Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College · Courses
CI
82 courses with the subject CI, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
CI 105NImprov Theater, Curriculum & Instruction3
This course will engage students in the study and practice of longform improv theatre in ways that will develop their knowledge of the field of curriculum and instruction. At Penn State, we are all familiar with the Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3953 chant, "We Are!" and the purpose of this course is to learn together about ourselves and our collectiveness through creative performance. Improv theater is the performing art of spontaneous, collaborative, embodied story-telling. It is often presumed to be a comedic art form, and while it is true that there are often joyful moments that arise from shared experiences of surprise or upended expectations, we will be studying the disciplined practice of longform improvisational theater, which consists of more sustained, narrative constructions. In longform improv, creative outcomes are just as likely to be serious, or tragic, or thought-provoking, or any number of emotions, but in all cases: what we create together says something about who "We Are!" to each other as co-performers and as observers. The course will culminate with a public performance. Throughout the course, students will write and reflect on practitioner and academic readings from the field of curriculum and instruction, which are relevant not only to aspiring professionals in education (e.g., Educators preparing to teach in both formal and informal settings, Instructional Leaders, School Administrators, and Athletic Coaches), but also to university students who will benefit from more scholarly- informed reflection on their own educational experiences. In particular: we will draw from literature on learning theories and epistemologies; curricular approaches to diversity and inclusion; and improvisational pedagogies. We will learn improv theater exercises, but more importantly: we will practice the collective embodiment of an improvisational ethos, such that we develop our skills at affirming difference, embracing risk-taking, vulnerability, and uncertainty, listening without judgment, and attuning to our entanglements with one another. Participants will cultivate skills to be responsive to students and other populations for whom they may be providing care or leadership. These are the skills and practices that contribute to living a wholehearted life-as individuals and as communities. General Education: Arts (GA) General Education: Health and Wellness (GHW) General Education - Integrative: Interdomain GenEd Learning Objective: Effective Communication GenEd Learning Objective: Creative Thinking GenEd Learning Objective: Integrative Thinking GenEd Learning Objective: Soc Resp and Ethic Reason
CI 240Language, Culture & Community: Study abroad in Mexico1
This course will explore culture, language and other social identities as they play out in our lives and communities in the United States and Mexico. The course is the first part of the Maymester in Mexico program and will include orientation and academic preparation to support interaction with Mexican students, families and communities during the study abroad experience in Mexico. Our goal in the course is to better understand our linguistic, cultural and social identities, the nature of language and intercultural learning and help us to investigate social issues that are global in scope and directly influence life in both the United States and Mexico. Themes around which the course will be organized are: 1) culture, language, and racial identities; 2) sustainable communities and global futures; 3) multilingualism, migration & translanguaging practices; 4) empowerment, social movements and community advocacy; 5) indigenous knowledges & decolonial thinking. We will explore these themes with examples from Mexico and the United States and provide a foundation upon which you can build ethnographic research skills to end in a final investigative project. The course will ask students to interrogate their beliefs about culture, language, and multilingualism as we work towards de-centering whiteness and English language supremacy. We will expand perspectives on sustainability in order to move toward a viable natural and culturally sustaining world. Ongoing dialogue and reflection, at times with Mexican university students will be integrated into the course in a virtual format in order to begin development of intercultural competencies and community advocacy skills. This course is a prerequisite and an introduction to a study abroad experience and a second course, Maymester in Mexico, offered during a faculty-led study abroad experience in Mexico. Before enrolling in this course, students must apply to the Maymester in Mexico study abroad program.
• AED 495A(7) and AED 495B(8); or AED 495C(7) and AED 495D(8) (Sem: 8) For the Literature Selection, select a course from the list at: https:// ed.psu.edu/academics/departments/department-curriculum-and- instruction/undergraduate-studies-ci/secondary-education-7-12/ undergraduate-secondary-literature-course-selections. SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (14 credits) -Select 8 credits in ART/DART/PHOTO at the 300 or 400 level (Sem: 3-8) -Select 6 credits in Art History at the 300 or 400 level (Sem: 3-8) # Entrance to Major All candidates seeking entrance to Art Education must meet the following entrance to major criteria: • Minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA and at least 48 credits completed (at the time of application). • Complete 6 credits in Quantification (GQ) with a C or higher • Complete ENGL 15 or 30H with a C or higher • Complete 3 credits in literature (GH) (C or higher required) • Complete AED 101S, as well as any required early- and middle-level field experience (C or higher required) • Complete education foundation courses: EDPSY 14, PSYCH 100 (C or higher required) • Complete studio art & art history foundations: ART 110, 111, 122Y,
CI 285Active Engagement for Social Justice in Education3
The course prepares students for pedagogical thinking and active engagement in social justice education in community and school- based contexts. This course is a core class of the Social Justice in Education minor and is taken either together with or subsequent to
CI 288Foundations of Teaching Multilingual Learners3
This course will examine language and its structures and the ways that language mediates learning in classrooms and schools. Our charge in this course will be to better understand the nature of language learning, asking specifically how English as a Second Language (ESL) Program Specialists, in collaboration with content area teachers, can support the holistic learning and success of language learners in ways that value home languages and acquisition of multilingual literacies. Students will develop a critical understanding of foundational concepts related to first and second language acquisition and the development of bilingualism and biliteracy for children and young people. Students will explore English as a language system, including linguistic forms and functions, as well as the fundamentals of early literacy and strategies to build semantic networks across languages and support learners' emergent biliteracy. Analysis of curricular materials at different grade levels will guide students to identify genre and linguistic features and consider how teachers can integrate learning of content and language in lesson plans and larger curricular units. Direct instruction of academic language will be a focus as well as how language mediates learning in content area classrooms. In sum, this course will consider features of language and how to create opportunities for MLs to think analytically, build explanations, and explore conceptual understandings through classroom interactions.
