Education Studies Minor
Introduction
The Education Studies Minor is designed to help students acquire a deeper understanding of education and its relationship to society. Through a range of courses across the curriculum, students look critically and analytically at educational institutions, practices, and thinking, from early childhood through adulthood, using local, national, and global lenses. Foundation courses provide a theoretical background on philosophy, history, and psychology of education. Further requirements empower students with the knowledge, tools, and skills for analyzing different aspects of education, on topics such as human development and cognition, pedagogy and curriculum, and sociocultural approaches to the study of education. Students complete a methods course relevant to education studies as well as a practicum experience to gain hands-on experience complementing their academic work.
Admission to the Minor
Students intending to minor in Education Studies should submit a minor request through their WesPortal. It is best to do this as early as possible so that you can receive e-mails and updates about the minor that will help you with academic planning. Students who declare at the canonical time (spring of sophomore year) should simultaneously enroll in EDST101, the Sophomore Gateway Course, which will be taught in the second half of spring term (4th quarter) every year.
Minor Requirements
Students must take a minimum of 5 credits plus a practicum experience equivalent to at least .5 credit. Some courses can count toward different requirements, but students need to choose which requirement is being fulfilled by which course: an individual student cannot use the same course to fulfill multiple requirements toward the Minor.
Students can use the same course to fulfill requirements in two academic programs (for example, a cross-listed course in ITAL and EDST could count toward both the EDST Minor and the ITST Major), if that is acceptable to the other department.
These are the requirements for the Minor in Education Studies:
- Sophomore Gateway (.5 credit)
- Foundations of Education (1 credit)
- Category 1: Cognition, Development, & Science of Learning (1 credit)
- Category 2: Social and Structural Analyses of Education (1 credit)
- Category 3: Research Methods & Data Analysis (1 credit)
- Practicum (.5 credit or equivalent)
- Pedagogy (.5 credit)
The courses may be completed in any order consistent with their prerequisites.
Course Petitions
Students can always petition to substitute a different course to meet any Education Studies requirement by completing this petition form. The petition form asks students to justify the substitution and, for non-Wesleyan courses, to upload a syllabus or other supporting information. Students will be notified if their petition requests are approved. Once approved, they can request the override in their Minor or Major Certification page in WesPortal.
Course Lists and Archive
The following course list is a representative, but not comprehensive, list of courses that may count towards the Education Studies Major. This list is intended to provide an example of the types of courses that fall into each category. For all current Education Studies courses and a comprehensive archive of all courses ever offered by the College, click the link above.
Courses that have specific prerequisites that must first be completed are indicated with an asterisk.
Cohort Course
Students must take the Gateway course after declaring the Minor, which will (1) function to build a cohort in the College of Education Studies, (2) help students make sense of the interdisciplinary contributions to Education Studies, and (3) help students understand the faculty, research, and resources in Education Studies at Wesleyan.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EDST101 | Introduction to Education Studies | .5 |
Foundations Course
Students must take one foundational course in Education Studies that broadly covers the field.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations (1 credit) | ||
| EDST230 | Schools in Society (Foundations) | 1 |
| PSYC/EDST253 | Educational Psychology | 1 |
| SOC/FGSS244 | Feminist and Queer Theories of Social Reproduction | 1 |
Breadth Courses
Students must take one course in each of three core areas of Education Studies. There are multiple options across the curriculum for each category.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1: Cognition, Development, & Science of Learning (1+ credits) | Minimum of 1 | |
| NS&B/BIOL/PSYC356 | Neurodevelopmental Disorders * | 1 |
| PSYC206 | Research Methods in Cognitive Development and Education * | 1 |
| PSYC/NS&B220 | Cognitive Psychology * | 1 |
| PSYC/NS&B222 | Sensation and Perception * | 1 |
| PSYC/NS&B225 | Cognitive Neuroscience * | 1 |
| PSYC230 | Developmental Psychology * | 1 |
| PSYC245 | Psychological Measurement | 1 |
| PSYC248 | Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood * | 1 |
| PSYC253 | Educational Psychology | 1 |
| PSYC328 | Current Research in Early Childhood | 1 |
| PSYC/NS&B341 | Psychology of Human Memory | 1 |
| PSYC355 | Psychology of Reading | 1 |
| PSYC388 | Advanced Research in Measurement * | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST140L/ENGL143L | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages | 1 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Category 2: Social and Structural Analyses of Education (1+ credits) | Minimum of 1 | |
| AMST241/ENGL235 | Childhood in America | 1 |
| CHUM/AMST/EDST358 | Fugitive Perspectives on Education and Civil Society | 1 |
| DANC341 | Dance Teaching Workshop: The Embodied Practice of Knowing | 1 |
| ECON213/AMST274 | Economics of Wealth and Poverty * | 1 |
| EDST110F | Writing about Teaching: An Exploration of American Educational Ideals through Writing and Film (FYS) | 1 |
| EDST221 | Decolonizing Education | 1 |
| EDST230 | Schools in Society | 1 |
| EDST341 | Case Studies in Educational Innovation and Entrepreneurship | 1 |
| GOVT/EDST342 | Questioning Authority: On the Politics of the Teacher-Student Relationship | 1 |
| PSYC253 | Educational Psychology | 1 |
| RELI/EDST/SISP373 | Religion, Science, and Empire: Crucible of a Globalized World | 1 |
| SISP/EDST/SOC350 | Sociology of Knowledge | 1 |
| SOC399M/EDST399/FGSS311 | Abolitionist University Studies | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST114F | Why You Can't Write (FYS) | 1 |
| WRCT205/AMST227/EDST205 | English Language Learners and US Language Policy | 1 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Category 3: Research Methods & Data Analysis (1 credit) | Minimum of 1 | |
| ECON300 | Introductory Econometrics * | 1.25 |
| ECON385 | Advanced Econometrics * | 1 |
| MATH132 | Elementary Statistics | 1 |
| PSYC200 | Statistics: An Activity-Based Approach * | 1 |
| PSYC206 | Research Methods in Cognitive Development and Education * | 1 |
| PSYC207 | Research Methods in Developmental Psychology * | 1 |
| PSYC/NS&B210 | Research Methods in Cognition * | 1 |
| PSYC213 | Research Methods in Social Psychology * | 1 |
| PSYC388 | Advanced Research in Measurement * | 1 |
| QAC/GOVT201/NS&B280/PSYC280 | Applied Data Analysis | 1 |
| RELI/ANTH395 | The Anthropology of Religion | 1 |
Pedagogy & Practicum
Students must complete two aspects of a practicum experience: pedagogy and practice.
