Urban Education
All courses must be successfully completed with a grade of C- or better. The concentration is composed of 24 credits, bringing the total number of credits for the major to 121.
Course Requirements
In addition to the courses required in the ETE major, students take the following courses.
- EDUC 258: Cultural Diversity, Schooling and the Teacher OR EDUC 259: Cultural Diversity in Community Contexts (whichever was not taken for the Professional Studies requirement)
- EDUC 440: Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners (Spring only)
- EDUC 459: Urban Schools and Urban Landscapes (Spring only)
- Three restricted electives that reflect students’ particular interest in urban education. For example, courses could be from the areas of Anthropology, Black American Studies, Education, Geography, History, Human Development and Family Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Spanish, and Urban Affairs and Public Policy. See the list of courses in the Urban Education Minor for a sample of courses that could count as electives. Restricted electives must be approved by your advisor.
- One free elective from any department.
Students take the following course in the second semester of their junior year or first semester of their senior year immediately before their student teaching semester.
- EDUC 395: Building Communities of Learners in Urban Contexts (Fall only)
In addition, students in this concentration spend their second 8-week student teaching placement in an urban classroom.
- EDUC 400: Student Teaching: Urban Education
Opportunity to Work with Urban Students
Do you want to learn how to build a learning community with diverse kids? Students in EDUC 259: Cultural Diversity in Community Contexts learn how to do this by mentoring children in community centers in downtown Wilmington (UD transportation is available). This service learning experience is highlighted in a Japanese TV news story that can be viewed at http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/EDUC259.09F-10_NHK_Japan.wmv. The video shows an EDUC 259 student working at the Latin American Community Center (LACC) and the quote below from another student in the course shows the impact of the course on students and children.
Instead of worrying about grades, I started worrying about LACC kids and us – if they learned anything at LACC, if we helped them in the right way, if the LACC environment was helpful for the kids. Our class discussions, videos, and readings helped me to think through these hot issues to help the kids better and… how to learn from the kids to help them better. Sarah Lyman
