Course Outline: EDEF 320 .edu



Course Outline: EDEF 320

Introduction to Professional Education

Spring 2011

Instructor: Dr. Kristan Morrison

Office: Peters Hall A034

Phone: (540) 831-7120

Email: kmorrison12@radford.edu

Office hrs: Mondays 12-12:30 and 3:45 to 4:15; Tuesdays 3-5 pm, other times by appointment

Class Time /Location: Mondays 1-4 pm Peters Hall C143

Course Description:

This course introduces students to teaching as a profession.  Topics include teaching as a profession, the organization and culture of schools, legal rights and responsibilities of teachers and students, philosophical and psychological perspectives, historical developments underlying education in the United States, social issues in education, the application of learning theory to instruction and learning environments, basic concepts and principles regarding teaching strategies, assessment and evaluation of student learning, and teaching from a multicultural perspective. 

 

Texts:

You are expected to bring copies of articles or texts read for class to the class periods in which we will be discussing those readings, Failure to do so will detrimentally impact your participation grade.

• Rethinking Our Classrooms, Volume 1 (ISBN 978-0-942961-33-1). Available from campus bookstore or online at .

• Custom Published Text (ISBN 9780390135902) (available through campus bookstore)

• Selected readings placed on WebCT – a large number of your readings will be accessed this way. I strongly encourage you to get a binder in which to hold them all.

Course objectives/competencies/topics:

In this writing intensive course, students will be able to examine and explain personal and general educational goals, issues, and practices in light of historical, sociological, philosophical, and political contexts. Students will examine the following topics and questions:

I. Becoming a Professional Educator

a. Teaching as a Profession

i. Teacher Rights and Responsibilities

1. Teacher accountability (academic standards – national, state, local)

2. Professional ethics

3. Teacher rights

b. Being a Reflective Practitioner

i. The role of inquiry and research in teaching and learning to teach (particularly in social and philosophical studies, which provide contexts in which educational problems can be understood and interpreted)

1. Professional organizations

2. Professional Development

c. Teacher Preparation

i. The RU model and conceptual framework

1. Characteristics and dispositions of professional educators

ii. Issues in teacher preparation

1. Alternative routes to licensure

2. Teacher shortages

iii. Licensure and Certification

II. Philosophical, Historical/Legal, Sociological, and Political Issues in American Education

a. Philosophical Issues

i. Differing perspectives on the purposes of schools (nature and aims of education, schools as transmitter and recipient of ideologies)

ii. How philosophical perspectives influence what we teach (curriculum and knowledge)

b. Historical/Legal Issues

i. Changes in American culture and economy that lead to changes in school purposes, organization, and curriculum

ii. The Basis for School Law

1. Role of the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions

2. Role of federal and state legislation

3. Role of local policies

4. Legislation and judicial review

iii. Legal responsibilities and rights of students and families

III. Sociological Issues

a. Diversity

i. Social class

ii. Race/Ethnicity/Language

iii. Gender/Sexual identity

iv. Disabilities

IV. Political Issues

a. The Organization and Administration of School

i. District, building, and grade level organization

ii. Scheduling and curriculum organization

iii. School size and organization

iv. Rural, urban, and suburban settings

v. School finance and governance

vi. School management

vii. Parent and community relations

b. School Finance

c. School reform (e.g. magnet schools, charter schools, privatization, federal vs. state control, vouchers, etc.)

V. Learning Theories and Assessment in the Classroom

a. Learning Theory, Motivation and Instruction

i. Theories of learning and their implications for classroom teaching

ii. Concepts and principles of motivation and implications for teaching

b. Assessment and Evaluation in Education

i. Purposes and modes of assessment

1. Standardized and non-standardized assessments

2. Criterion-referenced and norm-referenced assessment

3. Traditional, performance-based, and authentic assessment

ii. Diagnostic assessment and the assessment of aptitude, achievement, and other student characteristics

iii. Types of scores and their interpretation

iv. Issues in assessment: validity, reliability, bias and setting standards

Praxis I and VCLA Requirement

In order to get a license to teach in the state of VA, you are required to pass various proficiency exams – specifically the VCLA and the math portion of Praxis I (you will probably also need Praxis II and VRA, depending upon what area of licensure you seek).  In this class, you must show proof of having attempted the VCLA and Praxis I Math test (passing scores not needed – just proof of having attempted each) before the end of the semester; otherwise, you will get an incomplete (I) for the course.

Links to websites with information and registration directions for the Praxis I and the VCLA are provided at the College’s website:  .

You may be exempt from taking Praxis I if your SAT scores are 1100 total with a minimum of 530 in verbal and in math. Since 530 x 2 does not equal 1100, either the verbal or math score will need to be more than the minimum of 530. You may also qualify if your ACT scores are high enough. You need a composite score of 24 or higher, math scores no less than 22, and English and Reading combined no less than 46.  If you believe your SAT or ACT scores qualify, please bring a copy to me and to the field placement office in Peters Hall A113.

