Course Description

Making informed judgments about what to teach (curriculum) and how to teach (instruction) are at the heart of becoming an educator.  Neohumanist  teachers share with all educators the need to be able to articulate a theory of curriculum and the aims and goals of learning, to design lesson plans, to develop comprehensive unit plans, to design the physical space of a classroom, to structure learning experiences, and to assess student learning.  Neohumanist education asks more of teachers however; that they facilitate inner exploration and character development with the aim of creating a sense of “oneness” or love for all creation. These latter tasks have deep implications for the study of curriculum and teaching. In this course we explore curriculum and teaching with the aim of furthering a model of Neohumanist education that meets the needs of students in the present, but is oriented towards a future characterized by justice, peace, equity, joy, and harmonious living in a deeply connected web of life. Specialized “pedagogical content knowledge” that extends these aims will follow in the next sequence of courses (arts-based learning, literacy, social studies and STEAM).