CI 295AIntroductory Field Experience for Teacher Preparation1-3
CI 295A is designed to enable students interested in early childhood education as a potential major and career to gain experience observing and assisting in a variety of school and community settings. Students will be engaged in observing as well as tutoring individual children and small groups of children in pre-kindergarten settings as well as in kindergarten through fourth grade settings. As students have not yet been exposed to methods of instructional planning and delivery, their tutoring of individuals and small groups will be carried out under the direct supervision of a professional teacher. Through their observation and participation in these educational settings, students will develop an awareness of observation as a tool for understanding and analyzing educational environments, teaching and learning. They will develop an understanding of the nature of participant observation as well as a variety of frameworks and strategies that can be used for observation as well Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3955 as the skills necessary to communicate observations professionally and ethically. Engaging in extended observations in educational settings provides students with an opportunity to enrich and deepen their understanding of a variety of educational concepts that they will encounter in prerequisite or concurrent courses including child development, English language learning and development, principles of human learning, individual differences in human ability including special needs students, cultural diversity, and contemporary issues in education and their impact on childhood educational settings. Finally, CI 295A will provide an opportunity for students to examine childhood education as a future career. They will be introduced to notions of teaching in general as a career as well as to specialized aspects of teaching in both pre- kindergarten and elementary school settings. Students will examine their own biographies as learners and the implications of their biographies for the development of a teacher identity and the potential suitability of childhood education as a career. Students will also be engaged in examining a variety of codes for professional and ethical conduct for educators. Through examining, critiquing and synthesizing these various articulations of professionalism, students will begin the development of a personalized code of ethical, and professional conduct. EDPSY 11 or HD FS229 or C I 280 or EDPSY014 or EDTHP115
CI 295BIntroductory Field Experience in Middle Level Education1-3
/Maximum of 3 C I 295B Introductory Field Experience for Middle Level Education (1-3)CI 295B is designed to enable students interested in middle level education (Grades 4 to 8) as a potential major and career to gain experience observing and assisting in a variety of school settings. Students will be engaged in observing as well as tutoring individual children and small groups of children in middle level educational settings. As students have not yet been exposed to methods of instructional planning and delivery, their tutoring of individuals and small groups will be carried out under the direct supervision of a professional teacher.Through their observation and participation in these educational settings, students will develop an awareness of observation as a tool for understanding and analyzing educational environments, teaching and learning. They will develop an understanding of the nature of participant observation as well as a variety of frameworks and strategies that can be used for observation as well as the skills necessary to communicate observations professionally and ethically.Engaging in extended observations in educational settings provides students with an opportunity to enrich and deepen their understanding of a variety of educational concepts that they will encounter in prerequisite or concurrent courses including child development, English language learning and development, principles of human learning, individual differences in human ability including special needs students, cultural diversity, and contemporary issues in education and their impact on middle level educational settings.Finally, CI 295B will provide an opportunity for students to examine middle level education as a future career. They will be introduced to notions of teaching in general as a career as well as to specialized aspects of teaching in both pre- kindergarten and elementary school settings. Students will examine their own biographies as learners and the implications of their biographies for the development of a teacher identity and the potential suitability of middle level education as a career. Students will also be engaged in examining a variety of codes for professional and ethical conduct for educators. Through examining, critiquing and synthesizing these various
/Maximum of 18 Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
CI 304NFood, Farms & Justice: What's Education Got To Do With Them?3
This course intends to unite students' minds, hearts, and bodies in an historical, sociological, and experiential exploration of food and farms and their educational possibilities. Students' minds will be engaged as they explore the 20th century history, contributions, and legacy of industrial agriculture and the emergence of alternative approaches related to food and farming in recent decades. Students' hearts will be engaged as they consider their own relationship to food, to soil and place, and to learning. Finally, students' bodies will be engaged as they directly participate in farming/gardening and communal meal preparation and enjoyment. The uniting of mind, heart and body culminates as students become teachers - applying their embodied knowledge in the creation of learning activities that are taught to others. Guiding questions for students' explorations include: (1) How is food - its cultivation, preparation and enjoyment - a cultural, ecological and moral activity? and (2) How might farm/garden based education cultivate abiding relationships between people and their places/communities, their soils, their bodies, and to more just and humane relationships to others? In the first half of the course, students will be introduced to influential writers representing diverse perspectives within the humanities.The aim is that students conduct a reckoning of industrial, large-scale and corporate orientations to agriculture. Why? To discern desirable alternatives that promote the health and well-being of people, soils, and communities. Students will discern a vision of a just, sustainable and meaningful life. In the second half of the course, students apply their understandings of food, farm, justice and sustainability to developing farm/garden based learning experiences for others. To this end students will be introduced to farm/garden based education; constructivist, student-centered learning theories; curriculum development approaches; and the design of performance assessments. Finally, having studied instructional/curricular theory and practice, students will apply their learning through a "field- based" teaching practicum, showcasing their skills in developing farm/ garden based curriculum and instruction. General Education: Humanities (GH) General Education: Social and Behavioral Scien (GS) General Education - Integrative: Interdomain GenEd Learning Objective: Creative Thinking GenEd Learning Objective: Integrative Thinking GenEd Learning Objective: Soc Resp and Ethic Reason