Just FYI:  Below is a table with the Praxis scores needed. Note that you are considered passing if your individual math test score is reached OR if a composite score of 532 across the Praxis I Reading, Writing, and Math tests is reached. We only recommend that you take all 3 sections of the Praxis I if you cannot initially make the 178 points needed for the Math portion.

Praxis I scores

| |Math |Composite (if you take all 3 portions of the test) |

|Passing |178 |532 |

Also below is a table with the VCLA scores needed. A total score of 470 is considered passing, either through achieving 235 or above on each individual test (reading and writing) or a total of 470 even if one individual test score is below 235.

VCLA scores

| |Reading |Writing |Total |

|Passing |235 |235 |470 |

In order to get a final grade for this course, rather than an “I” (incomplete), prior to the last class of the semester, you must

• Present proof of having attempted or passed the VCLA

• Present proof of having attempted or passed the math Praxis I, or of being exempt due to SAT or ACT scores

If you are not seeking licensure to teach (e.g. if you are a speech pathology major), you can be excused from this requirement.

Grading and evaluation:

A = excellent work (92.5-100% of points) 277.5- 300 points

B = work that is distinctly above average (84.5-92.4% of points) 253.5- 277.4 points

C = work of average quality (76.5%-84.4% of points) 229.5 – 253.4 points

D = work of below average quality (64.5-76.4% of points) 193.5 – 229.4 points

F = failure (64.4% of points or lower) 193.4 and below points

Assignments and their weights (all assignments are explained below)

|1. Reading Responses |37% |

|2. Professional development |21.5% |

|3. Discussion Leadership |21.5% |

|4. Final exam |20% |

1. Reading responses – weight 37% (110 points possible)

Each week, you will have somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-50 pages of reading to do for class. Reading responses are your evidence of having read and reflected on the assignment. See Appendix A (page 8) of syllabus for further details.

2. Professional Development –weight 21.5% (65 points possible)

Professionals in any field must keep learning throughout their careers, and professional organizations help provide a lot of resources for this. See Appendix B (page 12) of syllabus for further details

3. Participation and Discussion Leadership- weight 21.5% (65 points possible)-Every week, you are expected to participate in whole and small group discussions/activities. And about 5 students per week will take a leadership role in class discussions. See explanation of expectations in Appendix C of syllabus (page 14).

4. Final “exam” – weight 20% (60 points possible) This is a cumulative exam that will be done during the final exam week. See Appendix D (page 16) for more details.

Attendance:

You get one “freebie” absence in this class. More than one class absence will result in a lowering of your points earned for the semester by 20 points for each absence after the one “freebie.” (Lateness to class and/or early departures will be recorded, tallied together, and used in these calculations, too –proportional deductions to final grade may result if you have one absence PLUS latenesses and/or early departures or if your tardies/departures total to more than one class absence.) Should you have written, verifiable documentation that your absence could not be avoided (e.g. death in the immediate family, illness requiring hospitalization, car accident verified by police report, etc.), then I may consider excusing the absence.

100% attendance will result in a raising of your points earned for the semester by 10 points. No exceptions to the 100% rule (in other words, even if you have an absence, tardy, or early departure that was out of your control, you still were not present 100% of the time, and thus you are ineligible for the bonus points).

Workload Comment: A generally accepted principle is that you should spend about 2 hours working outside of class for every credit hour the class is worth. This is a 3 credit hour junior- level class, which means that my expectation will be for you to spend an average of 6 hours a week of your own time working on this class. I do not want to hear complaints about the workload of this course unless you can document that you spend in excess of 6 hours per week (on average - not just once or twice) doing work for the class. This statement perhaps comes off more heavy-handed than I intend (honestly, I am not so mean as my wordings sometimes imply!), but I want to impress upon you my experience (from my own schooling and from speaking w/ former students) that oftentimes students don’t get much out of a class because their teacher does not push them. I want to push you/challenge you, yet I am not a heartless individual, unwilling to hear cries of overwork. If you honestly feel this class is pushing too hard, raise your concerns in class! I think you’ll find, though, that the more you put into this class, the more you’ll get out of it. Additionally, learning to balance a heavy (but not unreasonable!) workload is part of becoming an effective professional educator.

Late work- none accepted except that connected to documentation-supported absences. Early work, however, is accepted. So, if you turn in work before class starts but are unable to attend class, you can still get credit for the work.

Honor code: By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. Refer to the Radford University Student Handbook for details.

Students with disabilities: If you are seeking classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are required to register with the Disabilities Resource Office (DRO). The DRO is in 32 Tyler Hall and the phone number is 831-6350. To receive academic accommodations for this class, please obtain the proper DRO forms and meet with me at the beginning of the semester.

Students in need of any academic assistance: The Learning Assistance and Resource Center (LARC), located in 126 Walker Hall, is open to all students Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Certified, trained tutors provide help with basic study skills, writing, and content-specific material. An appointment is necessary and can be made by calling 831-7704, emailing larc@radford.edu, or IMing “rularcappt. I am a hard grader on writing issues – so if you are not a strong writer, then I recommend you get assistance from the LARC.

