MGED 3350 - Teaching and Learning in Middle Grades

4 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: Admission to Educator Preparation Program
This course provides an overview of teaching and learning in the context of the contemporary American middle school. Using an inquiry approach, candidates will build a comprehensive understanding of the interaction among the school, the curriculum and the student in an effective middle school. Candidates will explore national, state and local content standards as well as other educational trends and policies that impact teaching in their respective content areas. Particular emphasis will be placed on four philosophical approaches to teaching (social, information-processing, personal and behavioral), each of which has a strong history of research and development. Through classroom activities and field-based inquiry, candidates will explore selected teaching models that are representative of these four approaches, including the curricular orientations behind these models and their application in middle school content areas. Candidates will observe a variety of classroom management approaches and will begin to develop a philosophy of classroom management based on knowledge about motivation and learning. This course includes an embedded field experience in a grades 4-8 classroom.