This highly interdisciplinary course provides a broad exploration of how students accomplish abstinent recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDS) and other Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in high- risk environments with the support of Recovery High Schools and Collegiate Recovery Program.s In particular, the course examines the problem posed by alcohol and substance use disorders on high school and college campuses, and explains the benefits of expanding the continuum of student health services to include ongoing support for the major lifestyle changes required to sustain recovery from chronic health conditions. Educational environments can pose challenges to students in recovery, and without proper support, students often return to active use of alcohol and other substances, which often invites disastrous life consequences, including educational failure. With the proper supports in place, students often thrive across multiple domains. Recovery High Schools provide access to social systems, coping mechanisms, recreational activities, and pro-recovery peer groups. Collegiate Recovery Programs are expanding rapidly: they are typically low-cost, featuring s small staff, a space on campus in which to meet, a peer-support community, and recovery-protective programming. A growing body of evidence suggests that these programs have very low relapse rates, low attrition, and higher GPAs than their host institutions. The course builds awareness of terminology, especially in relation to stigma-reduction and recovery messaging. It explores various theoretical contexts, including ecological theory and resiliency theory. It explores new paradigms in the management of chronic health conditions, through Recovery-oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) and the expansion of the continuum of care that colleges and universities offer their students to include ongoing support for recovery. Since participation in 12-step recovery programs is very high in RHSs and CRPs, we explore the known mechanisms of 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Building on these insights, the role of narrative in making "storied" identity changes is also explored. The course also examines the way in which educational and recovery curricula complement one another to bring about lasting personal transformations. Students will apply their understandings in the course by completing a final project in which they demonstrate various ways that the course content might inform the work of practitioners who work with students in recovery in healthcare, education, and beyond. This course is especially suited for students intending to work in schools and other education-related settings, including Recovery High Schools and Collegiate Recovery Programs.
3 based Learning 3 CIED 410 The Global Impact of Education 3 3 CIVCM 211N Foundations: Civic and Community Engagement 3 3 CMAS 258N Introduction to Child Maltreatment and Advocacy 3
CI 385DC Social Justice in Education: Empowering Communities3
through Transformative Teaching CI 385 is the first course in a two-part sequence, the "DC Social Justice in Education Experience." This course is ordinarily followed by a two- week teaching internship in Washington, DC (CI 395). Together, these courses aim to increase students' capacity to understand diversity issues, while living and working in diverse, multicultural residential settings and workplaces. The experience infuses diversity issues, topics, and perspectives into a sequence for undergraduates that focuses on the skill set necessary for advocacy in educational equity and social justice. It is a hands-on experience that delivers a service learning opportunity for Penn State students to work with diverse, underserved communities in the District of Columbia. CI 385 is a required preparatory course for students who want to participate in the Washington DC CI 395 internship, and students are expected to enroll in CI 395 upon successful completion (a grade of a C or better) of CI 385.
CI 388Sociopolitical Contexts of Teaching Multilingual Learners3
This course will examine the micro-level experiences of language learners and macro-sociopolitical context in which they are embedded. This course will prepare English as a Second (ESL) Program Specialists to better understand political and social dynamics shaping the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse students. As such, ESL Program Specialists will develop a strong understanding of the technical qualities of formalized and standardized assessment, and the potential biases they hold in relation to multilingual populations. This course will discuss alternative forms of assessments that can inform curriculum and instruction. Professional resources and organizations at the state, national and international levels will be explored to help teachers with their future career development. As a result, this course will help build ESL Program Specialists' capacity to collaborate with other educators and school personnel, advocate on behalf of MLs, and partner with families and communities to support MLs. Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3957
/Maximum of 18 Supervised off-campus, non-group instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.
The course is designed to encourage and support students to work together in reimagining classroom management as an equitable approach for co-creating classroom communities that are safe, affirming, creative, intellectually challenging, and engaging. In this class we ask, "How can classrooms be places where every learner has every opportunity to thrive?" By connecting field experiences and reflections of students' identities, beliefs, and dispositions, the course provides the time and space for students to reimagine classroom management in community. In this class, students will have opportunities to learn from research, theory, and practice as they engage with literature and stories of classrooms, while joining professional conversations and asking important questions related to equitable classroom management.
