Courses

In the Art of Teaching program, we place the observation and documentation of children and their learning at the center of teaching. The emphasis is on seeing every child as capable, unique, and knowable and on children as active makers of their own meaning and knowledge. Observing is focused on what the child can do and is interested in and on how each child thinks and learns. We assume that teachers create their knowledge of teaching and learning through longitudinal observation and documentation of each child as a thinker and learner. This knowledge is the foundation for curriculum development and instructional planning that accommodate individual interests and approaches to learning. The ideas and processes developed at Prospect Archive and Center for Education and Research, by Patricia Carini and others, will be the foundation of the work throughout the course. The Prospect Descriptive Processes and, in particular, the Descriptive Review of the Child will give students a formal and systematic framework for drawing together their observations of children over time. In addition, the review processes developed at Prospect Center will be discussed as avenues for collaborative inquiry and meaning-making among educators and parents. Students will participate in a Descriptive Review and will review longitudinal collections of children’s work. They will also learn about descriptive inquiry processes for reviewing curricula and teaching practice. Students will share observations of children in both early childhood and childhood education settings and develop a language of description. We will discuss the importance of creating classrooms where each child is visible through strength. Students will develop a child study that includes: a description of the child using the headings of the Descriptive Review, a collection of the child’s work, and reflections on the implications that the longitudinal documentation of the child holds for teaching.​

Inclusive Emergent Curriculum and Responsive Environments is a semester-long course in which children’s interests and approaches to learning are at the forefront. Central to the course is understanding how to create curriculum that is driven by ideas - striving for wholeness, integration, coherence, meaning – and focused on assisting children in applying knowledge and thinking to real-life problems. During the semester, we will focus on curriculum development, planning, and multiple strategies for teaching diverse students within the full range of abilities. We will learn how to develop curricula that are culturally, emotionally, and developmentally responsive with multiple entry points that are inclusive of all students' strengths and interests. We will explore teaching methods that expand children’s knowledge and modes of thinking and learning along with strategies to respond to the unique needs of all children. We will discuss how children’s interests and questions connect to the large ideas and questions at the core of the subject matter disciplines using the Understanding by Design framework. You will learn effective practices for individualizing instruction and creating safe, positive and collaborative learning environments. We will focus on how to create responsive classroom communities in which the full spectrum of children are positively seen, included and supported. We will incorporate the tenets of Universal Design for Learning in order to honor our students' individual strengths and interests and provide multiple means for engagement, representation, and expression. Classroom design and organization, media and materials, and approaches to teaching and learning across disciplines will be discussed. Value will be placed on enabling in-depth inquiry, experimentation and discovery, and on establishing inclusive classroom communities based on collaborative learning. New York State Standards for the Arts, Social Studies, and Sciences will be examined, critiqued, and integrated into our work. We will also explore how to integrate assistive technology and technology for instruction in order to develop students skills in acquiring information, communicating, and enhancing learning. We will discuss curriculum and teaching strategies for individual subject areas, with an emphasis on the connections among disciplines, building toward an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum and instruction. The roles of the teacher as observer, provisioner, collaborator and facilitator will be discussed. During the semester, we will engage in hands-on inquiry in workshop settings, reflecting on our own learning and that of our peers. Implications will be drawn forward regarding the teacher’s role in accommodating different approaches to learning.

All children have strengths and vulnerabilities. Children have areas where they excel and areas where they feel insecure. There are times when learning is difficult; however, all children have the capacity to be creative and to learn. Understanding the individual differences of an entire class of students is a challenge. To plan and to meet the needs of the children in each classroom, we must understand what each child knows and how they learn. By carefully observing children in a variety of environments, teachers can develop responsive tools and experiences that further support each child’s development. This course will introduce students to topics related to advocacy and education of children with disabilities. We will learn about history, laws, classifications, approaches, policies and systems put in place to provide education for children with special needs. We will examine and discuss special education and its effect on the child, the classroom and school, families, and community. We will explore the concepts of inclusion, special needs diagnostic categories, designing curriculum that is responsive to children, differentiating curriculum to support skill development; keeping in mind that each child is unique. The goals of the course are to integrate our perspective of children’s individual needs while planning classroom inquiry; to explore ways of working with parents of children who require special support; to understand how to access support and feedback for children that require additional assistance; to consider implications for teaching in an inclusive classroom, school.