Schedule of readings and assignment due dates:

|Week # |Date |topic |To be read and done for this class |

|1 |1/17 |No class/MLK holiday |

|2 |1/24 |Introductions/ |Nothing |

| |Modeling day for |Purposes of education | |

| |Discussion | | |

| |Leadership | | |

|3 |1/31 |Hidden Curriculum / Assumptions |Peter Senge “ The Industrial Age System of Education” (25 p) |

| | |about learning, students, and | |

| |Discussion Leaders|school |Reading response due |

| |group A | | |

| | |25 | |

|4 |2/7 |Hidden Curriculum – what sort of |Sarah McCarthy (5 pages) |

| | |people are we creating with the |John Gatto (7 lessons) (11 pages)- author is being sarcastic – please note! |

| |Discussion Leaders|assumptions /HC? |bell hooks (greed) (21 pages) |

| |group B | |Svi Shapiro (Littleton) (3 pages) |

| | |40 | |

| | | |Reading response due |

|5 |2/14 |Curriculum Philosophies / |Custom text pages 1-23 (22 pages) For the custom text, go by the pages numbers in the |

| | |Theories of Education and |upper right corner of the page (in a black circle) |

| |Discussion Leaders|Learning |Rethinking Our Classrooms text pages 168-171 (Rosa Parks article) (4 pages) |

| |group C | |RC text p. 28-34 “Teaching for Social Justice” (7 pages) |

| | |35 |RC text page x-xi “Creating Classrooms for Equity and Social Justice” (2 pages) |

| | | |Reading response due |

|6 |2/21 |History of Education |Custom text pages 35-69 (34 pages) |

| | | |Reading response due |

| |Discussion Leaders|34 | |

| |group D | | |

|7 |2/28 |Standardized Testing and |Custom text pages 80-98 and 103-117 (32 pages) |

| | |Alternatives/ Learning Theories /|“Alternatives to Standardized Tests” (6 pages) |

| |Discussion Leaders|Motivation |Reading response due |

| |group E |38 | |

|8 |3/14 |School organization / Motivation |Sadker and Zittelman – school governance(14 pages) |

| | | |Ulrich Reitzug – democratic vs. bureaucratic schools (10 pages) |

| |Discussion Leaders|43.5 |RC text page 41-42 “The Challenge of Classroom Discipline” (1.5. pages) |

| |group A | |Custom text pages 122-140 (18 pages) |

| | | |Reading response due |

|9 |3/21 |School Funding |Jonathan Kozol (savage inequalities) (18 pages) – VERY accessible |

| | | |Newman on school financing (7 pages) |

| |Discussion Leaders|38 |School – business connections (9 p) |

| |group B | |Custom text pages 156-160 (4 pages – start at “postion 2: commercializing the school” and |

| | | |end at “corporate language and human capital”) |

| | | |Reading response due |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

|Week # |date |topic |To be done/read for class |

|10 |3/28 |Social Class |Jean Anyon "Social class and the Hidden curriculum of work" (just read pages 71-86, the |

| | | |sections titled “The Sample of Schools,” and “Social Class and School Work”) (8 pages) |

| |Discussion Leaders|34.5 |Joseph Newman "On social class + Education" (6 pages) |

| |group C | |Jeannie Oakes, "Tracking, Why Schools Need to take another route" (4 pages) |

| | | |RC text page 68-75 “Getting Off the Track”(8 pages) |

| | | |“The Pigs: When Tracking Takes Its Toll” (.5 page) |

| | | |Reading response due |

|11 |4/4 |No class, will be at a conference |

| | | |

| | |Professional Development paper due via email by 1 pm |

|12 |4/11 |Gender and – Sexual identity |Joseph Newman "Gender" (10 p) |

| | | |Kimmel “What about the Boys?” (5 pages) |

| |Discussion Leaders| |RETHINKING TEXT 1 p 3-9 Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us (7 p) |

| |group D |41 pages |RETHINKING TEXT 1 p 118-123 ("what can teachers do” and “flirting vs. sexual harassment”) |

| | | |(6 pages) |

| | | |"Mother Speaks Out" (1 page) |

| | | |"Out Front" (5 pages) |

| | | |"Separation of Church and School" (3 pages) |

| | | |RETHINKING OUR CLASSROOMS TEXT p. 95-96 "What do we say when we hear 'faggot'" (2 pages) |

| | | |RC text page 173-174 “Heather’s Moms Got Married” (2 pages) |

| | | |Reading response due |

|13 |4/18 |Race/ Ethnicity |Robert Lake "An Indian Fathers plea" (3 pages) |

| | | |Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 165-166 "I Won't Learn From you!" (2 pages) |

| |Discussion Leaders|27.5 + Race IAT |Peggy McIntosh "White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack" (5 pages) |

