Introduction to Education: Looking Forward and Looking Back on Education

Course Overview and Introduction: The overall design is easy to follow and the menu makes it easy to find what you need. Description of the course is found on the main screen. Course is cited on the main screen. Menu on the left makes it easy to navigate through the different areas of the course. Syllabus is posted and highlights all assignments that will be done in class. Course texts are posted with links to buy them on Amazon. Rationale is included in the introduction. No prerequisites are required, and this is clearly stated. Activities and their descriptions are in the introduction. Calendar is provided with due dates and with questions to prompt each week's activities. Learning Objectives: This course does not have anything titled learning objectives, but does have a list of "teaching topics." The topics relate to the assignments given. Youtube videos are posted to reinforce the different topics. In the syllabus, there are three bullet points that state what STEP teachers at MIT should be able to accomplish when they finish their time in college. The calendar lists the topics for each week. The topics seem appropriate for this course. Assessment and Measurement: Assessment strategies follow the learning theory of constructivism and seem to be appropriate for an education class. There are two types of assignments: ongoing and major. Ongoing assignments include online discussion of current events, presentations of specific chapter readings through a wiki, and documented hours of classroom observation. This seems to be combination of constructivism and connectivism. The major projects include various ways for students to play the role of a teacher and help them learn how assess projects. Work based learning is a key type of assessment in this course. Students are required to create math games to reinforce the learner's knowledge. A separate rubric is posted for this assessment. A portfolio is also required at the end of the course to highlight everything the learner has gained from his or her experience. Instructional Materials: Seem current and are broken up in a week-

by-week process. There is a description of the instructional materials, but the reasons for using them are not clearly stated. Most instructional materials appear to be videos and online sites for discussions. The readings either are materials that have to be purchased or they're articles that can be accessed online. The materials seem to give a variety of perspectives. It is not clear which materials are required or not required. Most materials are easy to access. Most reading materials are appropriately cited. Learner Interaction and Engagement: There are many forms of interaction and engagement in this class. The activities match the learning topics. Online discussions are a big part of the class. Student to student learning seems to be important. Requirements for interaction in group projects or discussions are clearly stated. Faculty to student interaction is present through individual assignments and professor feedback. Students have access to many different forms of media to get the information (articles, books, video, etc). Students work together in real world situations to solve problems. Students work with the community through their observation time at the school.