The central topic of this course is the ways teachers view learning, instruction, classroom organization, and motivation. This course takes a micro-analytical approach focusing on classroom interactions and how a teacher plans for a range of student interests, experiences, strengths, and needs.

This course focuses on the ways in which educators, politicians, and the public view the state of American schools. Broad philosophies of education guide an analysis of schools, which include historical lenses as well as the current literature on classroom reforms. This course contrasts central issues of schooling as seen from the "outside" political domain and the "inside" experience of students. In particular, the course addresses how issues of race and social class as well as economic inequality surround current debates over the best way to improve schools in the 21st century.

We prepare teachers who create productive learning environments, critically reflect on their teaching and student learning, and interrogate their own biases and confront inequities in schools.

The education studies minor teaches students to question their own biases and social location, as well as the inequities that shape individuals, interpersonal interactions, and institutions.