| |group E | |Race Implicit Assumptions Test |

| | | |Diller and Moule "Understanding Racism and...”(17.5 pages) |

| | | |Reading response due |

|14 |4/25 |Race/ Ethnicity |Rethinking Our Classrooms text page 15-17 "Taking Multicultural, Anti-Racist Education |

| | | |Seriously" (3 pages) |

| |No DL |34 |Diller and Moule "Bias in the Curriculum" (8 pages) |

| | | |Steven Chamberlain “Recognizing and Responding to Cultural Differences…” Just read pages |

| | | |200-207 of article. (8 pages) |

| | | |Then 15 pages of choice of readings (see list of reading choices on Appendix E of the |

| | | |syllabus) |

| | | |Reading response due |

|Finals | |Final exam |

|week | | |

Appendix A

Reading Response Guide for each week

Reading responses must be done/ready at the beginning of class – this will be checked for each day.

The purpose of these reading responses is to inspire you to come to class prepared. You owe it to yourself and your classmates to stay abreast of the readings so you can better contribute to class discussions. I wish for you to react to the assigned reading for the day. These can take a huge variety of forms, including the most traditional written reflection paper. See below for list of options. Whatever you choose, it needs to be in Standard English, and it needs to evidence thoughtful reflection on what was read. I do expect more than rushed scrawling or random tidbits of information from your personal life. In your response, whatever format you choose, you could include such things as a) evidence that you understand what the authors are arguing for or against; b) counter-arguments (e.g. can you punch any holes in the argument?) c) connections to your life (e.g. how does the reading connect to or contradict your own experiences?) d) evidence that you can synthesize the readings (e.g. if there are multiple readings assigned, how do they all fit together? e) discussion questions you want to raise in class about these readings. To encourage creativity, I am asking that over the course of the semester, you try to do different types of responses. There is no penalty for not branching out, but please consider it!

Reading Response Ideas

1. Pretend Diary entries

2. Editorial cartoons*

3. Satirical tests/quiz*

4. Dioramas*

5. Yearbook*

6. Reflective essay (most traditional)

7. Collage*

8. Song/poem (e.g. like a dialogue poem, such as “Honeybees” by Paul Fleischman– this poem is read by two people, one describing the life of a bee from the perspective of a worker, and one from the perspective of a queen bee.)*

9. You tube (that you create or that expresses your reflections of the readings)*

10. Devil’s advocate article or letter to the editor/letter to the authors(s)

11. Short newspaper or newsletter

12. TV or radio broadcast script

13. Comic strip/comic book*

14. Advertisement/infomercial*

15. Interview with the author(s)

16. Pamphlet*

17. Response log (where you divide a paper in half lengthwise and list quotes on one side of the paper and your reactions on the other – you must list where the quote comes from and you must have a paragraph at the end that ties the different readings together)

18. Game board*

19. Picture album/scrap book*

20. Advice column

21. A day in the life…

22. Online poster with *

23. Any other idea you can come up with!

*Those with an asterisk require a brief written explanation (less than a page) to accompany the more representational elements.

In the chart below, I have listed some specific food-for-thought questions for each week’s readings (you do NOT need to answer these, but if you are stuck on how to start your response, you might think about the following):

|Week 3 |Senge details 9 assumptions in this article, assumptions about learning and school that must people hold even if they |

|(hidden curriculum) |don’t realize it. If people truly recognized these assumptions, chances are that they wouldn’t like them. Implicit in |

| |Senge‘s article, then, is a critique of our education system. What do you think Senge would suggest would be a better |

| |form of education? |

|Week 4 |Did you learn any of Gatto’s + McCarthy’s lessons from your schooling? |

|(what sort of people |Given how our education system is set up w/its underlying assumptions (recall Senge’s article from last week), should |

|are schools helping to|we be surprised when something like the Columbine massacre happens? |

|create?) |How does the hooks article connect to education? (Hint – I DO see a connection, otherwise I would not have you read |

| |it!) |

|Week 5 |What philosophy(ies) of education (of the 5 on the chart in part 1) |

|(Philosophies of Ed.) |were most present in the schools you went to (k-12), |

| |at RU, and |

| |in the Rethinking Our Classrooms articles? (Be sure to mention all 3 RC articles in your answer to this) |

| |Which of the 5 would you like most to follow in your teaching and why? |

| |Which of the 5 are most unappealing and why? |

|Week 6 |What strikes you about America’s educational history? What was our education created for? Has it been equitable? Has|

|(History of Ed.) |our curricular focus been consistent? |

|Week 7 |Evaluate the arguments both for and against standard (be careful to see the difference between standards and |

|(Standards, St. Tests,|standardized tests - they are not the same thing) |

|Alternatives) |Evaluate the pros and cons of standardized tests |

| |Overall, do you think NCLB is a good education law? Why? Why not? |

| |Which of the alternative assessments discussed in the last article seemed most attractive to you? Why is it appealing? |

|Week 8 |What problems do you see with how our schools are governed? Would we be better off with a more democratic school |

