Welcome to the Department of Curriculum and Foundations! C&F plays a central role in the education of teachers and other education professionals in Northeast Ohio. We offer courses and professional experiences to aspiring teachers and other education professionals that accommodate busy student schedules, including the option of online courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For aspiring teachers at the undergraduate and post-baccalaureate levels, our department provides the sequence of core professional courses. Students are introduced to teaching as a profession by practicing teachers, learn about the purposes and politics of education in the wider American social context, come to systematic understandings of how children and adolescents develop as learners, gain hands-on experience in applying up-to-date educational technology to teaching practices, and embark on their first field experiences in middle schools and high schools. During the student teaching semester, our department also guides students in crafting classroom assessments that gauge student achievement and pinpoint teaching strategies that raise academic achievement.

At the graduate level, the Department of Curriculum and Foundations offers a series of courses that expand the professional expertise of educators. All graduate students---in educational administration, counselor education, adult learning and development, supervision, and in all of the curriculum and instruction programs---take a course in educational research. This helps educators to hone their skills in two ways. It enables them to inquire, systematically, into their own teaching and professional practices with an eye toward improvement, and it provides them with qualitative and quantitative frameworks for making sense of the practices and outcomes of the education system. Graduate students across all of the degree programs in the College of Education and Human Services also take a course in educational technology, to enhance their skills as researchers and educators. Within the Curriculum and Instruction programs, which include specializations in educational technology, early childhood education, elementary education, educational research, gifted and talented learners, health and physical education, literacy development and instruction, secondary education, urban secondary teaching, and special education---the core course in curriculum theory and instruction, taught by members of our department, provides students with theoretical guideposts as the navigate the politically-charged waters of curriculum and pedagogical reform. Electives in comparative and international education, history of American education, sociology of education, and philosophy of education comprise our department’s graduate-level offerings in social foundations of education. In human development, our department offers graduate courses in educational psychology---psychological foundations of education, psychology of the adolescent learner, and psychology of learning and instruction. Our department also offers courses tied to the introductory field experiences for graduate students who are not yet certified to teach.

Three graduate-level curriculum and instruction specializations are housed in the Department of Curriculum and Foundations. In educational technology, under the direction of Associate Professor Ron Abate, students work with the very latest in web- and computer-assisted educational technologies that apply to both kinds of classrooms, virtual and bricks-and-mortar. In educational research, guided by Associate Professor Graham Stead, our department offers advanced courses for those seeking an in-depth exposure to research practices that enable them to use data and theory for informed decisions, both as classroom educators and as school leaders. In Gifted and Talented Education, under the direction of Adjunct Assistant Professor Barbara Youel, the course sequence prepares students to teach in programs for the most academically gifted students. The Gifted and Talented program is also highly useful for educators seeking the best ways to meet the differentiated learning needs that they encounter in K-12 classrooms.

There is also an exciting alternative program for bringing new teachers into the classroom that I’d like to bring to your attention. If you are a college graduate considering a career move into big-city teaching, our MUST Program---the Masters in Urban Secondary Teaching---might be for you. Coordinated by Associate Professor Brian Harper, this accelerated masters program prepares students for urban classrooms in 13 months. The heart of the program is a guided, 9 month-long internship in an urban high school. The MUST Program is especially popular for those professionals whose undergraduate coursework positions them to be secondary teachers of math, science, English, or social studies. K-12 certification in foreign language or art is also available through MUST.

Many of the department’s faculty members have administrative responsibilities across the College and University. The Doctor of Urban Education Program is directed by Associate Professor Joshua Bagaka’s, and several C&F professors teach courses and advise doctoral students at this level. Faculty members who teach courses with fieldwork components also work closely with the Office of Field Services, under the direction of Associate Professor Brian Yusko. The Office of Field Services places students with mentor teachers in urban schools. Professor Rosemary Sutton is the Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Professor William Beasley directs the University Center for Teaching Excellence, Associate Professor Emeritus Sanza Clark directs Mali Yetu, Associate Professor Marius Boboc directs student learning assessments, and Clinical Assistant Professor Susan Rakow coordinates CSU’s summer Honor’s Institute. More recently, Associate Professor Lih-Ching Chen Wang established a Confucius Institute in the College of Education and Human Services. The Institute promotes Chinese culture and language instruction and, in conjunction with Capital University in Beijing, sponsors exchanges of faculty, teachers, and students between China and Ohio.

A diverse group of men and women who hail from across the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific Rim, C&F faculty members are outstanding instructors who maintain active research agendas and publish in the top journals in their fields. The department also calls on the services of instructors and practitioners who have proven and up-to-date track records as educators in Northeast Ohio’s schools. Since our faculty members serve as caring student advisors, creative instructors, and leading researchers, students can be assured of stimulating and productive learning experiences in the Department of Curriculum and Foundations.

James C Carl, Chair