For the Love of Learning

EDST 4001 Individuals and Societies

  • 10 sessions, 4.5 hours each, with dinner included. (45 contact hours and 3 credit hours)
  • General class outline:
      • 4:00-4:30 Opening, contemplative pedagogy-whole group
      • 4:30-600 Content focus with professors-whole group
      • 6:00-6:45 Informal and intentionally structured dinner
          • The meals will be part of the learning about place and relationships. For example, the history of the food from growing, to making, to transportation, to consumption in community will be explored. Contemplative practices will be incorporated.
      • 6:45-8:00 Discussion of the instructional implications of content offered and collaborative planning
      • 8:00-8:30pm Closing discussion, sharing as whole group
  • Education Studies Associate Professor Jonathan Miller-Lane will serve as the facilitator for the course and will be the lead instructor.
  • Each month, there will be specific reading assignments and a written assignment. There will also be a culminating, significant, final project. However, these assignments will not pre-exist the arrival of the professional educators who will comprise this class community.

Monthly Content/Focus

- Using the headings from the NCSS C3 Framework and the IB subject guide.

September 18

Session 1

Setting the context: Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries (C3)

• In this first session, participants will be introduced to the Inquiry Design Model, engage in a structured inquiry and examine the implications of this pedagogy

October 16

Session 2

Models of Participation and Deliberation: Applying Civic Virtues and Democratic Principles (C3)

• Engaging the IB Leaner Profile as the holistic foundation for the C3 Framework. Participants will engage in a structured discussion as a model for their own teaching.

November 13

Session 3

Teaching about Spirituality in a Secular Setting: Challenges and Possibilities

• Two guest speakers from Middlebury College.

December 11

Session 4

Teaching about Religion in a Secular Setting: Challenges and Possibilities

• Two guest speakers from the Religion Department at Middlebury College.

January 22

Session 5

Economic Decision Making: Gathering and Evaluating Sources

• Two guest speakers from the Economics Department at Middlebury College.

February 26

Session 6

Human-Environment Interaction: Place, Regions and Culture

• Two guest speakers from the Geography Department at Middlebury College.

March 18

Session 7

How Does Language Work? [Theory of Knowledge]

• Two guest speakers affiliated with the Linguistics Program at Middlebury College.

April 29

Session 8

Historical Sources and Evidence-Historiography

• Two guest speakers from the History Department at Middlebury College.

May 13

Session 9

Review previous sessions, discuss further implications for instruction, prepare formal sharing with community and colleagues.

June 3

Session 10

Formal public sharing: The first annual conference of the Professional Development School, jointly established by ACSD and the Middlebury College Education Studies Program. (Presentations will be open to both professional colleagues and the community.)

Location: 208 Charles Avenue Middlebury, VT

Every session takes place on a Wednesday, 4:00 pm- 8:30 pm