|(School Organization) |governance and organization structures? |

| |Vouchers are a program where public tax money potentially goes to private schools. Is this a good idea in your view? |

| |Should parents/students get to choose where kids go to school? |

|Week 9 |When you were a student (or when your children were/are in school), did the schools you went to (or the schools your |

|(School Funding) |kids went to/ go to) seem to have all the money they needed or did they have to fundraise, have ads, or do without, |

| |etc? Explain. |

| |What do you think about how schools are funded? |

| |How are our schools currently funded? Were you surprised at all by how they’re funded? What would you suggest for |

| |reforming how our schools are funded? |

|Week 10 |Of the types of schools explored in the Anyon article, did one or two remind you of the sort of school you attended? |

|(Social Class) |Explain. |

| |Did you experience tracking, ability grouping in your school (e.g. was there an honors, AP, standard track in your |

| |school? Did you have reading or math groups in a class? Etc.)? What track were you in? |

| |Is grouping of students according to perceived ability a good thing or a bad thing, in your opinion? |

|Week 12 |Do you think boys and girls are socialized differently? What evidence from your own experiences do you have to support |

|(Gender and sexual |your answer? |

|orientation) |Do you agree with the authors that boys and girls are treated differently in schools? |

| |If the socialization process affects mainly a person’s subconscious, how can teachers work against treating boys and |

| |girls differently in schools? |

| |The issue of sexual identity/orientation is a heated one in our society. What should teachers do in regards to this |

| |issue? What do you agree with/disagree with from the articles read? |

|Week 13 |Do you think things like those described in Lake and “I Won’t Learn from You” happen in schools? Do you have any |

|(Race and Ed. Part 1) |experiences of overt or covert racism in the schools you attended? |

| |What did you think about McIntosh’s ideas on institutionalized/covert racism? Pick out two of the privileges that |

| |resonate most with you (that really struck you as something you never noticed for yourself or that you had always |

| |noticed in others, etc.) |

| |Look at the graphic organizer you filled out for Diller and Moule –do you see yourself in any of the stages? Name them |

| |and explain why you see yourself in those stages. (If you are not a white person, you won't be able to place yourself |

| |in these white racial consciousness models, so instead, write one paragraph in which you state your reactions to these |

| |models/stages - do you know white people that you could identify as being in any of these models/stages? What evidence |

| |do you have that they are in this stage?) |

| |Lastly, do you think racism exists in our society? |

|Week 14 |In the Diller and Moule article and the interview of Enid Lee, there were 4 basic stages of curriculum transformation |

|(Race and Ed. Part 2) |explored (they used different terms, but the stages were essentially the same). What were those 4 stages and what |

| |specifically happens in each? |

| |What ideas in the Chamberlain article and the articles you chose really hit home with you (e.g. that you thought they |

| |were really good ideas or really bad ideas)? |

| |What arguments were made in favor of culturally responsive teaching in these articles (why is it a good thing, in the |

| |authors’ opinions?)? |

| |What might be difficult about culturally responsive teaching? |

How you will be graded – Please attach the rubric found on the next page to the front or back of your response.

Reading Response Rubric

| |Acceptable |Borderline |Unacceptable |

|Reading | | | |

|(knowledge and |It is clear through the response that |Something is lacking, but not enough to|Does not seem as if the student read |

|comprehension thinking|all of the assigned readings were done.|make it fully unacceptable. |each of the required parts of the |

|levels) |2 pts | |assignment |

| | | |0 pts |

| | |1 pt | |

|Writing Quality |There are few to no errors in Standard |There are a number of errors in |There are a number of errors in |

| |English (grammar, punctuation, word |grammar, punctuation, word choice, |grammar, punctuation, word choice, |

| |choice, spelling, and format); the |spelling, and format; and these errors |spelling, and format; and these errors |

| |errors that are present do not |somewhat interfere with the student’s |interfere with the student’s |

| |significantly interfere with the |meaning/message. |meaning/message. |

| |student’s meaning/message. | |________ |

| |_________ | |If not a written response, then the |

| |If not written response, then the | |product appears rushed or messy – is |

| |product appears neat and care was | |not high caliber work that was done |

| |evidently taken with the preparation of| |with evident care. |

| |the item. | | |

| | | | |

| |2 pts |1 pt |0 pts |

|Reflection (synthesis,|The student was able to pull out the | |Minimal to no evidence of higher order |

|analysis, evaluation, |main theme between all the readings |Something is lacking, but not enough to|thinking on the assigned readings. |

|application thinking |(synthesis) and provides ample evidence|make it fully unacceptable. | |

|levels) |of having processed/thought deeply | | |

| |about the information (this may include| | |

| |such things as making connections to | | |

| |his/her life, or to other things | | |

| |noticed or read about, or researched | | |

| |outside of the readings), applying the | | |

| |information to new or experienced | | |

| |situations, making judgements about the| | |

| |author’s thoughts/conclusions, etc.) | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| |6 pts | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |3 pts |0 pts |

Score: __________/10

Appendix B - Professional Development Work

Professionals in any field must keep learning throughout their careers, this assignment is meant to help habituate yourself to finding things that are meaningful to you to develop in your field.