CI 444Writing Support for IUG and Honors Scholars3
he purpose of this course is to support IUG/Reading Specialist MEd students in writing their Master's papers as well as Schreyer Honors Scholars in The College of Education writing their Honors theses. The course provides an overview to the conventions of academic writing, and divides a major task into manageable sections. This class walks students through each section, provides models, and engages students in the actual practice of writing. Substantial working time is dedicated to writing the thesis. Students often have more faith in their ability to structure writing time into their week than is actually warranted. This course provides structured writing time, and students work in close proximity to other writers and to instructor feedback.
This course will explore the relationships among the various arts and material inquiries and learning for children in the preschool and elementary years via research, theory, and pedagogical application. CI 460 is one component in the PSU teacher education program that is unified by the basic set of principles supporting the development of a broader and more inclusive understanding of texts, art, children, and communities. Students will learn about theories of child art, creativity, and multimodal learning as they engage in their own creative processes and plan to integrate the creative arts in early childhood and elementary classrooms.
CI 485Social Justice in Education Capstone Course3
This capstone course is a culminating experience taken at the end of the Social Justice in Education minor. In this course, students apply theory toward action and develop meaningful partnerships with an appropriate community. It provides students the opportunity to revisit major ideas and themes learned during minor coursework. In doing so, students reflect on their learning journeys, synthesize key understandings, and complete a community-oriented project. Key components of the capstone project include manifesting theories into action; developing meaningful partnerships with community stakeholders; advocating for educational equity; and designing and implementing justice-focused curriculum for schools, community-based educational programs, or other non-traditional educational settings. Students will assess community needs, while working collaboratively to prepare a civic action plan/local initiative. Upon completion of the capstone experience, students present their final reflections to colleagues - presentations that examine their growth throughout their studies and lay out their trajectories as advocates for social justice in education. AFAM 103; AFAM 431; AFAM 492; BBH 446; CED 375; CIED 440; CMLIT 100; CRIMJ 230; CRIM 453; EDTHP 200; EDTHP 440; ENGL 245; GLIS 101; GLIS 102; HDFS 410; PHIL 437; PLSC 428; PLSC 451
CI 185, CI 285 and one course from the list below AEE 100;
CI 488Designing Assessment and Curriculum for Multilingual Learners3
English as a Second Language (ESL) Program Specialists play multiple roles in schools and classrooms. They collaborate with classroom teachers to identify and assess newcomers, assist in the adjustment of new students into the school and classroom, and most importantly, build a caring and pedagogically sound classroom environment for multilingual learners (MLs). In this course, our focus will be on how teachers can design and implement a curriculum that integrates language and content- area learning. The course will prepare ESL Program Specialists to better attend and develop MLs' literacy skills while engaging them in rigorous grade-level curriculum to meet Pennsylvania content and English language development standards. The course will cover topics such as linguistic differentiation, translanguaging pedagogies, classroom discourse practices, multimodal learning strategies, and ongoing formative assessments.
/Maximum of 18 Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.
CI 495AClinical Application of Instruction - PK-41
3 ECE 451 Instruction in Early Childhood Education Derived 3 3 from Development Theories 3 ECE 452 3 3 ECE 453 Parent Involvement in Home, Center, and 2 3 Classroom Instruction 3 ECE 454 3 3 ECE 479 The Young Child's Play as Educative Processes 3 3 Additional Courses
CI 495CClinical Application of Instruction -- Secondary Education3
This is a pre-student teaching field experience and seminar for secondary education and world languages majors that is taken in the same semester with a discipline-specific methods class. The course takes place in 7th-12th grade classrooms and in seminars with university supervisors where students apply, extend, and reflect on concepts, questions, theories, and models of teaching studied in the university- based methods courses. Throughout the semester, students are engaged in weekly sessions on the university campus providing instructional support on professional behavior, ethics, school culture, time management, motivation, portfolio development, lesson planning, writing objectives, questioning techniques, formative and summative assessments, instructional strategies, differentiated instruction, and classroom management. SCIED 412; SSED 412W Recommended Preparation: Official Clearances Required. See: http://www.ed.psu.edu/preservice/clearance.htm
/Maximum of 18 Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3959
/Maximum of 9 Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject which may be topical or of special interest. Curriculum and Supervision (C-S) C-S 470: Workshop in Selected Studies in Curriculum 1-6 Credits/Maximum of 6 Intensive work on selected current problems in curriculum.
CI 500Multiple and Mixed Methods in Curriculum Inquiry3
Multiple and mixed methods of inquiry to investigate problems in the practice of curriculum and instruction. C I 500 C I 500 Multiple and Mixed Methods in Curriculum Inquiry (3) This course focuses on practice- embedded curriculum inquiry and surveys an array of approaches and methods that are quantitative, qualitative or both. The course is intended as a gateway seminar to other C&I disciplined inquiry courses (i.e., C&I 501, 502, 503) in which curriculum and instruction students can discuss and participate in learning activities related to the readings and in whic guest speakers can inform C&I graduate students about current issues and topics related to systematic inquiry with application to curriculum and instruction.
