A study of the elementary school curriculum, and the application of the principles of teaching in the elementary school. Two class hours and a practicum involving directed classroom teaching. Prerequisite: three courses in the department taken previously, including 235 and 238; grade of B- or better in education courses. Admission by permission of the department.

The institutional educational contexts through which adolescents move can powerfully influence their growth and development. Using a cross-disciplinary approach, this course examines those educational institutions central to adolescent life: schools, classrooms, school extracurriculars, arts-based organizations, athletic programs, community youth organizations, faith-based organizations and cyber-communities. We investigate what theoretical and socio-cultural perspectives shape these educational institutions and how these institutions serve or fail the diverse needs of American youth.

A colloquium integrating foundations, the learning process and curriculum. Open only to Smith senior majors.

Students who speak languages other than English are a growing presence in U.S. schools. These students need assistance in learning academic content in English as well as in developing proficiency in English. This course is designed to provide an understanding of the instructional needs and challenges of students who are learning English in the United States. This course explores a variety of theories, issues, procedures, methods and approaches for use in bilingual, English as a second language, and other learning environments.

This course is a study of the theories of growth and development of children, from prenatal development through adolescence; looks at basic considerations of theoretical application to the educative process and child study. Involves directed observations in a variety of child-care and educational settings. Enrollment limited to 55.

This course explores and examines the basic principles and curricular and instructional practices in early childhood education. Students begin this examination by taking a close look at the young child through readings and discussion, classroom observations and field-based experiences in an early childhood setting. The course also traces the historical and intellectual roots of early childhood education. This leads students to consider, compare and contrast a variety of programs and models in early childhood education.

This course explores the question: Why has it proven so difficult in the United States to create more schools and districts where educational opportunity is distributed fairly? How can a close study of the educational systems of Western Mass help us understand how educators and policy makers attempted to provide a quality educational experience for students when issues associated with their social and economic environment often present significant obstacles to teaching and learning?

Some cultures give the murdering mother a central place in myth and literature while others treat the subject as taboo. How is such a woman depicted—as monster, lunatic, victim, savior? What do the motives attributed to her reveal about a society’s assumptions and values? What difference does it make if the author is a woman? We focus on literary texts but also consider representations in other media, especially cinema. Authors to be studied include Euripides, Seneca, Ovid, Anouilh, Christa Wolff, Christopher Durang, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and others.

Topics course. May be repeated once with a different topic: This course considers the many ways in which we experience and (re)create "home": as the place where we are born, where we seek refuge, where our families are, where we emigrate. Food plays a central role in how we think of home—how do scents, spices, rituals, and preparations inform our sense of self and community?

Same as CLT 330. The capstone seminar brings together a cohort of concentrators to discuss the final translation project that each student undertakes with the guidance of their adviser in the concentration and to situate the project within the framework of larger questions that the work of translation elicits. The seminar readings focus on renowned practitioners’ reflections on the difficulties and complexities of translating, the obstacles, discoveries and solutions that the translator encounters.