Teaching — Joseph R. Nichols, Jr., Ph.D.

Current Undergrad Courses

  
      Course
      Level / Credits
      Focus & Description
    
        White Backlash in American Politics

        EDI 3939
      
        Upper-division undergraduate

        3 credits
      
        Examines the politics of white backlash in the post–civil rights era through a historical case study of Georgia Governor Lester G. Maddox. Analyzes how racial politics, schooling, and governance intersected in struggles over desegregation, privatization, and democracy.
      
        Teacher Learning Community Seminar with Field Experience (Phase I)

        EDUC 1025
      
        Undergraduate

        2 credits
      
        Introduces collaborative inquiry and reflective practice as foundations of teacher preparation. Students participate in guided field experiences across multiple school settings while developing tools for observation, reflection, and professional collaboration.
      
        Introduction to Teaching: Sense of Context

        EDUC 1030
      
        Undergraduate

        1 credit
      
        Explores context as a core element of teaching and learning. Students analyze how identity, power, place, and institutional structures shape schools and educational opportunity.
      
        Big Ideas: Literacy and Social Studies (Birth–Grade 12)

        EDUC 2100
      
        Undergraduate

        3 credits
      
        Investigates literacy and social studies as disciplines concerned with meaning-making, citizenship, and democratic life. Examines curriculum, standards, and instructional practices across grade levels, integrating classroom field experiences with inquiry into identity and purpose.
      
        Curricular Foundations of Disciplinary Literacy (Grades 4–12)

        EDUC 3500
      
        Undergraduate

        3 credits
      
        Focuses on curriculum design and disciplinary literacy in grades 4–12. Students critique standards, analyze texts, and develop instructional materials that integrate literacy and social studies through field-based lesson planning and assessment.

Course	Level / Credits	Focus & Description
White Backlash in American Politics EDI 3939	Upper-division undergraduate 3 credits	Examines the politics of white backlash in the post–civil rights era through a historical case study of Georgia Governor Lester G. Maddox. Analyzes how racial politics, schooling, and governance intersected in struggles over desegregation, privatization, and democracy.
Teacher Learning Community Seminar with Field Experience (Phase I) EDUC 1025	Undergraduate 2 credits	Introduces collaborative inquiry and reflective practice as foundations of teacher preparation. Students participate in guided field experiences across multiple school settings while developing tools for observation, reflection, and professional collaboration.
Introduction to Teaching: Sense of Context EDUC 1030	Undergraduate 1 credit	Explores context as a core element of teaching and learning. Students analyze how identity, power, place, and institutional structures shape schools and educational opportunity.
Big Ideas: Literacy and Social Studies (Birth–Grade 12) EDUC 2100	Undergraduate 3 credits	Investigates literacy and social studies as disciplines concerned with meaning-making, citizenship, and democratic life. Examines curriculum, standards, and instructional practices across grade levels, integrating classroom field experiences with inquiry into identity and purpose.
Curricular Foundations of Disciplinary Literacy (Grades 4–12) EDUC 3500	Undergraduate 3 credits	Focuses on curriculum design and disciplinary literacy in grades 4–12. Students critique standards, analyze texts, and develop instructional materials that integrate literacy and social studies through field-based lesson planning and assessment.

Current Grad Courses

  
      Course
      Level / Credits
      Focus & Description
    
        Curriculum Theory

        EDI 6460
      
        Graduate seminar

        (credits vary by program)
      
        A seminar exploring major approaches to curriculum theory, its historical development, and contemporary debates about what counts as knowledge in schools. Students develop theoretical tools for evaluating curricular claims, identify silenced traditions (including scholars of color), and produce scholarly writing grounded in curriculum studies.
      
        Foundations of Urban Education

        EDF 5600
      
        Graduate course

        (summer offering)
      
        Examines the social, political, and economic contexts shaping schooling in urban spaces, with attention to housing, racial segregation, access, governance, and finance. Students analyze how metropolitan inequality is produced historically and through policy—and what these dynamics mean for educational opportunity and equity.

Course	Level / Credits	Focus & Description
Curriculum Theory EDI 6460	Graduate seminar (credits vary by program)	A seminar exploring major approaches to curriculum theory, its historical development, and contemporary debates about what counts as knowledge in schools. Students develop theoretical tools for evaluating curricular claims, identify silenced traditions (including scholars of color), and produce scholarly writing grounded in curriculum studies.
Foundations of Urban Education EDF 5600	Graduate course (summer offering)	Examines the social, political, and economic contexts shaping schooling in urban spaces, with attention to housing, racial segregation, access, governance, and finance. Students analyze how metropolitan inequality is produced historically and through policy—and what these dynamics mean for educational opportunity and equity.

Selected Earlier Grad Courses

  
      Course
      Focus
    
        Qualitative Research in Education

        EDR 5400
      
        Introduces theoretical, epistemological, and methodological foundations of qualitative research. Students design qualitative research projects, practice data collection and analysis, and examine the politics of knowledge production in educational research.
      
        Education in American Culture

        EDF 6600
      
        Analyzes how social, political, and economic structures shape schooling in the United States, with emphasis on race, segregation, housing policy, and metropolitan inequality. Uses American education as a lens for understanding broader cultural and structural forces.
      
        History of American Education

        EDI 6650
      
        Surveys the history of American schooling from the colonial era to the present, emphasizing race, power, and the relationship between education and the modern state. Students engage historiography, primary sources, and policy history to connect past educational struggles to contemporary debates.

Course	Focus
Qualitative Research in Education EDR 5400	Introduces theoretical, epistemological, and methodological foundations of qualitative research. Students design qualitative research projects, practice data collection and analysis, and examine the politics of knowledge production in educational research.
Education in American Culture EDF 6600	Analyzes how social, political, and economic structures shape schooling in the United States, with emphasis on race, segregation, housing policy, and metropolitan inequality. Uses American education as a lens for understanding broader cultural and structural forces.
History of American Education EDI 6650	Surveys the history of American schooling from the colonial era to the present, emphasizing race, power, and the relationship between education and the modern state. Students engage historiography, primary sources, and policy history to connect past educational struggles to contemporary debates.

Selected Earlier Undergrad Courses

  
      Course
      Focus
    
        Elementary Methods of Teaching Social Studies

        EDI 3070
      
        Introduced preservice teachers to the purposes, politics, and practices of elementary social studies. Emphasized citizenship, justice, curriculum design, and inquiry-based instruction through field-based lesson planning and teaching.
      
        Middle School Social Studies Methods & Practicum

        EDI 3540 / 3545
      
        Focused on social studies pedagogy for grades 5–9, integrating methods coursework with supervised field experiences. Examined citizenship, power, curriculum, and instructional decision-making in middle school contexts.
      
        School and Community

        EDF 3890
      
        Explored the relationships among schools, families, and communities, with attention to identity, housing policy, segregation, and local context. Emphasized community-based inquiry and critical reflection as foundations for equitable teaching.