EDUC 540 - Teaching and Learning in the Culturally Diverse Classroom I

Corequisite, EDUC 540P. Bilingual (Spanish) section offered as EDUC 540B. This course provides understanding of the dynamics of California classrooms. The course focuses on creating a democratic learning community while adhering to the California content standards and performance. Students learn about long and short-term planning, models of teaching, and interdisciplinary curriculum development. Students become familiar with ways to increase learning opportunities by catering to diverse learning styles and needs. Students will employ specially designed academic instruction and language assessments to inform planning, learn to make modifications and how to use support personnel. Classroom experiences model instructional strategies and practices from the California State Frameworks and skills required for instruction using the California Standards for Language Arts and History/Social Science. This course will help prepare teacher candidates for the Teaching Performance Assessments. A minimum of 15 hours of field experience is required for each course. EDUC 540 and EDUC 540B share course lectures. Students may not earn credit for both EDUC 540 and EDUC 540B. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits