Syllabus

SED 610 Issues in Multiethnic Secondary Schools

Dr. Tae Chang: Professor in Secondary Education

Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00-3:30 and by appointments

Contact Information: 818.677.6491, 818.677.2580, or taechang@csun.edu

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The faculty of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education, regionally focused and nationally recognized, is committed to Excellence through Innovation. We believe excellence includes the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions and is demonstrated by the growth and renewal of ethical and caring professionals - faculty, staff, candidates - and those they serve. Innovation occurs through collaborative partnerships among communities of diverse learners who engage in creative and reflective thinking. To this end we continually strive to achieve the following competencies and values that form the foundation of the Conceptual Framework.

We value academic excellence in the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills.

We value the use of evidence for the purposes of monitoring candidate growth, determining the impact of our programs, and informing ongoing program and unit renewal. To this end we foster a culture of evidence.

We value ethical practice and what it means to become ethical and caring professionals.

We value collaborative partnerships within the College of Education as well as across disciplines with other CSUN faculty, P-12 faculty, and other members of regional and national educational and service communities.

We value diversity in styles of practice and are united in a dedication to acknowledging, learning about, and addressing the varied strengths, interests, and needs of communities of diverse learners.

We value creative and reflective thinking and practice.

CSUN Email

CSUN sends all official communications by email, including registration information. To remain informed, check your CSUN email account regularly and often, throughout the semester.

Course Overview

This course provides you an extended opportunity for critical inquiry into some of today’s most pressing educational issues. Through research and reading, collegial discussion and debate, reflection, and writing, you should develop a more thorough and nuanced understanding of these issues and their implications for practice. You should clarify and see new sides to these issues and question your initial assumptions. Ideally, you will strengthen or change your incoming opinions in light of new information. As a result, you will be better positioned for leadership on these issues in your classroom, school, community, or beyond, as well as for personal decisions about Taking Sides and professional development. In this course, you will also investigate teacher professionalism and the organizational culture of your school. These understandings will prepare you to take a greater leadership role on issues that affect your practice and your students’ learning.

Course objectives:

In this course, you will work toward the student learning outcomes (SLOs) required for the masters degree. In particular, you will develop:

  1. Theoretical understanding by reading, synthesizing, and evaluating educational theory and research in your field and applying research findings to your practice in diverse classroom settings

  2. Research skills by designing and conducting research ethically and effectively and presenting your findings at a professional level in oral and written forms

  3. Educational awareness by knowing current discipline-based and current general educational issues and how those impact schools

  4. Leadership by influencing policy and practice in educational communities through advocacy.

Important Note:

All assignments should be completed on time and in a professional manner; many will form the basis of class activities. Work must be typed using MS Word, 12-point, Times New Roman font.