CI 502Qualitative Research in Curriculum and Instruction I3
Presentation of theoretical and practical issues related to designing and proposing qualitative research concerning curriculum, teaching and/or learning.
CI 505Critical and Humanizing Approaches to Research3
This course employs Indigenous, Black feminist, Chicana feminist, and decolonizing research frameworks to mediate and articulate ontologies, epistemologies, and methodologies of research. These processes assist researchers in enacting and engaging critically conscious and humanizing research. We begin by "becoming" conscious through the specific naming of oppression(s) and the coming of voice. We then attempt to humanize ourselves as researchers through a process of self (re)discovery, recovery, remembering, and reflexivity as they relate to our approaches and attachments to various research projects and inquiries. Next, we interrogate ethical research engagements with vulnerable communities through the discussion and close reading of several research studies and perspective pieces. We then consider how these discussions show up in our writing, citations, and in our overall life's work towards a more just world. Cross-listed with: WGSS 505
CI 506Sociocultural & Critical Perspectives on Learning3
The goal of this course is to examine learning as a culturally and historically situated process that occurs in and across contexts and timescales. Course members will engage with scholarly literature representing sociocultural and critical perspectives on learning and apply these perspectives as tools for analysis of their own novel cases of learning. The course includes an ongoing focus on theory and implications for K-12 classrooms and the work of teaching. This course is appropriate for graduate students whose work intersects learning and h teaching.
CI 511Educational Ethnography: History, Theory, and Methods3
This seminar shows students how to use ethnographic methods for education research to inform classroom practice and education policy. The course is centered around the idea that school communities serve as key sites for students of all ages to learn to become members of their culture(s). Course readings include historical to contemporary works of researchers who have shaped educational ethnography. We will also read about education in various settings and discuss anthropological explanations of inequities experienced by minority culture communities
Recommended Preparations: Qualitative Research course or permission of instructor. This seminar shows students how to use contemporary ethnographic theories and methods for education research to inform educational practice and policy. The contemporary movement might arguably be situated in the controversies of the 1980s and 90s, exemplified in Clifford and Marcus's book, Writing Culture, in which they identified the epistemological and political predicaments and controversies pertaining to "the crisis of representation" in the field of anthropology. CI 512 addresses methodological and theoretical approaches informed though literary, reflexive, postmodern, poststructural, feminist, multisensory, multimodal, multivocal, and postcolonial turns and the ways in which they inform educational ethnography. The course focuses on a comprehensive view of education-schools, cultural and community centers, home life- as sites for all ages to learn to become members of their culture(s). A significant and regularly occurring aspect of the class involves students engaging in contemporary ethnographic practices such as cartographic, photographic/videographic, arts-based, alternative writing, walking/movement, sensory, performative, and multimodal. The course will intersperse readings of ethnography with readings about ethnography, largely within the contemporary sphere. The focus will be on contemporary movements that are likely to affect students as they consider ethnographic approaches for their dissertation topics (e.g, science education, musical training, literacy practice, critical race pedagogy).
Recommended Preparations: A graduate course in educational ethnography This seminar will show students how to use video ethnography in education research. The course is rooted in what is popularly known as the Preschool in Three Cultures method (also known as video-cued multivocal ethnography). We will learn about and watch films using video-based ethnographic research methods. Students will also carry out mini-video ethnographies in a local classroom. Cross-listed with: CIED 513
/Maximum of 999 Students read the philosophical foundations of education research, study how philosophies influence methodologies, and analyze current educational problems. This course is designed for students entering doctoral programs in the College of Education. Our students are studying to become education researchers within a highly politicized environment. For example, particular definitions of education research and government policies that favor some types of research practices over others provide opportunities for and set limits upon the work of education researchers. Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 1051 Public controversies likewise contribute to challenges faced by education researchers who find their work affirmed or discounted by particular definitions and policies. In order to explore these controversies and to allow students to begin identifying their own "positionality" with regard to research, this course begins with a reading of the history and philosophies of education research (primarily focusing on the United States). The course goals are: - to identify underlying assumptions of competing forms of social inquiry, each determined to uncover new knowledge; - to bring those assumptions to bear on education research in chosen fields of study; and - to begin to develop one's own positions in order to direct further study and research. Specifically, through instructor facilitation and group discussions, students will come to understand major philosophical perspectives that permeate and drive research methodologies in education: positivism, postpositivism, interpretivism, critical theory, poststructuralism, and pragmatism. These understandings allow students to recognize the methodological assumptions that inform published research studies and to discover how methodologies might inform the research they wish to conduct as students and practitioners. Although the course is not required by any particular doctoral program in the College of Education, it is suggested for students who consider research important to their future careers and who see benefits in exploring the methodological options available. Cross-listed with: ADTED 515, EDPSY 515, HIED 515
CI 517Core Readings in Vygotsky's Cultural Historical Psychology3
