6-WEEK Graduate-Level COURSE

The Nature of the Learner

The central project of this six-week course is to integrate the philosophy and model of Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) with current research into learning and child development. If we are to make sense of Charlotte Mason’s credibility in the 21st century, then situating her thoughts and ideas in a current context is essential to what teachers need to know about how children learn and grow as persons. Of key importance is the question, “Who is the learner?” To answer that question, a biblical view of human beings, their behavior, and their relationship to learning is the starting point. For this we will synthesize many of the philosophical and practical tenets found in Mason’s works and writings as well as those writers who align with her thinking. Through a biblical framework, the major families of learning theory (behaviorism, social learning, cognitive information processing, and constructivism) are then examined to determine what things are acceptable and helpful to the teacher in a Mason context.

Meeting Times:

Thursdays @ 7:00-8:00pm EST

Course Begins:

The class officially begins the week of June 1.

Class Meetings:

June 11, 18, 25; July 2, 9, 16

Course Topics
Week 1: Theological Imagination
Week 2: The Personhood of the Child
Week 3: The Power of Personhood
Week 4: Outside of the Box
Week 5: Social Contexts & Development
Week 6: Motivation and Educational Pillars

Prerequisites: None required. Anyone can jump into these courses regardless of their academic background or even their familiarity with Charlotte Mason's ideas. While these courses require more written assignments and dive further into Charlotte Mason's ideas and educational theory than our certificate level courses, we believe they are rewarding and accessible for anyone willing to put in the work – whether a homeschooling parent, classroom teacher, school administrator, or grad student.

Students who wish to proceed to the University of Cumbria MA in Charlotte Mason Studies may need an undergraduate degree to meet admission requirements.

Professional Development: Participants receive a certificate of completion showing 30 Professional Development hours after successfully completing the class.

"This is how we find children – with intelligence more acute, logic more keen, observing powers more alert, moral sensibilities more quick, love and faith and hope more abounding; in fact, in all points as we are, only more so; but absolutely ignorant of the world and its belongings, of us and our ways, and, above all, of how to control and direct and manifest the infinite possibilities with which they are born."

~ Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, p. 253