This course examines ways to teach about diversity and dialogue in the practice of democracy. Using the social studies content areas and research in social justice, special attention is paid to the areas of multicultural and citizenship education as well as other compelling topics that influence the public or common good in a diverse society such as race relations, gender socialization, language differences, immigration, religious freedom, equality of economic and social opportunities, and global interdependence.

The purpose of this course is to prepare pre-service teachers to teach reading and writing in the upper elementary and middle level settings. Students will be introduced to theories and current views of practice in the literacy field. The areas of language, listening, reading and writing are presented throughout this course as interrelated and integrated literacy processes. Emphasis will be on providing pre-service teachers with the competencies to implement strategic instructional practices and engage in ongoing assessment for a diverse middle grades population. We will also identify ways to build classroom communities through literacy practices.

This course will focus on numbers, operations, and algebra, as appropriate for the middle grades. Special attention will be paid to understanding the conceptual difficulties students have in moving from whole numbers to rational numbers, additive thinking to multiplicative thinking, and arithmetic to algebra. Problem-solving, connections, and concrete models are emphasized. The particular content knowledge needed for teaching will be integrated in this course with general and content-specific pedagogies. Issues of planning, instruction, and assessment will be discussed. Field experiences in the form of small group instruction will support these discussions.

This course will focus on the "big ideas" in the sciences as appropriate for the middle grades. Special attention will be paid to understanding the pre- and mis-conceptions that middle-level students hold. Scientific inquiry and its associated process skills will be emphasized. The particular content knowledge needed for teaching will be integrated in this course with general and content-specific pedagogies. Issues of planning, instruction, and assessment will be discussed. Filed experiences in the form of small-group instruction and isolated whole-group instruction will support these discussions.