CASEP Course Descriptions
The CASEP schedule of courses is designed to help you decide if teaching is right for you.
Writing I (ENGL 101)
Specialized instruction and practice in beginning writing. Work in usage, grammar, style, paragraphs, and short essays. Designated professor will also consider education topics in discussions ad coursework.
Writing II (ENGL 102)
Continuation of practice in composition with emphasis on a variety of forms of writing and long essays, culminating in the annotated research paper.
Chicago Speaks: Helping Immigrants Communicate (TESL 109A)
This course introduces the structure of the English language and methods of teaching it to speakers of other languages. This involves investigating the pronunciation and grammar of English as well as looking at ways to teach these subjects along with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills to English Language Learners (ELLs). The course will involve a service learning component in which students will tutor ELLs in various sites throughout the Chicago area.
Introduction to Communication (CMTC 100)
The study of human communication with emphasis on how we communicate, the factors that influence the success of our communication interactions, and the areas in which communication take place. This course will also focus on an understanding of the self in communication interactions as well as exploring issues of perception and culture. Group discussion will focus on education topics. As part of this course, students are required to observe 20 hours in an elementary or high school classroom and submit a journal of those observations.
Public Speaking (CMTC 101)
The development of skills common to all forms of oral communication with emphasis on public speaking. Students will study organization, delivery, sources of materials and language usage. Competent and innovative technology use will also be a topic. Students will be asked to engage in discussions around challenges to the future of our educational system and their role as teachers within it.
Introduction to Theatre (CMTT 130)
Survey of the components of theatrical experience and the function of the various contributors to theatrical production. Attendance at selected theatrical productions is required. This course will also examine the use of theatre games in teaching and explore the different roles necessary for producing a play. The final project in this course is linked to concepts studied in Introduction to Communication.
Schools & Society (SOC 104)
This course examines the different roles that educational institutions play in fostering, perpetuating, and challenging inequalities for different social groups in American society.
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 212)
Cultural anthropology is the study of contemporary human social life. In this course, students learn about the discipline by reading its recent scholarship and experimenting with its research methods. The course addresses multiple, diverse domains of the human experience, including language and art, gender and sexuality, kinship and family, race and ethnicity, economics and politics, religion and health, globalization and migration. Students develop an appreciation for cultural diversity as they read the results of anthropological research conducted the world over and hone their analytical skills as they investigate the cultural worlds they engage with right here in Chicago.
American National Government (PSCI 216)
Description and analysis of national political institutions and processes. Current issues and problems of the American government.
United States History 1877-Present (HIST 215)
Social, political, intellectual, diplomatic and economic development of the United States from 1877 to present.
Biology for Educators (BIOS 110)
Designed specifically for prospective elementary and middle grades teachers, this inquiry-based biology course incorporates current content standards in biology for educators and meets NEIU College of Education science course requirements. Content includes cell/molecular biology, evolution, genetics, organismal biology and biotechnology. During laboratory activities, students will develop hypotheses, collect and analyze data, communicate experimental results, and apply mathematics concepts to biological problems.
Introduction to Earth Science (ESCI 121)
Basic concepts of geology, meteorology, oceanography, and the solar system. Discussion of topics of current interest in the earth sciences. Laboratory involves the study of minerals, rocks, maps and weather instruments.
Biology for Educators (BIOS 110)
Philosophical and Historical Foundations of Public Education (EDFN 305)
The exploration of differing views of the aims of public education in America. The study of the historic settings in which the system developed. Identification of major social and cultural problems in relation to their historic antecedents. The study of various philosophic schools of thought and their impact on educational theory and practice, past and present.
Education and Individual Differences (EDFN 306)
Consideration of individual differences and principles of human development as factors in creating effective learning environments. Emphasis on: (1) understanding children and adolescents as individuals with differing abilities, aptitudes, interests, emotional responses and accomplishments as the result of genetic, maturational and environmental factors. Special attention given to children and adolescents covered by Public Law 94-142; (2) observational skills for assessing differences in order to aid student development. Focused study by each student of children or adolescents at a particular age level; (3) application of knowledge of developmental and individual differences to classroom practice. Twenty hours of classroom observations in CPS required.