Senate Document Number 1803S

Date of Senate Approval 01/30/03

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 13:   Changing EDUC 315 from a 4-hour to a 3-hour class; Addition of new course, EDUC 325

Effective Date: Fall 2003

1. Delete: On pg 103, the heading for EDUC 315

315 Creative Arts, K-6 (4)

Add: On pg 103, a new heading for EDUC 315

315 Creative Arts, K-6 (3)

2. Add: On pg 103, a new entry for EDUC 325

325 The Resourceful Teacher (3)
Designed in modules that will: (a) provide pre-service and in-service teachers with opportunities to learn and reflect upon proactive classroom management strategies; (b) familiarize participants with categories of students with exceptionalities and their needs, strategies for meeting those needs, and legal guidelines for classroom practice; and (c) provide positive, effective interactions with parents, teacher assistants, volunteers, and other school and community personnel. Fall and Spring.

Impact: No concurrences are necessary. The change does not impact any departments other than education and does not change the number of hours the students take. The addition of EDUC 325 will not increase the number of hours the students take but there is the potential for some additional staffing needs if the course is to be offered both Fall and Spring. The Education Department Chairperson has put in a request for a full-time lecturer position to fill in this gap.

Rationale: Feedback from recent program completers and from public school personnel indicate that a four-hour course in the teaching of creative arts is excessive; the great majority of elementary schools provide specialists who teach art and music to students. Reducing EDUC 315 by one semester hour would allow the addition of a crucial course to the elementary education program; exit interviews and surveys indicate that students are sorely lacking a course in classroom management, working with students with special needs, and working with parents. Recouping the hour from EDUC 315 will allow EDUC 325, The Resourceful Teacher, to become a required part of the K-6 Program without increasing the total number of hours students are required to take.