Course description: This course explores current theories, research, beliefs, and myths surrounding poverty and its effects on people, the environment, and various communities of practice. Opportunities will be provided for students to deepen their understanding of diversity by developing relationships with local organizations and by working side by side with marginalized populations in the Front Range of Colorado through action research.

Course objectives and outcomes:

The students will:

1. Participate in applying new knowledge with local educational organizations that are addressing the cycle of poverty, marginalized populations, and/or very young children and their families;
2. Explore various definitions of poverty and the criteria given by different organizations and political bodies;
3. Examine research-based instructional strategies to provide systemic, sequential, and engaging learning experiences to support the development of English language proficiency for social and academic purposes.
4. Uses formative and summative assessments to support student learning. Students learn and practice adapting instruction for increasingly diverse learners. (There is an option to travel internationally to Nicaragua).

5. Prepares students to be knowledgeable, understand, and apply the major theories, concepts, and research related to language acquisition and literacy development for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners.
6. Focuses on the need to recognize and understand the similarities and differences among people and develop a respect for all individuals and groups.
7. Work with teachers and/or program directors with the special learning needs of children from different racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic groups.
8. Integrate diversity teaching in the curriculum.
9. Explore the literature around symptoms and impact on people and communities living in a state of chronic poverty;
10. Examine the concept of culture and the impact on poverty;
11. Understand the differences between industrialized and impoverished nations and how globalization effects industrialized and impoverished nations;
12. Learn about the impact of formal and/or informal education;
13. Identify implications of community based practices through theoretical information about motivation, social change, organizational development, leadership, community organizing, using recent research and historical context;
14. Strengthen skills and dispositions needed to participate effectively in a collaborative learning community, including applying critical attributes of effective cooperative learning for diverse learners;
15.  Increase awareness and develop your identity as educator, learner, researcher, and change agent alongside the roles and responsibilities inherent to your chosen identity.