The Sociocultural or Cultural Historical theory of mind originated in the writings of Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky during the 1920s and 30s. Over the course of only about ten years, Vygotsky and his circle produced a substantial body of theoretical and empirical work that challenged basic epistemological and ontological premises of psychology and that outlined a new way of understanding human abilities and their development. The framework Vygotsky elaborated has come to be referred to as Cultural Historical psychology, emphasizing the fundamental role of mediation in shaping human psychology, mediation through historically created artifacts available in particular cultures and through forms of social interaction. In the decades since Vygotsky's death, Cultural Historical psychology has been further developed by researchers around the world who have brought Vygotsky's theoretical proposals to bear on questions and problems as diverse as special education, psychological and educational measurement, early childhood education, psycho-therapy, teacher education, linguistics and communication, adult and workforce education, and political and social change. The course is organized around carefully selected, seminal readings, emphasizing primary texts authored by Vygotsky but complemented by secondary sources generally regarded as leading interpretations. Beginning with an examination of Vygotsky's enterprise to establish a unified, scientific psychology grounded in Marxian dialectics (historical materialism), the course engages with concepts and principles definitive of Cultural Historical psychology that in some cases have become highly influential in a number of disciplines and that in others are only beginning to be understood. These include mediation, Zone of Proximal Development/ZPD (zona blizhaishego razvitia/ZBR), spontaneous and scientific concepts, teaching/learning- and-development (obuchenie), inner and private speech, units of analysis and meaning (znachenie/smysl), and perezhivanie, among others. In this way, students obtain a deep understanding of the theory, both in the context of Vygotsky's own writings and the specific problems he sought to address but also in its contemporary applications. This understanding, in turn, enables students to critically evaluate uses of Vygotsky's ideas
Americans have long considered their public schools to be central in the cultivation of democracy. As such, public school teachers in the United States-at all levels and of all subjects-play a key role in perpetuating democracy. Despite teachers' critical role, formal preparation for this task via professional development of teacher education is questionable at best. Little scholarly attention is paid to what teachers need to know or be able to do pedagogically to help cultivate democratic thinking in students and rarely is the responsibility extended to teachers outside of the social studies field. This course takes seriously the role of democratic practice in education writ large, asking students to consider the purposes, theories, practices, and possibility of democratic education across a variety of contexts: adult education, K-12 education, alternative education, and teacher education. In this course we will consider the purposes of democratic education in the current U.S. context, examine theories of democratic education for democracy, and explore models of democratic education in practice.
CI 521Crafting the Systematic Literature Review in Education3
This course is a graduate level seminar designed for students who would benefit from learning how to conduct a systematic and analytical literature review. This course is appropriate both for graduate students in the early stages of determining a thesis or dissertation topic, and as well as advanced doctoral students who aim to engage in a systematic review of the literature in their chosen field. Class participants will critically analyze model literature reviews; determine criteria for inclusion and exclusion of research studies; systematically gather publications using academic databases; analyze and organize pertinent literature; and write a literature review focused on their topic of interest. The course follows a cognitive apprenticeship model of learning, such that the skills and processes involved in writing a literature review in education research will be taught within the context of the doctoral student participants' own research interests and will be explored and practiced within their professional and program objectives.
This seminar gives students an overview of the writings of key members of the "Bakhtin Circle," which included Mikhail Bakhtin, Valentin Voloshinov, Pavel Medvedev, and others. The core objective of this course is for students to learn about Bakhtinian theory and how to use Bakhtin as a philosophical method in carrying out research studies and analyzing data. In order to do this, we will read the original works of Bakhtin, Voloshinov, Medvedev, and others alongside contemporary educational researchers, theorists, and methodologists who apply Bakhtinian philosophical methods and analyses to the study of education. Cross-listed with: CIED 525
Survey of 20th century theories of identity from post-colonial, critical race, psychoanalytic, Marxist, and post-structural feminist and queer perspectives.
Reading major works in Michel Foucault and applications of his work in the field of Education. CI 529 Foucault in Education (3) The purposes of this course are twofold: 1) to read and discuss in depth the work of Michel Foucault and 2) to consider how Foucault's ideas may inform and be informed by theories and practices in education. Foucault is arguably one of the pre-eminent Western social theorists of the 20th century. Researchers and theorists working from post-structural, critical and socio-cultural perspectives frequently turn to Foucault's concepts of power, discipline, and subjectivity as powerful analytic lenses for analyzing the daily lives and practices of students and teachers in classrooms as well as more generally the field of Education, educational politics and policies, and educational institutions. Additionally, given the tremendous impact of Foucault's work in multiple disciplines throughout the academe, the ability to read and apply the theories of Foucault can facilitate broader reading and discussion across a variety of disciplines. In the class, students will devote approximately 2/3 of the time to reading original works by Foucault and brief commentaries on these works, and 1/3 of the time reading applications of Foucault's work by education researchers and theorists. The primary work load of the class is reading. Reading Foucault is not an easy task. Students can expect careful scaffolding of their learning through classroom discussions, a required on-line discussion forum, and frequent feedback from the instructor. Preparation for and participation in class discussions and in the building of a vibrant learning environment are required components of the class.
