Course Catalog

Education affects the lives of everyone in this country. As future professionals, voters, teachers, parents, and leaders, students at the University of Michigan will help shape the quality of life in the United States, and education will matter – a lot. This course will introduce students to the role of education in today’s world. Topics will include the implications for schooling our increasingly diverse population; principles of how kids learn; ways schools facilitate student achievement (or not); and the changing nature of literacy in the information age. In addition to readings and discussions, there will be opportunities for hands-on experience and interactions with K-12 students in schools.  

EDUC 118 is an approved course to satisfy the LSA Race and Ethnicity Requirement.

This class meets the Race & Ethnicity requirement.

Education Policy in a Multicultural Society explores policy and school improvement, and focuses in particular on the U.S. public school system, with an emphasis on both equity and access. In this course we begin by asking: what is public education for, and then consider how schools can be improved so that educational outcomes are ambitious and equitable. We build on students' understandings of the practice of teaching, developed in ED118, to investigate the dynamics of education reform.

We closely examine authentic texts – including artifacts from our own experiences in schools, as well as mandates and legislative texts, policies, data on school improvement, and other resources designed for the improvement of schools. We critically examine each of these, looking for assumptions about teaching and learning and their improvement, assessing the key levers for improvement that they provide, and extrapolating implications for the design and valuation of change. In so doing students will develop critical skills of analysis and interpretation that will enable them to (1) better understand and evaluate efforts to improve schooling in the United States, (2) collaborate substantively, (3) and write and speak about educational policy persuasively. Given the courses strong focus on equity and access, issues of inclusion, voice, and rigor will be consistent through-lines.

Students in this course will explore various ideas about what it means to learn and how those ideas have impacted educational practice. They will explore relationships among learning, education, and power, in addition to investigating the design of learning environments that promote empowerment and/or social change.

Introduces students to current issues in educational practice, policy, and theory. Provides opportunities to investigate issues of teaching and learning to broader social/cultural trends. Topics vary with each offering. No prerequisites.

This course aims to support students in becoming critical consumers of educational policy issues in both media and educational research. We examine ideologies and levers used in past and current educational reform efforts that reflect multiple views on the purpose of schools, the role of educators, and the functions of policies and policy makers.

In this course students extend what they have learned about U.S. schools and the institutions that serve public schools through extensive and varied practicums in these organizations and institutions. Students will acquire hands-on experience, in work nested inside an institution that serves and supports children, schools, and their communities.

Coaching for Today's Society is a course designed to aid students in reaching people where they currently are. You will not be a successful coach if you do not know and understand your audience. In order to be effective when reaching out to your audience you must be able to paint a picture or create a shared vision that resonates with your audience on all sensory levels. During this course we will identify and discuss the basic tenets associated with our targeted groups from same age/similar thought processes to multi-generational influencers (Boomers). Coaching in the broad sense deals with basic interpersonal skill sets to help you build a solid foundation however understanding how to coach in today's complex society goes beyond the foundation. We will identify and discuss the roles of family/life experiences, cultural nuances and how social norms play in helping or inhibiting us from connecting with people whether at the high school level, college level or in the workforce. At the end of the course you will feel confident working with diverse groups of people in any given setting.

In EDUC 225, students will examine the social, cultural, and emotional experiences of Black and Latinx youth, the unique challenges they face within urban and segregated schools, and the relationships, cultural assets, and psychological mindsets that help them thrive despite marginalization. EDUC 225 is a hybrid course that includes both a seminar and a fieldwork component. The seminar will include course readings, analysis, and discussions on the above issues. In the fieldwork component, students, equipped with the knowledge and skills from the seminar, will serve as mentors for Black and Latinx adolescent boys at a local middle school to co-construct and implement character development curriculum (i.e. THREADS) that affirms the adolescent mentees and reinforces them with strategies to navigate the rigors of their learning environment and social community. Working together as allies, the student-mentors, and the mentee-boys will strategize culturally sustaining mentoring to work towards developing positive future goals, socio-emotional behaviors, and healthy racial-ethnic identities.

For many, some of the best athletic coaches provide great examples of leadership. But why? What do they do differently from leaders in other fields, and what helps them to lead effectively? We will explore the concepts of coaching (athletically and in general) and leadership; their juxtaposition and inter-relationship. We will explore coaching and leadership across various industries and platforms including sports, business, and healthcare. Our expert guest speakers will share their own philosophies and experiences. Through a series of readings, guest speakers, lectures, and small group interactions, we hope students grow in their understanding of the keys to becoming an effective leader and coach. Many, if not all of you, will be charged with coaching and leading in various capacities during your personal and professional lives (e.g. parent, coach, mentor, manager, educator, consultant, etc). Through this course, you will assess and start to develop your own coaching and leadership philosophies through theories, policies, and practices. 

This course will compare the development of children in schooling systems cross-culturally, looking at the period from preschool to college entrance selection. By comparing education in diverse societies we will identify both universal features of development and particular ways that different societies promote the development of healthy, competent adults.

This course examines factors that contribute to (or detract from) our ability to reach peak performance in everything we do. Mental, emotional, psychological, and physical wellness are key to performance and productivity. Students will learn practices to promote wellness, in themselves and others, to support learning, teaching, coaching, and leadership.

What is social change, what does it look like, and how do we as individuals choose to involve ourselves in social change? During this course we will discuss a brief history of social change, circumstances of societal groups in our country, and what motivates individuals to work toward social change.

Why are video games fun? The answer isn’t as obvious as you might think. Good games draw you in, teach you how to succeed, and keep you engaged with a “just right” level of challenge. Most importantly, players *learn* while playing a well-designed game. Why isn’t school like that? This class takes a hard look at video games, a hard look at education, and considers ways that each can be improved to maximize learning.

Crosslisted with LSA DIGITAL 333

This course will take an academic approach to Name, Image & Likeness covering the following topics:
 

• Explore the historical aspects of college athletics, specifically focusing on compensation, growth, oversight, and issues related to race/gender inequity.
• Examine the funding model of college athletics, including key revenue sources such as conference distributions, brand licensing, apparel deals, and more.
• Analyze the challenges and opportunities presented by the introduction of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), considering other concurrent changes like the expanded transfer portal, conference realignment, and the momentum towards revenue sharing.
• Investigate the impact of emerging services from NIL such as Collectives, agents, investment advisors, as well as tax, law, and financial literacy services on college athletes.
• Assess the reactions and influence of external stakeholders tied to schools, such as fans, boosters, and donors, in response to NIL implementation.
• Examine relevant Federal rights and laws (Title IX, free speech, civil rights, IRS, Supreme Court) and their implications for NIL.
• Analyze the complexities of varying state laws, NCAA guidelines, and the process of reconciling them with other areas of oversight, and explore how these factors impact individual school policies.
• Explore the potential for additional athlete compensation through revenue sharing of TV, apparel, and media rights revenue, and evaluate its impact on the overall model of college athletics.
• Assess the overall impact, opportunities, threats, and new challenges faced by student-athletes, with a focus on understanding NIL implementation in both revenue and non-revenue sports.
• Speculate on the mid- and long-term future of college athletics, considering the challenges, influencing factors, and stakeholders discussed throughout the course.
   

PALS is designed to give undergraduate and Master’s students experience working with students, families, teachers, and community members in K-12 public school settings. Students will gain insight into university-school partnerships and the ways that such partnerships can support the academic, social, and emotional development of children and youth. The course is framed from a positive youth development perspective and emphasizes the personal, familial, school, and community factors that promote resilience and optimal development of children and youth typically deemed “at-risk”.