*Choose from these courses if planning to complete a minor.

ART 300: Art Fundamentals (3 units)

• This course is designed to introduce studio art, art history, art criticism and aesthetics to the future elementary school teacher. This class will provide a foundation for life-long learning within the art discipline. Competencies pertaining to art instruction will be developed through various art experiences based upon art education theory and practice.

BIOL 101L: Principles of Biology (4 units)

• An examination of the cell, inheritance, ecology, human biology, the diversity of life and evolutionary theory. Emphasis is given to understanding central concepts and to the process of science. Attention is also given to the relationships between biology and Christian faith and practice. It provides foundational understandings for general education and liberal studies.

COM 400: Intercultural Communication (3 units)

• A study of the principles involved in communication between people of different cultures. Emphasis is placed on the practical aspect of intercultural communication through cross-cultural contacts. 

COM 420: Conflict Management and Resolution (3 units)

• A study of the nature of human conflict and approaches to its management, resolution and transformation. This course focuses on the generic characteristics evident in most human conflict and surveys a variety of interdisciplinary approaches for understanding and responding constructively to conflict in interpersonal, intergroup and international settings. 

COM 430: Group Dynamics and Leadership (3 units)

• A study of the nature of group tasks, interpersonal relations in group settings and group leadership. Provides a background of knowledge and experience helpful to the understanding of church groups, business and professional groups, educational groups and small groups in society generally. 

COM 483: Mediation Practicum (1 unit)

• An opportunity for intensive training in mediation leading to a supervised experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be completed with the Victim- Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) or other appropriate mediation programs, or the student may arrange to mediate an informal dispute situation approved by the instructor.

DRA 355: Creative Drama (3 units)

• This course equips people to lead others in process-oriented creative drama activities, including theater games, group improvisation, storytelling and related performance forms.

ENV 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies (4 units)

• An interdisciplinary study of the relationships between people and their environment. The use of natural resources, environmental degradation and human population are examined from ecological, social and religious perspectives.

HIST 150: American Civilization (4 units)

• A study of the development of American culture and society from the colonial period to the present. Major themes and events are examined within the context of America's geography, religious and immigrant heritage and sociopolitical development. (This course meets the U.S. Constitution requirement for teaching credential candidates.)

HIST 440: California History and Politics (4 units)

• California is often viewed as the "trendsetter" for the rest of the nation. This course seeks to explain why by acquainting students with the social, cultural, economic and political development of California from early settlement to the present. At the same time, it familiarizes them with the state's current political system and the politics that surround it. (Meets the California history and government requirement for teaching credential candidates.) 

HIST 455: Historical Peacemakers (3 units)

• A study of the thought and practice of key peacemakers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This course surveys some of the important people and social movements that have used peaceful methods to achieve substantial historical change. Figures include those people identified as pioneers in peacemaking, those addressing an historical case study in responding to great evil (WWII) and those concerned with activism in the United States.

KIN 460: Elementary Physical Education Methods (3 units)

LA 380: Learning Communities (1 unit)

• A seminar course with two hours per week of field experience that will focus on learning communities of elementary educational systems. The course will involve analysis and evaluation of classroom observations in relation to academic studies of the multiple subject programs.

LANG 310: First and Second Language Acquisition (3 units)

• An introduction to the ways human beings acquire a first and second language and the conditions that support acquisition.

LANG 340: Introduction to Linguistics (3 units)

• Language is studied as a system of systems including phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Students also discuss language universals and current usage standards. 

LIT 180: Introduction to Literature (3 units)

• A study of outstanding examples of the short story, novel, poetry and drama genres. Designed to introduce the student to the world of literature, to create an appreciation for it and to provide analytical tools for further study.

LIT 465: Literature for Children and Young Adults (3 units)

• This course is a survey course in the literature for children from preschool through junior high school. The course is particularly designed to assist teachers and teacher candidates in the selection and use of literature in the classroom.

LIT 448: Multicultural Literature (3 units)

• The cultural and ethnic voices of California including Hispanic, Native American, Japanese American, Chinese American, Vietnamese, Hmong and African American writers provide the focus for the reading and analysis of literature in this course.

MATH 132: Arithmetic and Data Analysis (3 units)

• This course is one of the two courses required for liberal studies majors intending to be elementary school teachers. The purpose of the course is to strengthen the students' conceptual understanding of the mathematics taught in the K-7 settings. Topics will include: numeration systems, a variety of algorithmic structures in arithmetic, simple set theory, probability, descriptive statistics, graphical interpretations of data, construction of appropriate graphical structures.

MATH 134: Algebraic Thinking and Geometry (3 units)

• This course is one of the two courses required for liberal studies majors intending to be elementary school teachers. The purpose of the course is to strengthen the students' conceptual understanding of mathematics taught in the K-7 settings. Topics will include: the interplay of algebra and arithmetic, generalization of algorithms from arithmetic to algebra, functions and equations, the hierarchical ordering of operations, basic analytic geometry, elementary geometric ideas of area, perimeter, classification and spatial relationships.

MUS 305: Music in the Classroom (3 units)PE 120: Dance Movement (1 unit)

• Music skills and effective means of teaching them are the subject of this class. A variety of approaches to teaching music, including the Kodaly method, will be explored. Students will learn the basics of reading and performing music. This course fulfills the requirement of the liberal studies major.

