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

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.
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.
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.
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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Vulcan Materials Company: Joseph Andres Gutierrez Geology - Earth Science Museum and Education Center
See the museum exhibits on rocks and minerals as well as a rock quarry with large category equipment and an overlook. The center also offers wildlife habitat preservation and environmental education at a number of its quarries across the state.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Airborne and Special Operations Museum
Relive military history from World War II to the present through exhibits at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
The Health Adventure: A Health and Science Education Museum
Features information about the museum and its exhibitions. Teachers will find a free lesson plan for 4th and 5th graders about world climate change, reservations for school classes, and downloadable teacher visiting guide.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
North Carolina Aviation Museum
The N.C. Aviation Museum is "dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and education of historic military aircraft."
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Museum of the Albemarle
Students can explore the lives of inhabitants, the development of industries, and the Albemarle area's social and cultural background at this museum.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Museum of the Cherokee Indian
Official site of the museum of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum
Contains a wide variety of biographical materials about Dr. Brown and her work in black education. The historic site includes a visitor's center, Dr. Brown's home, three dormitories, cottages, the bell tower, and the dining hall.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Appalachian Cultural Museum
This museum offers over twenty exhibit areas that present an intriguing overview of the people and places of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Wilkes County Heritage Museum
The Old Wilkes County Courthouse is now a museum which showcases the rich history of this county.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
In the spirit of... (museum visit)
This is an integrated unit that focuses on masks in cultures as reflections of individual spirits. This lesson focuses on students' observations of masks while visiting a museum.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)
By Shannon Kelly.
Time - Light and shadow (visit)
This lesson focuses on light and shadow. Students will examine several paintings at the Ackland Art Museum for light and shadow.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education)
By Denise Young.
Orange County Historical Museum
Take a tour of the Orange County Historical Museum to see the collection of artifacts from pre-history through the early twentieth century.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
North Carolina Maritime Museum
Students will learn about the rich maritime history of the North Carolina coast as well as the coastal environment and barrier island ecology.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Weatherspoon Art Museum
Education programs at the museum allow students to explore the modern and contemporary paintings, sculpture, photographs and other works of art housed there.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Catawba County Museum of History
Visit the museum and see exhibits ranging from colonial times and the Revolutionary War to religion and education.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
Visit the Nasher Museum of Art to take in the special exhibits as well as the permanent displays of classical antiquities, European medieval art, European and American paintings, African art, and ancient American art.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
The Cary Heritage Museum at the Page Walker Hotel
Learn about the heritage of the Town of Cary and see how it has grown from a railroad community to the city of today.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Colburn Earth Science Museum
The best rock and mineral specimens from the Burnham Standish Colburn collection are housed in the Colburn Earth Science Museum. Students will enjoy the programs that are centered around this collection of fossils, gems, and North Carolina minerals.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
What do you see? (visit)
This lesson outlines activities for students to complete while visiting the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC. Students will observe and reflect upon a variety of artwork. In doing so, they will develop observation and communication skills, and learn to understand and appreciate others' interpretations and opinions of works of art. This lesson applies skills learned in the previous lesson, "What Do You See" (Pre-Visit).

This lesson may be adapted for use in a school/classroom by using museums and artwork found online (see Web sites listed below). A Powerpoint presentation which displays some artwork from the Ackland Art Museum is attached to this plan, as well.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)
By Reagan West.
Greensboro Historical Museum
Discover the rich history of Greensboro and the North Carolina Piedmont at the Greensboro Historical Museum.
Format: article/field trip opportunity