This course investigates the ongoing collaborative construction and negotiation of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual, and social class identities in second language learning (SLL). It examines how we learn to speak our multiple selves in a new language, for example, how we learn to language race according to our prior background and the cultural practices and understandings of second language contexts. The impact of these social identities and polemics of racism, sexism, xenophobia, colonialism, homophobia, and elitism that arise when we study them are not restricted to experiences outside the classroom, nor can they be divorced from language curriculum and pedagogy. Examining such issues in SLL can be challenging due to the belief that raising them courts controversy unnecessarily and goes against mindsets that many value, such as colorblindness, because language learning is an area that naturally welcomes and fosters integration and interaction between different groups in multicultural education. Course participants will interrogate the idea of colorblind language learning classrooms and curricula and examine how the realities of language learners' differentiated, inequitable access, treatment, and experiences in multilingual contexts challenge the field's declared values of multiculturalism in education.
In an essay about place, the anthropologist Clifford Geertz notes that "something that is a dimension of everyone's existence, the intensity of where we are, passes by anonymously and unremarked. It goes without saying." The purpose of this course is to foreground the concept of place and real places in our daily lives and academic work, particularly with respect to education (including schooling), to make sure that it does not go without saying. What is (a) place? How is it formed, bounded, made meaningful? How is it personal and social? What are its relationships with time and space? What are its relationships with experience, culture, citizenship, margins, diversity, and so many other topics? How does it shape living, especially learning and teaching in schools, and how is it shaped by these things? How do I and we fit in? And, following the feminist educational philosopher Nel Noddings, "should schools teach for an understanding and love of place or should they now offer curricula designed to transcend place?" Through a seminar format focused specifically on educational contexts, we will study place from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives and consider what these landscapes of place mean for teaching, learning, and educational research. Readings will draw from the fields of anthropology, art/s, curriculum, ecology, geography, indigenous thought, literature, philosophy, and sociology, all intersecting with education. Assignments will include citizenship in the community of this course, personal reflection about lived place(s) inside of schools and out, critical analyses of the literature on the intersections of education and place(s), and a final project focused on one aspect of how education and place(s) intersect that is of particular interest to the student. In dialogue, collaboration, the reading of each other's writings, and other activities such as a walking tour of students' most-meaningful places on campus, participants in this course will be and become citizens of the place (and its many physical, digital, and relational places) of the course. Students will exit the course with a broad understanding of the complexity of place(s) in education, including in the work of teachers and researchers.
This seminar explores educational implications in popular texts created for and by girls across time and cultures. CI (WMNST) 542 Girls' Cultures and Popular Cultures (3) The study of girls and their relationship with popular culture lies within the interdisciplinary field of Girlhood Studies which draws on established areas of Women's Studies, Children's/ Childhood studies, Cultural Studies and Educational Studies. This seminar explores girls cultures in different textual and material forms including books, toys, magazines, and new media. Students will employ feminist cultural theories to compare historical and contemporary girls cultures in relation to educational research and practice. This will provide a framework to locate girls at the center of research and action in order for graduate students to engage in methodologies that are not simply about girls but "for" "with" and "by" girls. Key topics include the misperception of girls (popular) culture as only a contemporary phenomenon, the role of girls as consumers plus producers of culture, and recurrent issues in girls cultures such as sexualization and hyperfeminity. Cross-listed with: WMNST 542 Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 1053
The study of childhood from cultural, historical, psychological and philosophical perspectives. CI 560 Theories of Childhood (3) In this course, participants will explore the highly variable ways that childhood has been constructed and enacted across multiple cultures and throughout history. Participants will begin by considering how notions of the nature of childhood, for example, children as innocent, as primitive, or as blank slates have functioned across history and in their memories and sense of nostalgia about childhood. Participants will expand their understanding of historic and contemporary childhoods through comparative studies of children. Participants will examine and critique normative theories of child development and will finish with an examination of contemporary child culture, including play and how changes in global culture affect children's lives. The course instructor will provide the readings for the course, as well as background information and organizing topics. The instructor creates and assigns activities and provides or oversees discussion questions to organize student thinking for a productive discussion. It is the instructor's responsibility to create an environment conducive to students' development of an open, vibrant learning community; to establish and oversee course standards; and to assist students to achieve both the course objectives and their own. There are no prerequisites for this course. Given that all participants have had a childhood and some may be parents, the memories and experiences each participant brings may be both a help and a hindrance. That is, insofar as their own childhoods or those of their children cause them to believe that they already know what childhood is, class participants need to recognize the limitations of their memories and experiences. The diversity of childhoods that will be represented across the members of the course is a considerable resource for participants to develop an ever-broader understanding of the cultural and historical nature of childhood.
CI 570Language Policy for Multilinguals: Language, Culture3
Socioemotional, and Psychological Implications In this course, students will develop a deeper understanding of the historical and contemporary forces that have shaped language education program policies; evaluate how policies have influenced, and continue to influence, teacher education programs and educational and social outcomes of multilingual learners. Topics covered include research on the requisite knowledge educators must have to engage in practices that promote positive outcomes for multilingual learners; a historical overview of language policies and research foci; empirical evidence on the effectiveness of different language instruction education programs; contemporary issues of testing and validity, as well as reclassification and tracking; and contemporary debates (e.g., translanguaging and codeswitching; dual language for whom?).