PACS 350: Victims, Trauma & Recovery (4 units)

• This course introduces the student to an overview of victimization and trauma, cycles of violence, and recovery processes. Covers victimological, restorative, coping and healing concepts used to deal with the challenges victims face in a range of settings: the criminal justice system, natural disasters, war and other kinds of violence, and situations involving the abuse of power. Includes a lab in the practical implementation of victim trauma and recovery.

PE 120: Dance Movement (1 unit)

PHYS 105L: Physical Science (4 units)

• An integrative study of the physical sciences, including the history and methods of science, the relationship of scientific truth and biblical truth and the relationship of modern technology to science and its consequences for society.

PHYS 150: Earth Science (3 units)

• This course presents the concepts of the major geological processes affecting the physical earth and helps students appreciate the earth and understand environmental concerns. Exercises in mineral identification are also included.

PS 375: Criminal Justice in America (4 units)

• A society says much about its value system by the way it treats those members who have violated the accepted standards of behavior. This course acquaints students with the American criminal law system, exposes them to its mode of operation through literature and field examination, invites them to assess the justice of its processes and decisions and encourages a particular concern for the latter. 

PS 430: America in a Global Community (4 units)

• The world is increasingly becoming a global community, and America finds itself faced with the challenges and opportunities of living in such a world. But what does it mean to live in a global community? Does America see itself and behave as a member of a global community? This course will explore answers to these questions by examining the nature of American foreign policy since World War II, analyzing various international issues and problems of contemporary concern and exploring what America's response to them should be. 

PSY 120: Introduction to Psychology (3 units)

• The objectives of this course are to present the student with an overview of the facts and issues of the discipline, to examine the relationship of psychology to religion and to explore the implications of the subject matter for how we live. Such topics as perception, learning, biofeedback, stress, normality, therapy and community are discussed.

PSY 350: Child Development (3 units)

• A study of the development of the child from conception to adolescence. Topics of development, such as physical, intellectual, social, emotional and moral are studied.

PSY 395: Social Psychology (3 units)

• The study of the individual in relation to group experience. Topics such as group leadership and control, attitude formation and change, prejudice, aggression and violence are studied.

PSY 483: Mediation Practicum (1 unit)

• An opportunity for intensive training in mediation leading to a supervised experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be completed with the Victim- Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) or other appropriate mediation programs, or the student may arrange to mediate an informal dispute situation approved by the instructor.

SOC 300: Cultural Anthropology (3 units)

• An introduction to cultural anthropology. The course analyzes various particular cultures and examines questions regarding human culture as a shared, universal phenomenon.

SOC 310: Cultural Communities of California (3 units)

• An examination of the folklore and historical background of the major "parallel" cultural (minority) groups in California, including but not limited to Native American, African American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander and other Asian American populations. Though special attention is given to cultural groups students come into contact with, national and global, social and cultural issues are explored to enhance their understanding of the similarities and differences among the diverse groups in society. SOC 482 must be taken simultaneously if this is being used to meet a focus series requirement.

SOC 350: Marriage and Family (3 units)

• An introduction to marriage and family as both a social institution and a system of interaction patterns. The family life cycle from marriage through death, including martial relations, divorce, parenting, abuse, mate selection and changing patterns of family life, is examined.

SOC 410: American Ethnicity and Pluralism (3 units)

• A study of the history of immigration, racism, discrimination and assimilation in American society. The experiences of various ethnic groups in America from the nation's founding to the present are examined and the rise of pluralism as the current model for structuring ethnic diversity in American institutional life is explored. SOC 482 must be taken simultaneously if this course is being used to meet a Focus Series requirement.

SOC 430: Conflict Management and Resolution (3 units)

• A study of the nature of human conflict and approaches to its management, resolution and transformation. This course focuses on the generic characteristics evident in most human conflict and surveys a variety of interdisciplinary approaches for understanding and responding constructively to conflict in interpersonal, intergroup and international settings. 

SOC 450: Social Problems and Public Policy (4 units)

• Poverty, sexism, racism, crime, drug abuse and family breakup are examples of major social problems that increasingly concern society. At the same time, government's responsibility to deal with these social problems has become widely expected. This course acquaints students with the major social problems that have emerged in recent years, and familiarizes them with the social policies that government has devised in an attempt to alleviate or remedy those problems. In so doing, it seeks to stimulate a concern about the justice and equity of such policies on individuals and groups in our society. 

SOC 483: Mediation Practicum (1 unit)

• An opportunity for intensive training in mediation leading to a supervised experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be completed with the Victim- Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) or other appropriate mediation programs, or the student may arrange to mediate an informal dispute situation approved by the instructor.

SW 483: Mediation Practicum (1 unit)

• An opportunity for intensive training in mediation leading to a supervised experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be completed with the Victim- Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) or other appropriate mediation programs, or the student may arrange to mediate an informal dispute situation approved by the instructor.

THEO 465: Theological Ethics of Conflict and Peacemaking (3 units)

• A study of the Biblical teaching on conflict, peace and justice, including questions raised on historical and theological levels. Crucial aspects of the study will include the Old Testament teachings on covenant and peace, justice, war, Jesus as exemplar of peacemaking and the church's responsibility in conflict and peacemaking.

VICT 350: Victims, Trauma and Recovery (4 units)

• This course introduces the student to an overview of victimization and trauma, cycles of violence, and recovery processes. Covers victimological, restorative, coping and healing concepts used to deal with the challenges victims face in a range of settings: the criminal justice system, natural disasters, war and other kinds of violence, and situations involving the abuse of power. Includes a lab in the practical implementation of victim trauma and recovery.