Public Inquiry as Liberatory Education: A Seminar in Curriculum and Program Design - EDC-X735AA

Course Description

Credit Validation for The Ed Factory Participants Only

Public Inquiry as Liberatory Education is a live, online seminar in curriculum and program design for educators working inside and outside of schools. The institute explores public inquiry as a liberatory education practice: a way of positioning young people to investigate the social, economic, political, cultural, and local conditions shaping their lives and to design creative work that recognizes, records, and makes public—in any form—what others have not yet seen, heard, or understood.

Participants begin by developing their own public inquiry into a place they know. They identify a question, study the conditions surrounding it, listen to people connected to that place, and consider what creative public form could carry the inquiry beyond the institute. From there, participants design a public inquiry project for young people—one that begins with a strong guiding question, moves through investigation, listening, local research, skill-building, creative production, and revision, and culminates in public work that young people can create and share.

The institute draws on liberatory curriculum and program design, critical cultural pedagogy, public inquiry, audioethnographic practice, descriptive review, writing, discussion, and creative production. Participants examine how young people are shaped by schools, neighborhoods, public policy, labor, housing, policing, language, family life, media, and local histories. They also explore how educators’ understandings of young people, authority, freedom, care, responsibility, conflict, and learning influence the curriculum and programs they create.

By the final session, each participant will have developed a teachable public inquiry project with a guiding question, core materials, listening or oral history practices, scaffolded learning experiences, formative assessment strategies, and a public-facing format. Projects may take the form of a photo-text essay, audio piece, exhibit, archive, community walk, publication, performance, installation, conversation, or another format suited to the inquiry, the learners, and the educational setting.

Learner Outcomes

• Examine public inquiry as a liberatory education practice that positions young people to investigate the social, economic, political, cultural, and local conditions shaping their lives
• Develop curriculum and program experiences that support young people across age levels in noticing, questioning, and interpreting the world around them
• Apply listening, oral history, descriptive review, writing, discussion, and creative production practices to help young people study place, community, power, memory, and public life
• Create scaffolded learning experiences, formative assessments, core materials, and public-facing forms suited to the question, the young people, and the setting
• Analyze how adult assumptions, schooling histories, professional habits, and prior experiences with authority shape educators' understanding of young people, place, learning, responsibility, conflict, and freedom
• Design a teachable public inquiry project that recognizes, records, and makes public what young people are studying, questioning, and making visible through creative public work

Course Details

Number of Units: 1.0 - 4.5 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours. 

Who Should Attend: This course provides continuing education for The Ed Factory Participants.

PLEASE READ ALL COURSE DETAILS

University of San Diego – Graduate-Level Extension Credit Information

The University of San Diego partners with this program to offer graduate-level extension credit(s) in semester hours through the Credit Validation Program. To earn units, participants must register for and successfully complete coursework through the external program provider.

Credits earned through USD’s Credit Validation Program are widely accepted by many school districts and universities across the United States for purposes such as license renewal, required professional development hours, short-term skill building, salary advancement, credentialing, and potential advanced degree pathways.

These units do not apply toward a master’s or higher degree program at the University of San Diego; however, they may be transferable to advanced degree programs (e.g., MA, EdD, PhD) at other institutions that accept external graduate-level credits.

Participants are responsible for confirming acceptance, transcript requirements, deadlines, and applicability of units with their employing district or intended institution prior to enrollment.

Directions to Enroll for Credit 

Step 1: Register with the Partner Organization (The Ed Factory)
Complete your registration directly with the partner organization. Follow their instructions to begin the course and pay any required enrollment fees.

• Homepage: The Ed Factory
• Enroll: Public Inquiry as Liberatory Education: An Institute in Curriculum & Program Design for Teachers & Youth Workers
• Learn More: Current Programs

Please Note: USD does not provide course materials, manage instruction, or assign grades. All coursework is evaluated by the program’s instructor or coordinator.

Step 2: Complete the Course 
Participate fully in the course through the partner organization and complete all required assignments, activities, and assessments. (Some courses, specifically DoDEA courses, may require participants to purchase units before the course ends; please check the enrollment window for details.)

Step 3: Register for University Credit
After confirming your registration with the partner organization and completing your program, return to USD’s website.

• Locate the same course on our listings page
• Click Add to Cart
• Click Check Out
• You will be prompted to either log into your USD Student Account or create one, and then pay for your units

If this course displays Request Information, it means the course is either not yet open for enrollment (please check the enrollment dates) or enrollment has already closed. If enrollment has closed, you may still contact the organization directly to see if they will accept a late enrollment or if the course will be offered again in the future.

Step 4: Submit your Certificate of Completion
After completing this course, you are required to submit your certificate of completion, which will be provided by your program. Please be sure to purchase your credits first, then email your certificate to pce-cv@sandiego.edu, including the course number in your message.

Step 5: Receive Your Transcript
No further action is needed. Once your grade has been processed, USD will issue an official transcript reflecting your earned university credit. Transcripts are mailed to the address listed in your USD student account. 

Transcript Process: Once we receive your certificate of completion, we will begin processing your transcript. Participants are responsible for ensuring that their mailing address is accurate and up to date in their USD student account to avoid delays in transcript delivery.

Transcript Delivery Timeline:

• U.S. addresses: 2–3 weeks
• International addresses: 3–4 weeks

For detailed information regarding the University of San Diego Credit Validation Program, please consult our Participant Guide.