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Bank Street / Program Curriculum • History of Bank Street College • Faculty / Philosophy of Learning • Program Curriculum • Coursework • Advisement • Placements • Transfer of Credit > bank street / program curriculum In 1916, Lucy Sprague Mitchell founded the "Bureau of Educational Experiments" which was based on her spirit and vision, and shaped by the emerging progressive education movement. When research on children began, she and her teaching colleagues opened the Cooperative School for Teachers in 1930. The Cooperative School was a collaborative project among eight independent, experimental schools and the Bureau, whose purpose was to prepare teachers for these progressive schools. In the Cooperative Schools program, student teachers taught in the schools and attended seminars and workshops at the Bureau, then located on Bank Street. The Cooperative School began to offer programs for teachers in a wide variety of schools, including public schools. In 1951, the Bureau was renamed the Bank Street College of Education, and its certification programs became degree-granting programs. In 1969, the institution moved to its present building, bringing Bank Street College to the Upper West Side. (back to top) The Bank Street faculty is a unique group of teachers, advisors, and scholars who have deep roots in educational philosophy and practice. They share the belief that those who learn structure an understanding of the world through their own experience. At Bank Street, the faculty serves as a teaching model for its students by demonstrating how learning occurs through its own instruction. Using principles steeped in knowledge of human development, they enable students to examine the curriculum and to reflect on instructional practice based on analytic observations of real children. They require graduate students to engage in cooperative projects, creative productions, and spirited debates about crucial and controversial educational issues. Nearly all of Bank Street's faculty members advise and teach courses. In that way, they blend their rich experiences in practice with their knowledge of theory. Bank Street faculty includes scholars who specialize in child and adult development, classroom management, supervision processes, language development, bilingual education, special education, computers in education, educational leadership, children's literature, music and movement, art, disturbances in development, and literacy. Faculty members share their knowledge and experience with one another and with outside colleagues. But the Bank Street faculty's first priority is and has always been its students, their progress, and the importance of their work for our society. Perhaps that is why, in a recent questionnaire, a high percentage of students reported that they came to Bank Street primarily because of its excellent staff. (back to top) Bank Street and Venture have formulated three critical curricular components for the program: Coursework: UES participants enroll in a full semester of courses at Bank Street. The courses invite students to examine urban education from a variety of academic perspectives. In all courses, program participants bring their teaching experiences to bear on theoretical discussions, providing a practical, experience-based grounding for their arguments. The courses at Bank Street College are graduate-level courses. Preparation of readings, participation, and application to experiences are an integral part of the classes. Many classes incorporate on-going research related to the students' fieldwork placements. The focus of all of the classes is on education and on understanding how students learn. This interdisciplinary approach enables a deeper and broader understanding of the educational process. Course offerings may vary, so students should contact their UES Program Coordinator (see Appendix B) to obtain current information. We strongly urge students to speak with their UES Coordinator and academic advisor to be sure that the transfer of Bank Street credits can be arranged. Syllabi for most courses are available from your UES Program Coordinator. UES course offerings have included the following: • Foundations of Modern Education • Art Workshop for Teachers • Cross-Cultural Studies for Children • Language, Literature, and Emergent Literacy • Storytelling • Classroom Management The UES courseload consists of a combination of the following: a foundations course, which addresses current issues in urban public education, "Supervised Fieldwork" (your classroom placement), "Learning Theory and Practice: Making the Connection" (the "advisement seminar"), and one or two elective courses that are dependent upon the course offerings for each semester. The program courseload totals 15 Bank Street course credits. (back to top) Advisement: Program participants receive both group and individual advisement throughout the semester. All program participants enroll in a weekly conference group of five to seven program participants called “Learning Practice and Theory: Making the Connection." This course, also called “conference group" or the “advisement seminar," is a discussion group integral to Bank Street’s philosophy of learning. This course centers on the discussion of the classroom and policy placements and on-site experiences in the light of the theories of education discussed in other courses, teaching strategies, assessment, and traditional and alternative educational settings in New York City. Through the sharing of insights with other students and the seminar’s faculty advisor, students learn to solve problems, to evaluate strategies, and to define and to refine their values. Students’ daily journal entries, required for conference group, reflect on the classroom placement and connect the course readings to observed practice in the classroom. Field trips to the schools where Urban Ed. Students work and to other educational settings are part of the course requirement. These trips take place on Friday mornings. Discussions and responses to these settings are used to broaden the student's understanding of urban education. A final project for the seminar is required. This project is based on an observed need in the student’s classroom or policy placement. The student’s own talents and interests are important components in developing the project. A paper describing the process and reflecting on the implementation of the project is required. The project is presented in the last two weeks of class. In the past, final projects have included publishing a newspaper in a social studies class and creating and publishing a daily desk calendar featuring the art work, photography, and poetry of a fifth grade class. Titles of some recent Final Projects: "Squirrels and the Key to Finding Out: a Five-Year Old's Energy to Create" "Textbook Detectives " - third graders learning about nonfiction, representation of fact, bias and investigating what is truth. "Unity and Self-Awareness Through Poetry " - with eighth graders. "Facilitating the Writing Process in Preparation for the College Application Essay " "Learning About Democracy Through Social Action" - with eighth graders. The advisory program also offers the student an opportunity to meet individually each week with his/her advisor at an appointed time. The advisor also visits the student at his/her classroom placement about once each month. This individual support allows the advisor to gain insight into the strengths and needs of the student. The one-on-one meetings give the student time to process his/her experiences, reactions and responses to those experiences with the advisor. The meetings also give the student an opportunity to discuss his/her courses, school placement, semester projects, and any other issues. More frequent meetings may be arranged with the advisor as needed. (back to top) Placements: The direct experience working with children and teachers in urban classrooms or working alongside policy makers is an integral part of the Urban Education Semester. Students working in New York City classrooms will be with a teacher who is widely recognized as successfully meeting the challenge of educating children in the urban environment. Each participant spends three days per week assisting a carefully selected cooperating teacher or policy administrator, and receives ongoing supervision and guidance both from the cooperating teacher or policy placement supervisor and from their UES faculty advisor, who makes monthly on-site visits to monitor and to observe classroom placements. Some UES classroom placements have included: • El Puente Academy for Peace & Social Justice - Brooklyn / Williamsburg • PS 20 - District One / Lower East Side • The Renaissance School - Queens / Jackson Heights • Banana Kelly High School / South Bronx • Muscota Elementary School - Inwood / Washington Heights The director of the program reads each participant’s application very carefully and selects the best placement possible for each program participant. Students interested in a particular area of education (e.g., bilingual education, special education, teaching science or art, elementary or middle school) may indicate this interest, and the director of the program may be able to match your particular interest for your placement. The director of the program uses her professional experience and judgment when making placements for each program participant. Participants are placed in a school with at least one other student from the program. "I was not only impressed with [the UES] presentations, but I was genuinely inspired. All of the students had figured out how to work creatively within the system despite the restraints imposed on them. For instance, one used the number of troops in the Iraq War to teach mathematics. Another student utilized photographs and political cartoons as primary sources to teach U.S. history for the New York Regents exam. Essentially, these students were engaging the question of the relation between knowledge and power, demonstrating that knowledge can be empowering." - Wesleyan professor and UES participant academic mentor (back to top) Students must meet with faculty advisors on their home campus to arrange the transfer of Bank Street course credit. We strongly suggest that applicants address transfer issues early in the application process. If you have questions about the transfer of credit, contact your UES Program Coordinator. Syllabi from the previous year are available for most courses from your UES Program Coordinator. (back to top) page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4 | page 5 |
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