LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

CEU courses open for enrollment

The Civil Rights Movement in Context
Investigate the precursors to the Civil Rights Movement, its leadership, its opposition, and its legacy, including lesser-studied events of the movement and primary sources.
Take this course: Begins February 2.

From the education reference

aesthetic education
Education that recognizes the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Enabling students to express perceptions, feelings and ideas through reflective shaping of media including paint, clay, music, spoken or written words, and bodies in movement.
gifted education
Educational programs designed to offer enriched opportunities for students identified as having the highest academic potential, including additional classes, programs, or services. Gifted students are considered to have the capacity to achieve beyond the norm based either on IQ scores, demonstrated ability in the classroom, or both.
experiential education
Instructional approach based on the idea that ideal learning occurs through experience. Learning tasks require the active participation of the student in hands-on opportunities and must connect content to the student's life.
abstinence-only education
Curriculum that teaches abstention from sexual activity until marriage.
bilingual education
Classes taught in a combination of a students’ first language and English, geared toward helping student with limited English proficiency (LEP) become proficient in English as a second language (ESL). Students in bilingual programs receive part of their daily instruction in English and part in a second language. Significant portions of the school day are devoted to ESL instruction, in which each student receives intensive assistance in learning English.
distance education
Instructional delivery option that takes advantage of various space or technology resources. Distance education enhances options for students to access educational resources to overcome geographic, mobility, or time constraints.
character education
Educational initiative that promotes integration of core moral and civic values in the curriculum.
special education
Programs serving students with mental and physical disabilities. Special education programs provide individualized education plans that detail services children will receive.
aesthetics education
Teaching students to critically view art so as to become more reflective and discriminating in their opinions of various art forms.
comprehensive sex education
Sex education programs that teach about abstinence and contraception. Comprehensive sex education includes discussions of human anatomy, reproduction, and sexually transmitted diseases.
multicultural education
Education philosophy and curriculum that expands traditional white Western European curricula, highlighting themes and subjects from diverse cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender perspectives. An important focus of multicultural education is to create equal educational opportunities so that all students can succeed in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic society.
comprehensive sex education
Sex education programs that teach about abstinence and contraception. Comprehensive sex education includes discussions of human anatomy, reproduction, and sexually transmitted diseases.
banking model of education
Model of education in which teachers "deposit" information and skills into students. The emphasis is on memorization of basic facts rather than on understanding and critical thinking. The idea of the banking model was articulated and critiqued by Brazilian liberation theologist Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970).
year-round education
Model of education in which students attend school throughout the year with regular short breaks.
Brown versus Board of Education
Landmark decision of the U. S. Supreme Court (1954) that affirmed the constitutional guarantee of equal opportunity in education. Arguing that the doctrine of "separate but equal" facilities had no place in the American system of education, the court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
continuing education unit
Nationally recognized unit of measurement for participation in non-credit continuing education programs. One CEU is recognized as 10 contact hours of participation in a continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship.
Individualized Education Plan
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, mandates that each student with a disability who is enrolled in the Exceptional Children's (EC) program have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The goal of IDEA is to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment possible. IEPs describe how the school plans to educate each EC student while accommodating the student's disability. IEPs often specify modifications to be provided by teachers.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
1975 federal law (amended in 1997) under which schools must guarantee that all children with disabilities receive "free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment." The statute requires that children with disabilities be educated with children who are not disabled, and that removal from the regular classroom may occur only when the nature or severity of the disability interferes with the successful delivery of aid and services.

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Weyerhaeuser's Cool Springs Environmental Education Center
Visit the Weyerhaeuser's Cool Springs Environmental Education Center "where the forest is the classroom" and learn about forestry, wildlife, and environmental issues.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Resources for looking at art
A guide to some of the best websites, activities, and print resources for building visual literacy through the study of art.
Format: article
By Melissa Thibault.
Personal trainers: Working with slope
In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 2.2
In this lesson, students make calculations based on slope and answer questions about slope (rate of change).
Format: lesson plan (grade 9 Mathematics)
By Debbie Brooks, Peggy Dickey, and Jan Sullivan.
Helping Latino students feel comfortable in your classroom
In Bridging Spanish language barriers in Southern schools, page 2.2
Most Latino students have experiences, family backgrounds, and expectations that conflict with the expectations of the American classroom environment. By understanding the expectations of Latino students and their parents, teachers can help them to succeed.
By Sarah Plastino.
Trees in your own backyard
This activity lets students discover the benefits of urban forests by looking at trees on the schoolyard. Students will read a synopsis of the 400-year history of communal forests, survey their schoolyard trees, and draft a schoolyard tree ordinance.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)
By Lucy Laffitte.
In the spirit of... (museum pre-visit)
This is an integrated unit that focuses on masks in cultures as reflections of individual spirits. In this pre-visit lesson, students will explore the cultures of the Western Hemisphere.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)
By Shannon Kelly.
Comics in the classroom
Graphic novels aren't just “literature lite”: they're a genre you can use to explore philosophy, history, human interactions, visual literacy, and more with soon-to-be adults in a high school English class.
Format: article
By Ross White.