Sociology

Courses Taught

• EDUC 115 Introduction to Educational Studies
  Exploration of multiple modes of education that illustrate inequality. Surveys how education affects citizens and communities and the accessibility of various educational systems. Using case studies to explore how education functions systematically and how various educational systems reflect and shape who we are, this course will investigate five models: urban, rural, private, cyber, and magnet. Focuses on research from various fields that details how the achievement gap continues to grow in urban schools, private institutions, and rural schools; specifically, how social class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and different identities both organize and are organized by educational environments and how these affect children, families, schools, and communities.
• EDUC 225 Creativity: Teaching, Learning, and Cross Disciplinary Applications
  Examination of traditional and contemporary models of intelligence and creativity, and their effects on learning and leadership. Designed to explore how the creative process transforms professional practices, the course examines creativity from educational, psychological, cultural, arts-based, and neurological frameworks, and addresses learner engagement and motivation. Through the creation of a cross-disciplinary project, students employ research-based principles to design, implement, and assess impacts of the creative process on learning and teaching.
• EDUC 332 Young Adult Literature & Media
  The significance of Young Adult Literature will be investigated including theories about developmental, aesthetic, and cultural factors when reviewing texts. Note: The term "texts" is used broadly to refer to works in all media. Examination, evaluation and identification of texts based upon the biological, socio-cultural, psychological and developmental characteristics of young adults; guidance in the identification of the cultural implications of these materials, emphasizing gender-fair and multicultural resources and the attitudes, interests, problems, and opportunities of young adults in contemporary society.
• EDUC 333 Literacy as Agency
  Over the past decade, technological advances have exposed society to immense amounts of information via multiple texts. Literacy as Agency is designed to provide a forum where students can investigate the impact technological advances have had on serving literate and illiterate citizens by examining policy, pedagogies, and possibilities. Students will be exposed to literacy through a new lens, context-sensitive literacy that is critical for wide-awake civic engagement, for meaningful social action, and for democracy itself. Prerequisite: EDUC 115, EDUC 199, or EDUC 201; or permission of instructor.
• FYS 156-4 You. An Experiential Inquiry
  Every community struggles to fully support the development of adolescents in our fast-paced societies. The significance of the environment where young adults grow, learn, and explore will be investigated using critical literacy skills while engaging with literature, media, and experiential opportunities. Over the course of the semester, participants will reflect on their own identity development and learning in relation to the communities in which they belong. Using literature, texts, films, podcasts, and one another, participants will continue to reflect on this question; How does my community impact my identity and learning? We address these topics through the lens of identity development while learning side-by-side with adolescents who experience learning in a different setting. This course is a community-based learning initiative with adolescents who receive residential treatment through Abraxas' Leadership Development Program in South Mountain, PA.