Programs and Courses - Year 1

Introduction to Waldorf Education and Child Development I (2 credits)
Content will be presented using the Waldorf approach. Participants will study from "Phases of Childhood", by Bernard Leivegood, and "Teaching as a Lively Art", by Marjorie Spock. Classes will include a lecture/discussin period, group singing and eurythmy acivities, and daily journal work.

Artistic Work in the Waldorf Schools I (2 credits)
An introduction to a variety of media, including wet-on-wet watercolor painting, crayon and pencil drawing, pastels and blackboard drawing; pentatonic flute playing; and form drawing.

Overview of Waldorf School Curriculum for Grades 1-8 (2 credits)
Participants interested in Grades Certification take this course (instead of Waldorf Early Childhood, Part 1, below).
Content will be presented using the Waldorf approach. Classes will consist of group movement activities, oral presentations, group disussions, and journal work. An overview of the Waldorf 1-8 curriculum will include the following: language, mathematics, story/history, geography/science, handwork, art movement, and music.

Waldorf Early Childhood, Part 1: Fundamentals of a Waldorf Kindergarten (2 credits)
Participants interested in Early Childhood Certification take this course
(instead of An Overview of Waldorf School Curriculum for Grades 1-8, above).
This course explores the specific needs of children ages 3 to 7. Topics will include an overview of the developing child, importance of rhythm and imitation, the environment as curriculum, and the role of the teacher in this setting. The value of both play and work will be considered. Practical activities include circle development, storytelling and simple puppets, painting, coloring, handwork, toy making and more.

6 credits total required during Summer 1

FALL 1

Diversity Among Learners/Teaching of History in a Waldorf School (3 credits)
Content will be presented using the Waldorf approach. Classes will consist of group movement activities, group discussions, and journal work. An exploration of the Waldorf history curriculum, grades 1-8, will include practical examples and emphasize teaching history through story and biography. Study of the cultural, societal, economic and structural differences among families, and study of the consequences of those differences for learning and schooling of the children and youth of such ffamilies. Consideration of instructional and motivational adaptations for diverse learners.

3 credits total required during Fall 1

SPRING 1

No coursework is required during Spring 1, although participants are encouraged to observe as much as possible in a Waldorf classroom.

Programs and Courses - Year 2

SUMMER 2

EDU 633: The Inner Life of the Waldorf Teacher/Classroom Management (2 credits)
How does our inner life affect our work in the classroom? This course will focus on meditation, other self-development work, personal biography and its relationship to individual destinies, and practical approaches to classroom management. Course includes lectures, discussions from texts, and visiting teachers sharing insights.
Books: "Anthroposophy in Everyday Life," Rudolf Steiner; "Working With Anxious, Nervous and Depressed Children," Henning Kohler; "First Steps in Inner Development," Rudolf Steiner

EDU 640: Artistic Work in the Waldorf Schools II (2 credits)
Participants will gain hands-on experience with clay, form and perspective drawing, an introduction to recorder playing, and calligraphy.

EDU 634: Sing Me the Creation - Language Arts in The Waldorf Schools (2 credits)
Participants interested in Grades Certification take this course (instead of Waldorf Early Childhood, below).
Participants will learn the Waldorf approach to language arts (grades 1-8), including introducing letters and reading through story, verse and drawing; various approaches to grammar, editing, outlines, story maps, research papers and debate in the middle school; creative writing; and the use of drama through the grades. Activities will include hands-on work preparing and presenting a group play.
Books: "Balance in Teaching," Rudolf Steiner; "Discussions With Teachers," Rudolf Steiner

EDU 646: Waldorf Early Childhood:
How Waldorf Education Meets the Needs Of the Young Child in the Kindergarten (2 credits)
Participants interested in Early Childhood Certification take this course (instead of Sing Me the Creation, above).
This course deepens our understanding of what hinders and supports healthy development of the senses, e.g. the importance of warmth, sleep, proper nutrition, and warm, genuine relationships, as well as the effects of media. We also will explore the content of fairy tales as archetypal pictures of the whole human, the festival life of a Waldorf School, and child discipline. Practical activities include singing, painting, cooking, felting, table-top puppetry, and festival preparations.

6 credits total required during Summer 2

To register for Summer 2009 contact Deb Dosemagen

Curriculum Design/Teaching Math in the Waldorf Curriculum (3 credits)
Content will be presented using the Waldorf approach. Classes will consist of group movement activities, oral presentations, group discussions, and journal work. An in-depth look at the use of movement , clapping games, stories, and artistic activities to introduce and enliven the times tables and four-processes work. Also, hands-on geometry in the upper grades and curriculum design, implementation, construction, and evaluation.

3 credits total required during Fall 2

Field Work (1 credit)
Independent Study
Working in a Waldorf classroom as an assistant, subbing, observing, or even presenting a block of special lessons. Trainees keep a journal of their activities.

1 credit total required during Spring 2

Programs and Courses - Year 3

SUMMER 3

Phases of Childhood, Development of the Child (2 credits)
Growth and developmental stages of the child through age 21; an investigation of Steiner's 12 senses; and bringing balance to our teaching. Participants will study from Bernard Lievegood's "Phases of Childhood"; "The Twelve Senses", by Albert Soesman; and "Balance in Teaching", by Rudolf Steiner.

Artistic Work in the Waldorf School III: Drawing from the Book of Nature (2 credits)
Classes will consist of demonstrations and hands-on artistic work. Students will be introduced to colored pencil drawing and shading techniques through practical work in: Man and Animal, Botany, Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy, and Human Fertility blocks.

Teaching Science in the Waldorf School Curriculum (2 credits)
Participants interested in Grades Certification take this course (instead of
Waldorf Early Childhood, Deepening Our Work and Preparing Children for First Grade, below).
Content will be presented using the Waldorf approach. Classes will consist of group momenent activiities, oral presentations, group discussions and journal work. Instructors will present an overview of the Waldorf science curriculum, with emphasis on grades 4-8. Participants will experience hands-on work in geology, light, acoustics, electricity, magnetism, simple machines, gravity and motion.

Waldorf Early Childhood, Deepening Our Work and Preparing Children for First Grade (2 credits)
Participants interested in Early Childhood Certification take this course (instead of Teaching Science in the Waldorf School Curriculum, above).
Course materials will focus on sensory integration and reflex maturation with useful examples of movements to remediate; developmental profiles of the young child; and child study including First Grade readiness, skills assessment and student evaluation. Practical and artistic work will include singing, Circle Time's movemnt to song and verse, painting, and hands-on work preparing and presenting a marionette play.

6 credits total required during Summer 3

Instructional Strategies/Teaching Geography in the Waldorf School (3 credits)
This course will include an overview of the Waldorf geography curriculum from grades 4-8, with hands-on experiences of a number of approaches to map making and other individual and group geography activities for the classrooom. A study of the increasing research base supporting models of instruction, learning styles, motivational techniques, and effective classroom management techniques. Demonstration and analysis of instructional models.

3 credits total required during Fall 3

Teaching Practicum (2 credits)
Independent Study.
Students work with a qualified "mentor teacher" teaching a block and receiving daily feedback and advice. Mentor teachers write evaluations and recommendations, and trainees keep a journal and write self-evaluations.

2 credits total required during Spring 3

Summary