Education

This is a special studies course with projects arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific topics of study vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. The number of units varies with the student's project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student's special study project form.

This ccourse is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course enables students to: be familiar with the structure of education systems in the developed world; recognize the goals of knowledge transmission, socialization, and selection typically pursued by education systems; be knowledgeable about sociological theories dealing with education; understand selection mechanisms enacted via education systems; identify the interests of the various stake-holders involved in educational activities; grasp the key features of the comparative approach to the study of teaching and learning processes; apply a set of tools for analyzing educational policies (as, for example social inequality) and thus interpret them, convey their principal characteristics and assess their outcomes.

This course explores issues of diversity and multiculturalism as part of the civic education process. Students first read theoretical writings that highlight the importance of dealing with different types of diversity as part of education in a democratic state. Students then examine the Israeli educational system as a case study that deals (for better or for worse) with such issues, examining the following topics: national diversity, religious diversity, racial diversity, gender diversity, and linguistic diversity. Finally, the course discusses several pedagogical approaches that enable teachers and practitioners to address such topics in the classrooms. Throughout the course, students reflect on their personal stances and roles in this regard.

In this course, students develop an understanding of what is involved in acquiring and using language as discourse skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). 

This course studies English morphology, focusing on basic concepts, internal structure of English words, and the nature of word-formation processes. It also examines strategies for and issues surrounding teaching vocabulary. Topics include vocabulary and speaking, vocabulary frequency and size, incidental vocabulary learning, and various learner strategies. The course also helps students develop some creative ideas on how to teach vocabulary based on cooperative learning-based teaching methods.