DO SOME THINGS- choose any activity or group of activities that represent professional development for educators that equals “face time”/active involvement time of 10 hours or more (this does not include write-up time). You need to choose at least 3 different types of things (e.g. cannot spend your whole 10 hours reading in magazines). This could be:

5 attending a workshop

6 attending and taking notes at a school board meeting (call Radford City Schools 731-3647; Montgomery County Schools 382-5100; Roanoke County Schools 562-3900 x 10112; Roanoke City Schools 853-2502; or Pulaski County Schools 994-2550 for dates, times, and locations of meetings)

7 examining a text book for gender or race/ethnicity bias

8 reading an issue of educator or school SLP magazines (many found in TRC)

9 observing at a school/shadowing administrators or SLPs (cannot do this for more than 2 hours of required time)

10 viewing videos for this class, etc. (I have some and the McConnell Library has an extensive collection of videos in the education field).

You need to get pre-approval of all activities except reading in the magazines, attending workshops that I arrange, attending a school board meeting, observing in a school, or choosing an education-related film from the library. The key thing to remember is that whatever you want to do MUST be professional development – it cannot be service work (e.g. writing pen pal letters or doing a car wash, etc.) – it must be something that helps you figure out how to be an effective practitioner. These 10 hours also cannot be something that you are doing for another class – if you were to do this, that is a form of academic dishonesty (you would essentially be “double-dipping”).

The videos that I have available for check out are:

Gender Equity in the Classroom,

It’s Elementary

Addressing Homophobia in Schools.

• Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

Videos available online:

The Pathology of Privilege. Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality:

Free to Learn (70 min documentary about the Albany Free School):

Videos available at McConnell Library

• Do a search on the online catalog using the key word “education” or you can narrow it (such as “dance education” or “race and education,”etc.) Along the left hand side of the page after typing in the keyword/subject, you will see that you can click on “collection” and narrow the search to video recordings, thus pulling up all videos/DVDs on that topic.

• WRITE UP - Write up a well-written reflection on what you did (DO NOT EXCEED 9 pages). This will be due week 12 of class.

o One the first page, provide an hour-by-hour schedule of what exactly you did – give when, where, who, what details, titles of articles read, films viewed, etc. Each hour must be detailed. I have had students in the past try to say it took them 45 minutes to read a 2-page article of mostly pictures in the SVEA magazines. I get these magazines too, so I have good knowledge as to length of articles and how long they might take to read, so please be honest!

o Then, reflect on the things you did. What’d you think about them? What questions did they raise? Were they interesting? Why? Why not? How do the things you did connect to each other? (did they contradict each other in any ways, were there clear similarities?) What “big ideas” about being a teacher or school SLP did you pull out from them? What concerns did they raise in your mind, etc.)

o These will be graded using a rubric found on WebCT (it is very similar to the reading response rubric -e.g. is it well-written? did you give enough proof that you did the things? did you reflect on them well and pull them together?). This paper will be worth 65 points.

o IT IS VITAL THAT YOU PROOFREAD YOUR PAPER CAREFULLY AS I WILL BE A REAL STICKLER ON WRITING QUALITY FOR THIS PAPER.

Appendix C – Discussion Leader – you are in group ________

(see schedule for dates when you are expected to be a discussion leader)

For this assignment, you will be a discussion leader 2 times over the semester.

Every day you are expected to participate in small and whole group settings in class. On days that you are a discussion leader, your voice and involvement should be VERY prominent – you should clearly come across as a leader on those days, especially in whole group discussions, but also in small groups. It is not that you are running the class on these days, you just need to come across as super-involved. You will also plan with your other leaders an ice breaker activity/warm up for the class. You and your other leaders that day will lead this activity. This activity should take no more than 10 minutes and needs to be ready to go right at the very start of class (so come early to do any setting up).

You will still do a reading response that day, but I want you to prepare some particular items within that response that you will then use in your role as discussion leader, including the following:

• discussion questions for each of the readings (discussion questions are very open-ended, do not have just one answer)

• Opposition arguments– point out alternate views to what these authors are arguing this week. For example, if the authors are advocating a particular position, what holes could you punch in their arguments? Do they make any factual errors? Do a bit of outside research for a video clip or a short article or blog post that argues the opposite viewpoints and bring the ideas found in them to class to share (if a video clip is especially great, send it to me to maybe show in class). You may personally agree with what the authors are saying, but the purpose of this role is to demonstrate the critical thinking skill of seeing multiple sides to a given argument.

See next page for rubric of how you will be graded for DL days. You will need to attach this rubric to your reading response (in ADDITION to the reading response rubric) on the weeks you are DL.

