Philosophy of Middle Level Education for the Mind, Heart, Spirit

Catalog description

This course helps to ground middle-level teacher preparation in the appropriate young adolescent knowledge base. The course will focus on key theoretical principles of learning, motivating, and creating engaging learning environments for young adolescents in the middle-level classrooms. To meet the goals of education for the mind, emphasis will be placed on examination of beliefs about the teaching-learning process and use of theory and research to make effective decisions of best teaching practice within middle-level classrooms. To meet the goals of education for the heart, emphasis will be placed on critical response to societal stereotypes and prejudices about young adolescents and students from diverse backgrounds. To meet the goals of education for the spirit, emphasis will be placed on developing future teachers as advocates for young adolescents and modeling teaching with Spiritan pedagogy.