Representative sample of courses I am teaching or have taught at the College of Educational Studies, University of Washington — Bothell
BEDUC 210 — Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society
A major goal of this course is to help students better understand how critical elements in our multicultural society contribute to our students’ school experiences. Students will examine the ways in which race and ethnicity intersect with other factors including class, gender, sexual orientation, language, disability, and citizenship to influence students’ school experiences and provide important insights for culturally relevant teaching. In addition, they will examine the complex social, cultural, political and economic issues that impact the communities where students live and consider the ways in which those factors are implicated in systems of power and privilege that influence students’ educational opportunities.
BEDUC 210 Spring 2021 Course Syllabus
BEDUC 250 — Topics in Popular Culture (Motivation in Education)
This course provides a general overview of the topic of human motivation with a special emphasis on motivational processes in educational contexts. We will examine several different theories of motivation (expectancy-value, attribution, self-efficacy, goal orientation, interest, flow, and intrinsic motivation theories), the major constructs proposed by these theories, and how they are linked to learning, well-being, and achievement. We will discuss ways in which experiences affect motivation of learners from diverse backgrounds. We will also examine the role of culture, gender, social contexts including family and peers in student motivation. Finally, we will examine how different contextual factors (e.g., teacher behavior, classroom and school characteristics) may facilitate or constrain student motivation.
BEDUC 391 — Theories of Learning, Culture, and Identity
In this course students are introduced to some of the most influential theories of learning, from those based in psychology and child development, to those influenced by anthropology and social justice. Students are also introduced to some of the ways that these learning theories have been applied to teaching or assessment practices and educational policies, both historically and in current educational contexts.
BEDUC 300– Research and Educational Knowledge
In this course students learn about educational research as a genre (ed research literacy and develop capacities to become critical consumers of educational research. Towards this purpose, students not only develop critical capacities but are also expected to explore a topic on teaching and or learning and produce their own literature review (appropriate to a 300 level course).
BEDUC 399 – Introduction to Capstone
In this course students focus on learning how to develop and compile a critically reflective learning portfolio for the Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies capstone project. The seminar enhances critical inquiry and self-reflection as well as refining writing and collaborative skills.
BEDUC 499 — Capstone Project
This is the second part of a two-course series designed to help students complete the final version of the Capstone Electronic Portfolio for the Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies major. This course focuses on further development of this critically reflective learning electronic portfolio and enhancement of writing. It especially focuses on writing the introduction, revising essays written in BEDUC 399, transforming 1-2 of these essays into multimedia formats for the portfolio, and crafting a portfolio highlights presentation to share with others
BEDUC 495 — Applied Experiences
In this course students integrate the knowledge and skills they cultivate in the required courses, a hands-on experience in an educational setting, and collaborative self-reflection on the challenges and opportunities of education in diverse settings.
Representative sample of courses I taught for the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University
SEC 531 — Teaching Adolescents
This course provided preservice teacher candidates in the Masters in Teaching program with a holistic examination of adolescence, starting with socially constructed (and theoretically described) attributes of “adolescence” so that they may understand why adolescents provide unique opportunities and challenges for teachers. We explored theories related to identity, physical, social, emotional, moral and cognitive development. We practiced applying these theories by connecting them to our own experiences, the experiences of others, and through our work in the field with real adolescents!
SEC 513 — Seminar in Social, Cultural, and Legal Issues
This seminar invited students into the larger conversation in the U.S. around the public purposes of schooling. It invited preservice teacher candidates to grapple with the big social, political, legal and cultural issues surrounding the question: How can public schools create a public capable of sustaining a democracy and building a more inclusive and just society? How can we work creatively within democracy’s tensions as we interact with other stakeholders who impact decisions about our public schools? In this seminar students were invited to think about their role as future educational leaders rather than just teachers who are socialized into the current system.
SEC 303 — Teaching Adolescents: Development and Identity
This course focused on the application of current theories of adolescent development in middle and secondary classrooms and community contexts. Students engaged with the wide range of issues that affect the developing adolescent, including language, culture, identity, inequity, racism, media, family, and community factors. Students developed skills to collaborate with families and community agencies to support student learning. This course also included a service-learning component.
EDUC 301 — Educational Psychology 1 — Development and Individual Differences
This course was foundational in developing preservice teacher candidates knowledge of major areas of research on teaching and resources available for professional learning. Students developed an understanding of theories and principles of cognitive, social, and emotional development and applied that understanding to learning and teaching. Students were introduced to expected developmental progressions and grappled with the range of individual variation within each developmental domain (i.e., physical, cognitive, social, and emotional).
EDUC 302 — Educational Psychology 2 — Learning, Motivation, and Assessment
This course introduced students to the principles of human motivation and learning and their implications for P-12 classrooms. Students also learned about effective classroom management and developed knowledge of a range of strategies to promote positive relationships and purposeful learning in the classroom. Preservice teacher candidates were introduced to characteristics, uses, advantages, and limitations of different types of assessments. Finally, students developed an understanding of measurement theory and assessment related issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and scoring concerns and used that understanding to interpret assessment results for individuals and groups.