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Students must take a minimum .5 credit course focused on pedagogy; there are several .5 and 1 credit courses with this focus offered at Wesleyan. Pedagogy courses are listed below.
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Students must also complete a teaching practicum/in-school experience with a minimum of 20 hours of student contact. The practicum experience does not need to be credit-bearing, as long as the 20 hour requirement is met.
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Students can meet both the pedagogy and practicum portions of the requirement separately, or they can meet them with a single 1-credit course (i.e., a service learning course that provides 20 hours of student contact and covers elements of pedagogy). Apart from service-learning courses, many options exist to fulfill the practicum requirement through JCCP programs, summer programs, teaching apprenticeships, and internships while studying abroad. Some ideas are listed below.
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If the practicum experience is something other than one of the approved listed courses listed below, students the experience must submit a petition to get the experience approved in advance. be fully documented with 20 hours of student contact. Keep in mind that the experience must be fully documented with at least 20 hours of student contact.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Pedagogy (.5 credit) | ||
| ASTR430 | Seminar on Astronomical Pedagogy * | .25 |
| CSPL277 | Community Impact: Building Capacity to Support Educational Enrichment and Socioemotional Development | .5 |
| DANC341 | Dance Teaching Workshop: The Embodied Practice of Knowing | 1 |
| EDST210/IDEA209 | Educational Gaming Lab: Project-Based, Game-Based Pedagogy Approaches | .5 |
| EDST310 | Practicum in Education Studies | 1 |
| EDST311 | Community Impact Practicum: Building Capacity to Support Educational Enrichment | 1 |
| ITAL220 | Italian Gaming Lab: Project-Based, Gameful Pedagogy for Language Learning (CLAC.50) * | .5 |
| MUSC463 | Teaching Music Lessons to Children in Local Schools | 1 |
| PSYC328 | Current Research in Early Childhood | 1 |
| PSYC355 | Psychology of Reading | 1 |
| QAC301 | Statistics Education Practicum | 1 |
| RL&L221 | The Pedagogy of Second Language Teaching and Learning | .5 |
| RL&L/EDST223 | Second Language Acquisition and Teaching | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST140L/ENGL143L | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST201 | Writing Theory and Practice | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST202 | Pedagogy for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Tutors | .5 |
| WRCT/EDST400 | Ford Seminar | .5 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Practicum Courses or Experiences | 20 hours | |
| CHEM241 | Informal Science Education for Elementary School Students I | 1 |
| CHEM/MB&B242 | Informal Science Education for Elementary School Students II | 1 |
| DANC447 | Dance Teaching Practicum | .5 |
| EDST310 | Practicum in Education Studies | 1 |
| EDST311 | Community Impact Practicum: Building Capacity to Support Educational Enrichment | 1 |
| MUSC463 | Teaching Music Lessons to Children in Local Schools | 1 |
| PSYC328 | Current Research in Early Childhood | 1 |
| PSYC355 | Psychology of Reading | 1 |
| QAC301 | Statistics Education Practicum | 1 |
| RL&L/EDST223 | Second Language Acquisition and Teaching | 1 |
| RL&L/EDST223L | Second Language Acquisition & Pedagogy - Teaching Romance Languages | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST140L/ENGL143L | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages | 1 |
| WRCT/EDST202 | Pedagogy for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Tutors | .5 |
| WRCT/EDST400 | Ford Seminar | .5 |
| Examples of a practicum experience include: | ||
Tutoring in a school setting for 10h per week for a semester or 5h per week for two semesters, designing a tutorial on education with a service-learning component in a school, or developing an internship in a school. | ||
Serving as a Teaching Apprentice for an introductory course (e.g., first year foreign language or gateway science or social science course). | ||
Student teaching at the Bank Street School of Education (Urban Education Semester). | ||
Teaching in an intensive summer program (Breakthrough, Summerbridge, CTY) and providing a letter confirming completion from the program. | ||