CI 585Reading Race: Race, Literacy & Intersectional Research3
This course provides an opportunity for the exploration of representations of race in a variety of forums from academic literature to popular media. In this class, we will employ an understanding of literacy that broadens the definitions of texts and reading beyond paper books
CI 595Internship in Curriculum, Supervision, or Instruction1-6
/Maximum of 6 Internship in schools or other educational settings under supervision of graduate faculty in student's area of specialization. credits in Education
CI 602Supervised Experience in College Teaching1-3
/Maximum of 6 Teaching experience in Curriculum and Instruction undergraduate faculty supervision. permission Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 1055
This course applies psychological principles of adolescent development and provides a critical examination of factors (gender, socioeconomic status (SES), race, ethnicity, culture, disability, and language) that have an impact on physical, cognitive, social, emotional, behavioral, and moral developmental outcomes. This course will engage learners with the practical and theoretical issues regarding adolescent development and learning in secondary education settings.
CI 811Science and Mathematics Teaching in Secondary Schools I3
CI 811 is the first of two sequenced methods courses for science and mathematics teachers who are pursuing certification to teach in grades 7-12 and are post-baccalaureate. The course emphasizes contemporary theory and practice informing science and mathematics education in public secondary school classroom settings. Students will deepen their understandings of theories of how people learn and apply that knowledge toward developing ambitious mathematics or science teaching practices to serve diverse learners. Students also develop familiarity with and understanding of current state and national content standards that guide mathematics and science education. Students will engage in activities intended to develop their critical consciousness around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. CI 811 focuses on teaching as a relational activity, including asset-based approaches to teaching, as well as developing teaching practices that are equity focused, anti-racist, and transformative for students who are historically marginalized in the U.S. CI 811 is scheduled concurrently with a supervised field experience in a middle or secondary school, where students have the opportunity to apply and evaluate their developing instructional skills. CI 811 and the concurrent field experience are designed specifically to provide strong connections between educational theory and teaching practice. Teacher-in-Residence Certification Program
CI 895 Recommended Preparation: Admission into PSU
CI 812Science and Mathematics Teaching in Secondary Schools II3
CI 812 is the second of two sequenced teaching methods courses for science and mathematics teachers who are enrolled in the PSU Teachers- in-Residence program and are pursuing post-baccalaureate Pennsylvania teacher certification for grades 7-12. It is meant for grades 7-12 teachers who hold emergency PA teaching certification and are currently teaching in a middle or high school in PA. It is a part of an 18-credit program that will lead to permanent Pennsylvania teaching certification for grades 7-12. The course builds on prior coursework including CI 811 and continues to emphasize contemporary educational theory and teaching practice informing science and mathematics education in
/Maximum of 18 Supervised, professionally oriented, off-campus, nongroup instruction, including field experiences, practicums, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.
1-9 Credits/Maximum of 9 Creative projects with a professional orientation, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. Curriculum and Supervision (C-S) C-S 551: Curriculum Design: Theory and Practice Course participants explore the fundamentals of curriculum; that is, curriculum cultures, traditions, perspectives, theories, or models that have significantly affected the field of curriculum design. Participants also learn about historical and contemporary issues in the development of national, state, and local academic standards, and how these issues have shaped the design of particular curriculum programs. Participants engage in curricular analysis of a content-specific program through examination of "what is behind the curriculum" (purpose, goal, perspectives, assumptions), "what is in the curriculum" (the nature of the content, basis for its selection, content and media structures), and "what are the experiences with the curriculum" (how curriculum may be taught, what methods may be used, how the program success may be judged, the "frame-factors") in order to outline the strengths and weaknesses of the program, and how it can be adapted to maximize its benefits and minimize its limitations for a specific institutional or educational context. Cross-listed with: EDLDR 551 C-S 553: Issues in Curriculum 3 Credits/Maximum of 6 In-depth study of issues and trends in the understanding and practice of curriculum. C & S 553 Issues in Curriculum (3 per semester/maximum of 6)This course provides for in-depth study of issues and trends in the understanding and practices of curriculum. Readings and class activities provide students with the opportunity to examine theoretical implications for the world of practice and life in schools. and Supervision option area C-S 555: Development of Teacher Education Programs Study of the components and design of teacher education programs within the constraints of institutional, professional, and legal contexts. C- S (EDLDR) 555 Development of Teacher Education Programs (3) Enrollees study various models of teacher preparation such as professional development schools and fifth year programs. Participants also discuss various aspects of teacher education such as field experiences teaching and learning ("methods") courses, and content knowledge courses and review research in each of these areas as it relates to the initial continuing education of teachers. C-S 557: Seminar in Curriculum Research Analysis of particular curriculum studies, methods and paradigms, and the general status of current research in the general curriculum field. C & S 557 Seminar in Curriculum Research (3) This course is a foundational course that supports the diverse inquiries undertaken by doctoral students within the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and throughout the broader university community. Readings and class activities provide students with the opportunity to learn about different research epistemologies and to explore taken-for-granted assumptions about educational research in general and research design and methodology in particular. C-S 560: Principles of Instructional Supervision Social and institutional settings for instructional supervision; functions, activities, and practices of supervision; supervisory case studies.