Along with your DL role, over the course of the semester, I will also be observing your participation in class overall. While I understand some students are less inclined to participate in person (particularly in whole group), you are, nonetheless, working on becoming professionals in your field. This requires you to have skills of assertiveness, and practice in voicing your thoughts aloud – both in front of the whole class as well as in small groups. Because I know this might be pushing some folks out of their comfort area, I have chosen to not make this overall participation grade count for a huge amount – will just be 15 points over the whole semester.

Whole semester rubric for participation

|Distinguished – |Proficient – |Basic – |Unsatisfactory |

|15 points |13.05 points |11.25 points |0-7.5 points |

|Does everything listed in |Student regularly |Some of the same as at |Student is regularly quiet |

|proficient level, but also |participates in class |proficient level, but |or unengaged in class. |

|has “something” extra – |without dominating. Student|somethings are lacking, as |Student frequently is seen |

|perhaps is particularly |is respectful to others’ |detailed below: |using cell phone or laptop |

|articulate and thoughtful in|viewpoints, yet asserts | |in class for purposes |

|comments, or works hard to |his/her own voice. Does not| |unrelated to the class. |

|keep people on task, etc. |talk just for the sake of | | |

| |saying something, but | | |

| |connects his/her input | | |

| |clearly to discussions | | |

| |underway. Student never | | |

| |uses cell phone or laptop in| | |

| |class, is always engaged | | |

| |with class activities. | | |

Discussion Leadership Rubric (must print out on days you are DL and attach to reading response)

|criteria |Distinguished 100% |87% |75% |(0-50%) |

| | |Proficient |Basic |Unsatisfactory |

|Ice Breaker/Warm-Up activity (5 |5 |4.35 |3.75 |0-2.5 |

|points) |Does everything listed in |Student actively takes part |Student took part in |Student does not seem |

| |proficient level, but also has |in the running and doing of |ice-breaker, but is |involved at all. |

| |“something” extra – perhaps the|this ice-breaker/warm up. |lacking in some way, | |

| |group came up with a |The activity is presented |as detailed below: | |

| |warm-up/ice breaker that |with enthusiasm, the | | |

| |clearly connects to the week’s |directions are clear, the | | |

| |content, or was presented with |activity does not exceed 10 | | |

| |everyone being able to take an |minutes | | |

| |equal leadership role, or some | | | |

| |other evidence that this is | | | |

| |distinguished. | | | |

|Whole and small group presence |10 |8.75 |7.5 |0-5 |

|(10 points) |Does everything listed in |Student clearly stands out |Student is somewhat of|Student really does not |

| |proficient level, but also has |as a leader, speaks |a leader, but is |step up to the plate on |

| |“something” extra – perhaps a |frequently in whole group |lacking in some ways, |leading. Is quiet or |

| |very original take on questions|discussion, adding good |as detailed below: |uninvolved. |

| |and opposition, useful |insights, poses interesting | | |

| |examples, insightful |and thought-provoking | | |

| |connections, an extra |questions and presents a | | |

| |thoroughness, or an |critical/oppositional stance| | |

| |in-depth-ness |to the ideas under | | |

| | |discussion. In small | | |

| | |groups, student guides | | |

| | |discussion, does not | | |

| | |dominate, helps other group | | |

| | |members to understand the | | |

| | |key themes. | | |

|Preparation for |Preparation of|5 |4.35 |3.75 |0-2.5 |

|role |discussion |Does everything listed in |Student has included good, |In reading response, |Student really has not |

| |questions (5 |proficient level, but also has |meaty discussion questions |student had shown some|done what was asked of |

| |points) |“something” extra – perhaps a |in reading response. |of the same as at |him/her in regards to |

| | |very original take on | |proficient level, but|preparing discussion |

| | |questions, insightful | |somethings are |questions. |

| | |connections, an extra | |lacking, as detailed | |

| | |thoroughness, or an | |below: | |

| | |in-depth-ness | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| |Preparation of|5 |4.35 |3.75 |0-2.5 |

| |opposition |Does everything listed in |Student has clearly done |In reading response, |Student really has not |

| |material (5 |proficient level, but also has |some extra research to find |student had pretty |done what was asked of |

| |points) |“something” extra – perhaps a |out what authors’ opponents |well shown the same as|him/her in regards to |

| | |very original take locating or |might argue (e.g. can cite |at proficient level, |preparing the voice of |

| | |articulating opposition |some other authors and their|but somethings are |opposition |

| | |insightful connections, an |arguments) |lacking, as detailed | |

| | |extra thoroughness, or an | |below: | |

| | |in-depth-ness, visuals, etc. | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

Appendix D – Final Exam Questions

This semester, we will be basically answering the questions found below. For the final exam, I will pick 6 of these questions, one of which will be the first one and then the other 5 will be random. You will bring with you to the exam session your answer to the first one already written (typed, please). On the day of the exam, you will pick 3 out of the chosen 5 to write on. These questions (except the 1st) correspond with the topics we will be covering each week, so to best prepare for this “exam,” you should maybe attempt to answer the question after class session is over (can do this alone, or even better, with a study group that you form for this purpose). 60 points total (each question will be worth 15 points)

1. Everyone must write on : What ideas from this class will you most want to remember when you get into teaching? Why are these ideas important? Mention at least 4 distinct things that you felt were most powerful. This is essentially a beginning draft of your own ideas about how you plan to approach teaching. This cannot exceed 3 pages. I will stop reading after the 3rd page, so be succinct!