Practicum is designed to support and assist future teachers in preparing to begin working in their own classrooms. The course will provide students with resources, feedback, and the encouragement of others facing similar challenges. In our work we will seek, among other things, to gain insight into the processes and challenges of learning and teaching, both by drawing on the wisdom of those who have examined it critically and by reflecting on experience and practice in student-teaching and field work. In sum, the goal is for us all to become better “reflective practitioners” and to (re)design our teaching in response to those reflections. We will consider different approaches to teaching and pedagogic practices and explore what these might tell us about the implicit and explicit philosophies of learning exhibited in classrooms today. We will establish and clarify personal teaching values. We will hone skills and practices in the areas of class preparation and presentation; the development and assessment of curriculum; and the challenges of dealing with the contemporary, diverse student body. Other topics of importance in the course are the creation of opportunities and processes for collaboration among teachers, parents, and administrators and the development of strategies to reflect on, renew, and revise teaching with an emphasis on the importance of professional development. The roles of the family, school, and community in educating children are explored, as well as current philosophies and the climate regarding home, school, and community relationships. Overall, a primary goal is to help equip the Art of Teaching students to tackle the demands of the classroom and the needs of diverse learners. The class also aims to help students develop professional skills and burnish their teaching credentials as they consider applying for jobs. With this in mind, the class will concurrently work on the design of a teaching portfolio to submit with job applications.

How do varying childhood experiences impact children’s mental health and wellbeing? What happens when the course of development is affected by trauma or depression? This seminar will focus on challenges that arise in child and adolescent development, drawing upon approaches in clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and cultural psychology/clinical ethnography. We will analyze how particular psychological experiences and behaviors have been typically understood as abnormal or pathological and how they are intertwined with the experience of child development. We will also explore how these challenges are diagnosed, as well as critical commentaries on clinical diagnosis and treatment in order to analyze the merits and drawbacks of the common approaches to these issues. Students will learn about the clinical categories of conditions such as ADHD, autism, depression, and anxiety, as compiled in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), as well as how these disorders are assessed and treated in clinical and educational settings. We will look at case examples to illuminate the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, course, and treatment of such psychological conditions in childhood and adolescence. Through readings and course discussion, students will be invited to question the universal applicability of Western clinical approaches that rest on particular assumptions about normality, behavior, social relations, human rights, and health. We will also explore how diagnostic processes and psychological and psychiatric care are, at times, differentially applied in the United States according to the client’s race/ethnicity, class, and gender and how clinicians might effectively address such disparities in diagnosis and care. Students will complete conference projects related to the central themes of our course and may opt to work at the Early Childhood Center or a local community program that serves children or adolescents.

This course explores how people develop, influence, and shape their social settings–families, communities, and educational institutions in childhood and adolescence. We will focus on theories of individual and family development; the local and global dynamics of learning; and cognition and social relations across culture and society. Physical health, adverse childhood experiences, trauma, and learning are intertwined in the context of the child’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development, and affect children’s learning and development. We will also examine the development of multiple identities (racial/ethnic, gender, social class) in young children. This interdisciplinary focus draws from current theory, research, and practice from areas as diverse as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and gender studies, among other disciplines. This class is appropriate for those interested in child development, early childhood and elementary education, special education and/or adolescent development and secondary education.

This small seminar will explore several early-intervention approaches for young children and their families, with a particular emphasis on the theory and technique of play therapy. While this course will focus mostly on child-centered play therapy (CCPT), we will also look at the methodology of other types of approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and DIR/Floortime. In addition, course material will highlight cultural considerations, therapeutic work with parents and caregivers, challenges in therapeutic treatment, self-reflection, self-regulation, and interoception. Readings, class discussions, group play-based activities, and video illustrations will provide students with both a theoretical and introductory clinical basis for play-based therapeutic work with young children in early intervention.

What is development, and how does it occur across different children, contexts, and time periods? Does development proceed in the same manner for all children, or are there variations as a result of biological, environmental, and/or cultural differences? Are there some aspects of development that are universal, such as walking, and others that vary across children, such as talking? How might we test these questions, when the contexts in which we live influence the questions we ask about development, and the ways in which we interpret our observations?

The primary objective of this course is to learn to use developmental theory to understand the mechanisms by which developmental change occurs. We will additionally focus on the usefulness of observation and research in testing theory, as well as the usefulness of theory in structuring our observations and other forms of research with children. To do so, we will discuss several key classic and contemporary theories of development that have influenced, and/or are especially relevant to, early childhood and childhood education practice. Theories discussed will include psychoanalytic and psychosocial approaches; evolutionary and ethological approaches; cognitive-developmental approaches; information processing, dynamic systems and developmental cognitive neuroscience approaches; social, cultural and historical approaches; and cultural-ecological, bioecological, developmental systems and other holistic approaches. As we study each theory, we will focus on the kinds of questions each theory asks and the “image of the child” each puts forth. Recent challenges within the field have highlighted specific conceptual problems, which we will address. Are patterns of development universal or culture-specific? Can childhood experiences be thought of as proceeding in a series of stages? How do we construct methods for studying children that will recognize and validate the significance of differing social and cultural experiences? How can we forge a multicultural view of development such that development is understood in terms of how it is experienced within a given cultural context? As we discuss these questions, we will continually focus on the integration of theory and practice through reflections on field experiences in early childhood and/or elementary classrooms. Required papers will reflect this integration.

