Effective: 2022-05-01

Course Description

The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.

General Course Purpose

EDU 200 is designed as an overview course for the teaching profession providing an exploration on the foundational topics related to education. This course will satisfy VDOE requirements for teacher licensure.

Course Objectives

• Professional and Philosophical Foundations
• Discuss the ways philosophical approaches to education influence educational practice.
• Describe the requirements for Virginia licensure including endorsement courses, professional courses, and assessments.
• Identify the various factors involved in choosing a career in teaching, including the qualities, dispositions, and professionalism of effective teachers as well as the criteria required for teacher licensure in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Develop and articulate a personal philosophy of teaching and learning aligned to the standards of the profession and grounded in educational theory and practice.
• Investigate and summarize the ethical issues that affect education.
• Historical and Legal Foundations
• Identify and analyze the influence of key events in US educational history and governance on current educational practices and reform.
• Identify and analyze historical laws and court cases and their impact on education.
• Investigate and describe legal issues affecting teachers including but not limited to licensure, contracts, academic freedom, freedom of speech, religion, and speech.
• Investigate and describe students' rights including but not limited to student discipline and due process, student privacy, FERPA, search and seizure, freedom of speech, and Title IX.
• Social Foundations
• Analyze the institutional, cultural and societal influences that shape human relationships and interactions in education.
• Describe the relative contribution of diversity (differences in ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, religion, gender, sexual orientation, exceptional populations, and language use) on students' school experiences.
• Political, and Fiscal Foundations
• Explain how the federal, state, and local levels have an impact on the legal factors that influence education including typical school structure and governance.
• Investigate, analyze, and explain the sources of revenue used in running a school division.
• Investigate, analyze, and explain school division expenses.
• Curricular and Instructional Foundations
• Relate educational theories to classroom experiences.
• Examine the art and science of teaching and learning including creating a positive learning environment, instructional and assessment strategies.
• Analyze lesson plans for alignment with the Virginia Standards of Learning and their classroom application.
• Explain the basic foundations of exceptional learners, including ELL, Gifted Education, the special education team, IEPs, FAPE, LRE, and the provision of accommodations for learning.
• Investigate and describe the uses of technology in the classroom to support effective teaching and learning.
• Practicum Placement
• Complete a minimum of 20 hours of observation and practical experience in a PK-12 setting.
• Describe the many roles of classroom teachers
• Identify and reflect on classroom management strategies including classroom routines and procedures and creating a positive learning environment.
• Identify and reflect on formative and summative assessments and describe their purpose and how records of student progress and educational achievement are maintained.
• Identify and reflect on various instructional strategies and analyze them for effectiveness.
• Assist and provide support to the supervising classroom teachers in their instructional programs.
• Provide direct instructional assistance to students either individually or in small groups.

Major Topics to be Included

• Professional and Philosophical Foundations
• Historical and Legal Foundations
• Social Foundations
• Political, and Fiscal Foundations
• Curricular and Instructional Foundations
• Practicum Placement