Critical Skills Classroom Immersion (3 credits)

Course Overview

This course is designed to be an introduction to and immersion in the Critical Skills Classroom approach. Participants will explore the foundations of the Critical Skills Classroom, the creation and maintenance of the Collaborative Learning Community, and the integration of problem-based learning, experiential learning, collaborative learning, and standards-based learning. Students will develop problem-based experiential challenges, and techniques for feedback reflection, and assessment for use in their own classrooms and/or contexts. Particular attention is given to understanding strategies for developing and maintaining a collaborative learning community; setting and assessing standards for quality work; targeting and assessing critical skills and dispositions within curriculum frameworks. Students will utilize the experiential cycle as a framework for designing problem-based challenges that build community, teach classroom systems, introduce skills and dispositions, address subject area standards, and for guiding and coaching students’ production and reflection processes.

Course Materials: Students should contact the course instructor and review the course syllabus for information related to course materials/texts.