Art of Teaching Graduate Seminar, taken in our students’ final semester, is designed to support the integration and synthesis of students’ inquiry into teaching and learning, conducted throughout their time in the graduate program, as they prepare to enter their own classrooms. Students will make connections and reflect across their experiences in Field Work, Student-Teaching, and other coursework. They will gain further insight into various areas of content, pedagogy, and professional topics in the field of education. The course is conducted in collaboration with our Early Childhood Center faculty and staff and offers the students additional opportunities to learn from them through hands-on, reflective workshops on a variety of topics in Early Childhood and Childhood Education. In addition, Sarah Lawrence College faculty, Art of Teaching alumni and other guest speakers will lead sessions on topics within particular content-area disciplines. Students will also use the course as a primary space for collaboration and feedback (in addition to individual advising) on the development and preparation of their Masters Oral Thesis presentations.

This two-semester course focuses on the making of meaning and knowledge through listening, speaking, reading, and writing in early childhood and childhood. All children—English speakers and English-language learners—are recognized as capable of learning and of becoming competent English-language and -literacy users. Emphasis is on teaching that takes into account each child’s approach to learning and pace in learning, valuing the complexity in developing instruction that builds upon what the child already knows and can do.

• Learning is a process by which each person actively constructs meaning from experience, including encounters with print and nonprint texts.
• Language and literacy are social acts.
• Language and literacy develop in the pursuit of real-life enterprise.
• Reading and writing, as with spoken language, are best learned in rich, interactive environments where they serve real purposes.
• Reading and writing do not develop in predefined stages; rather, literacy understanding is complex and unique to the individual.
• Language and literacy cannot be separated from the total expressiveness of the person.
• Literacy is power, and children must have every opportunity to know its power.
• Literacy teaching and learning must be re-envisioned to accommodate a multimodal, multilingual, multimedia world.

We will build our knowledge of language and literacy learning upon these assumptions by reflecting on ourselves as readers, writers, and language users. We will explore how children learn to read and write by observing them as they use language and literacy for real purposes. We will consider new media and technologies as modes of communication and expression and consider how they are reshaping the future of literacy. Our observations of children and our own literacy stories will help us understand the range and complexity of meanings and approaches among any group of learners. Our observations and recollections also will provide an entry point for discussions regarding differences in race, class, ethnicity, gender, and learning style. The challenge for schools to be inclusive of the diversity—to enable each child to differ, yet belong to the community of learners—lies at the core of our work. We will—through our child studies, our recollections, and the readings—begin to develop a picture of inclusive classrooms and schools in which children have the “space to dance with others” and the “room to differ” (Patricia F. Carini). The course paper will be an in-depth inquiry focused on language and literacy teaching and learning and on classroom practice and work with children, as examined through the lens of your own philosophy, thought, values, and standards.

This course emphasizes the role of children’s literature in classrooms and schools. We look at story as world-making; as an opportunity to encounter the experience of others; as a window on play, place, and period; as a reflection of cultural heritage; and, finally, as a motivation for literacy. Readings pair picture books and novels with nonfiction texts. There will be samples of simple narratives for the emerging reader and novels for fluent elementary-school students. The place of literature in the classroom involves careful choices on the part of teachers, who must support the interests and heritage of young readers, intrigue them through pictures and text, and eventually lead them to discover new worlds within the covers of books. Throughout the course, we will consider the importance of reading aloud (both fiction and nonfiction) and the ways in which stories inspire artistic expression.

This course will explore multiple lenses through which we view the concept of education, including theoretical, historical, political, sociological, and cultural perspectives. We will begin by considering the historical roots of contemporary education, with particular emphasis on the history of public education in the United States. Drawing on a variety of readings, films, and in-class projects, we will examine constructs of diversity including race, class, culture, language, ability, gender, and sexual identity and discover ways to create an inclusive learning environment for students and their families. The work of John Dewey and other progressive educators will provide a basis for looking at democratic ideals and “pendulum swings” in American education, including current debates concerning standards, testing practices, and political agendas. Throughout the course, students will be asked to reflect on their own school experiences and fieldwork observations in order to make connections between historical and current educational practices.

This course will place strong emphasis on students’ own understanding of mathematics as directly related to the mathematics that they will be teaching in early-childhood and elementary-school classrooms. The course will focus on core concepts of mathematics teaching and learning: the science of patterns and number relationships. Patterns and functions will serve as the lenses through which students will examine connections and applications of the topics to the early-childhood and childhood school curricula. Students will develop understandings of the content, concepts, computation, and teaching and learning strategies of mathematics in schools. Emphasis will be placed on constructivist teaching and learning; inquiry-based learning; problem solving; and mathematical reasoning, connections, and communication. Students will be exposed to techniques in differentiating instruction that addresses learning differences and the special needs of English-language learners, as well as ways to identify tasks that challenge and augment mathematical understandings. The use of technology as an integral support for the understanding and application of mathematics will also be a focus of the course. Each class session will provide students with opportunities to engage in authentic mathematical activities, followed by sharing those experiences and ways to implement similar, engaging mathematical tasks in classrooms. As part of their conference work, students will create a concept teaching game and a presentation of the solutions to complex problems.