CTA 530 - Introduction to Inclusive Elementary Programs 3 cr. Examines historical, legal, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of elementary education for children and their families and investigates the application of those principles to models of care and education. Strategies for developing learning opportunities that are appropriate for all children including children with special needs and children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic, backgrounds will be explored. Examines physical, cognitive, social, moral, and emotional development of individuals from conception to adolescence, paying special attention to the developmental changes that take place during these periods of development. Theory and research from different psychological approaches are discussed, including psychoanalytic, ecological, structuralist, and others.
Special attention is paid to the social and cultural contexts in which development occurs.
CTA 552 - Issues in Elementary Literacy and Numeracy Development 3 cr. Introduces theoretical frameworks for how children learn in the domains of reading, writing, and mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Each discipline emphasizes particular questions, organizing constructs of symbolization systems, and methods of inquiry which will be examined in terms of their importance in selecting curriculum materials and activities that maximize individual learners skill and intellectual development. Explores language and mathematical thinking as tools of inquiry that build throughout the elementary grades and are increasingly integrated in other domains to understand and interpret the world. Analyzes connections between observation and assessment of children s mathematical or language skills and various instructional strategies.