2. Schools shape people and they do it both overtly and covertly. The overt or “explicit” curriculum includes such things as teaching certain skills and content (e.g. math, reading, writing, history). What are the hidden curriculum and the null curriculum? After defining them both, identify three examples of things that are “taught” in these curricula (three total, not three each). (week 3 and 4 content)

3. Our school system as a whole has a philosophy of education. What is it? And if a teacher does not agree with that philosophy, can anything be done about it? Can s/he have her/his own philosophy? If so, what role will it play in his/her teaching? (week 5)

4. How has American education changed over time in response to economic, political, and/or cultural events? (week 6)

5. In education, can you have standardized tests without standards? Can you have standards without standardized tests? Should we want either, in your opinion? (week 7)

6. Choose one of the alternatives to standardized tests. Explain what it is and discuss how it both avoids some of the problematic aspects of standardized tests, but yet also raises it own set of problems. (week 7)

7. Charter schools, home schools, virtual schools, conventional neighborhood schools, magnet schools, and school voucher programs: Which two seem to most encourage democratic participation (encourage diverse viewpoints/population, allow for local/individual voices to play a large governance role) and why? Which one seems the least democratic? (week 8)

8. Identify three distinct problems and/or sub-problems with how schools are funded in our country. (week 9)

9. Does a student’s social class make any difference in his/her schooling experience in the US? Explain. (week 10)

10. How does one’s gender and sexual identity negatively impact his/her schooling experience? What can teachers do about these problems? (weeks 12)

11. How do differences between teachers’ and students’ cultural values, language, and patterns of interaction affect the process of schooling? (weeks 13 and 14)

12. What is culturally responsive instruction and why is it needed in schools today? Be sure to provide examples in answering the first part of the question. (weeks 13 and 14)

|100% (15 points) |89% (13.35 points) |81% (12.15 points) |71% (10.65 points) |50% (7.5 points) |

|Has fully answered |Student has done a good job |The response is acceptable. |The answer is borderline |Attempted to answer the |

|the question, there would be|answering the question. I |While the information is |unacceptable. Like the 81% |question, but there is no |

|nothing that I would |maybe would have added some |accurate, it lacks examples |response, it lacks examples |substance to the response. |

|add/take away from the |info to deepen it a bit |and/or the depth that would |and depth and, and based on | |

|response. The response |more, but generally speaking|help me see that the student|this response, I am really | |

|makes sense and is clear. |it is quite |has a good grasp of the |doubtful that the student | |

| |thorough/complete. |information. |understands the concepts | |

| | | |under discussion. | |

Students will have the choice of doing the exam as a written exam as detailed above OR taking this as a verbal, group discussion exam with no more than 7 others (all students still have to do a written #1, regardless of taking the written or verbal exam). The verbal exam will take a full 2 hours and will go over all the questions.

Oral Discussion Points

|100% (45 points) |89% (40.05 points) |81% (36.45 points) |71% (31.95 points) |50% (22.5%) |

|Has given substantive input |Has given substantive input |Has given substantive input |Has given substantive input |Has given substantive input |

|to at least 6 of the |to at least 5 of the |to at least 4 of the |to at least 3 of the |to at least 2 of the |

|discussion questions |discussion questions |discussion questions |discussion questions |discussion questions |

*substantive input means quantity (enough info provided to show that you understand the concepts without being dominating in the conversation) and quality (information is accurate and gives evidence of higher-order thinking)

Appendix E- Reading Choices for Week 14

After reading the Diller and Moule article, the Chamberlain article, and the Rethinking Our Classrooms article, then choose a minimum of 15 more pages to read from the following list of articles

• Delpit "Ebonics and Culturally Responsive Instruction" (webct) (5 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 8 "Rethinking 3 little pigs" (.5 page)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 10 “10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books” (2 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 20 "Race and Respect Among Young Children" (5 pages)

• WebCT “Tapping into Feelings of Fairness” (5 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 78 "Using Pictures to Combat Bias" (2 pages)

• WebCT "Black Lies/White Lies" (1 page)

• WebCT “Bringing the World into the Math Class” (3 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 151 "Expectations and At-Risk Kids" (2 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 152 "Teachers and Cultural Styles" (.5 page)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 158 “Seeing Color: A Review of White Teacher” (3 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 154 “Whose Standard? Teaching Standard English” (4 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 175 “Thoughts on teaching Native American Literature” (4 pages)

• Rethinking Our Classrooms text p. 179-185 (6 p) “Why students should study history”

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download