designed to ensure that course completers can effectively support the needs of students from diverse backgrounds in the 21st century classroom.

This course provides a sufficiently broad yet detailed exposure to the realities of teaching a diverse group of English language learners (ELL) and how to best meet their needs using various instructional and assessment strategies. Students will reflect upon their own language learning experiences to aid in their understanding of language development, acquisition, and proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Additionally, students will examine the advantages and disadvantages of various English learning programs and significant historical and legislative events in bilingual education. The course is designed to prepare students to deliver content area instruction to ELLs with diverse abilities and backgrounds including but not limited to language, culture, socioeconomic status, and immigration status, using the sheltered instruction approach.

In this course students are introduced to the history of education in the United States by exploring the ideologies and theoretical frameworks that have shaped the social, political, cultural, and economic tenets within educational institutions in America. The course explores a historical perspective on the experiences of diverse groups of people within our nation’s schools. A particular focus on issues of power and privilege and the ways that race, class, gender, and sexuality intersect with school policies is highlighted. As a culminating project, students will demonstrate an understanding of the development of American education by explaining key historical conditions and events that have shaped the realities of the present-day educational system. (Cross-listed as HIS 324).

The application of instructional design for online learning will be emphasized as students apply their knowledge to analyze, select and design instructional strategies that are most effective for engaging and teaching online learners. Students will learn methods for managing and delivering online instruction utilizing course management tools and multimedia technologies in both synchronous and asynchronous environments. Prerequisites: EDU 120 and EDU 232.

In this course, students will examine eLearning in a variety of forms. Students will explore various instructional design eLearning principles, their application to eLearning materials, and will develop the skills necessary to evaluate eLearning products. Through the study of eLearning, students will also learn to identify evaluation methods that are appropriate to both context and audience. Prerequisites: EDU 120 and EDU 232.

In this course, students will discuss issues related to collaboration in the online environment and explore the use of technology to promote virtual collaboration, teamwork, and interaction. In addition, students will examine strategies for managing virtual teams and will utilize a variety of tools to design activities that leverage technology to support online collaboration and interaction. Prerequisites: EDU 120 and EDU 232.

Brain development as related to human development and the capacity for learning will be explored throughout this course. The neuroscience of brain development and how this information translates into education, as well as the implications of this information for maximizing learning, memory, behavior and overall functioning, are topics that will be addressed.