The Core is an opportunity to inquire into the fundamental aspects of being and our relationship with God, nature and our fellow human beings.
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A practicum is a flexible and optional component of our program, done under the direction of a member of our faculty and working with a mentor teacher on location.
We would ask you to devise a project, together with a mentor at your school and under the direction of a member of our faculty, which is approved by Dr. Weinhold, generally goes beyond the scope of your day-to-day duties, puts into practice the principles you've studied in your coursework, and amounts to roughly the same amount of work as a 3-credit course. Typically, practica span the course of two semesters, each worth 3 credits. They can take many different forms.
The standard practicum guidelines are here. Note that the summer is very condensed, and thus approval of summer practicum projects is unusual (besides seminars), but we are always open to suggestions. It is also possible to do a project for less than 3 credits.
While it is possible to incorporate your current teaching role into a practicum project, practicum plans must be pre-approved by the program's Graduate Director, and generally must go beyond the scope of your day-to-day teaching duties.
Dr. Kinlaw, at jkinlaw@udallas.edu, supervises practicum projects. You can also contact the Graduate Director at pweinhold@udallas.edu or direct more general inquiries to classical_ed@udallas.edu.
A student cannot simply register for practicum. A practicum proposal has to be made by the student and approved by Dr. Weinhold. Click here to submit a practicum proposal.
A student has to have earned at least 12 credits by the end of the current semester in order to lead a seminar as a 2-credit practicum (in addition to 1 credit for the seminar itself, for a total of 3 credits).
Students should reach out to Dr. Weinhold if they have an interest in this. The official guidelines are here, but you need not do that first.
See also the Classical Education Course Offerings spreadsheet for listings of past seminars.
A teacher reads several works that pertain to education, contemporary works on pedagogy, etc. These readings are complemented by focused, written reflections which bring these readings to bear on the teacher’s own practical work and in which one finds continuity between the problems and means listed in the course prospectus and their classroom practice. That is, the work of the practicum must be able to “show” that as a result of these readings, the teacher has achieved to some degree what was sought at the beginning, with positive effects for their teaching and classroom.
A teacher works to articulate a theoretical framework or philosophical account of education and/or pedagogy based on their own practice and the practice of their school. Written work demonstrates the connection between these. This would usually culminate in a large writing assignment which is the major portion of the grade for the course as a whole.
A a teacher receives feedback on their teaching and works to develop and improve specific and concrete pedagogical skills. While more practical, this type of practicum also must involve reading and writing.
A student may propose to take a course with an outside organization and to combine this work with some other reading and writing that connects this work with pedagogy and their work in the classroom. These are typically allowed only for 1 or 2 credits.