Chabot College
November 1999
Course Outline for General Studies 11
EXPLORING EDUCATION
Catalog Description:
11 – Exploring Education
3 units
Introduction to the field of teaching and education. Directed observations of elementary, middle, and
secondary classrooms. Examination of changing issues in education and their implications on
teaching practice and theory. 3 hours lecture. 2 hours laboratory.
[Typical contact hours: lecture 52.5, laboratory 35]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
1. describe the challenges and rewards facing teachers in contemporary public school classrooms;
2. compare, contrast, and evaluate proposals to reform the education of teachers;
3. identify the relationships among teachers and other personnel who work in the public school
classrooms;
4. identify and critique current issues related to teaching in the public schools;
5. assess the suitability of pursuing teaching as a career.
Course Content:
1. A minimum of five hours observation of and participation in each of the following environments: an
elementary school, a middle school and a high school
2. Teacher education programs
3. The teaching profession:
a. motives for teaching
b. rewards and costs of teaching
c. job options
4. Contemporary U.S. public education, K-12:
a. the purposes of school
b. school as an environment
c. diversity in the classroom
d. social problems affecting the young
e. tension points in American education
5. Effective teaching:
a. curriculum pedagogy
b. technology and its impact on schools
c. creativity as a teaching tool
6. Historical and current issues in U.S. education, K-12:
a. overview of philosophies of education
b. overview of history of American education
c. ethical issues facing teachers
d. education reform
e. governance and financing of schools
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lecture and discussion
Group work
Student presentations
Speakers
Chabot College
Course Outline for General Studies 11, Page 2
November 1999
5. Classroom observations
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. summary and response to readings
b. creation and implementation of evaluation rubric as part of field experience summary
c. academic essays focused on critical assessment of theory
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. written assignments
b. oral presentations
c. tests and quizzes
Textbook(s) (Typical):
Those Who Can, Teach, by Ryan & Cooper, Houghton Mifflin Pub., 1998
Teaching In America, by George S. Morrison, Allyn & Bacon Pub., 1997
Special Student Materials:
None
dk 11/30/99
D:\LAH\CURRICUL\FALL99\GS11_REV.DOC