State Illinois University Curriculum and Instruction 211 (Tentative syllabus) Seminar in Education 3 semester hours Section 2, TTh 12:00-1:50pm DEG 039 Instructor: Dr. Christina C. Pfister Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00-4:00pm; and by appointment Office: DEG 213 Phone: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TTY). Writing assistance may be obtained from the University Center for Learning Assistance (UCLA) Stevenson Hall, 438-7100. You will be expected to abide by the rules of academic integrity as stated in the Illinois State University Undergraduate Catalog. For a complete list of Academic Integrity issues, see p. 63 in the
current (2006-2007 undergraduate) catalog. The passage on plagiarism reads: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged appropriation of anothers work, words, or ideas in any themes, outlines, papers, reports, or computer programs. Students must ascertain from the instructor in each course the appropriate means of documentation. Submitting the same paper for more than one course is considered a breach of academic integrity unless prior approval is given by the instructors.
Catalog Description: This capstone course synthesizes elementary curricular issues, including the sociocultural context of teaching and learning, content area instruction, instruction for diverse populations, classroom management and assessment. This course integrates all aspects of the teacher education program, providing a transition into student teaching. Prerequisites: 208 & 209. Course Overview: This senior seminar synthesizes content from across the elementary education program and prepares students for student teaching and their first teaching positions. Elements of the course focus on assuming roles in school and in the profession. Conceptual Framework: As pre-service teachers enter their final year of preparation, the elements of the conceptual framework, Realizing the Democratic Ideal, become even more relevant and important to their development. This course, with its emphasis on diversity, planning for instruction, the development of professional knowledge and skills, and the direct application to classrooms with field experiences, encompasses all of the moral and intellectual virtues present in the framework. Course Objectives: Candidates completing this course will be able to
a. Demonstrate the ability to reflect upon classroom practices for the purposes of improving instruction. (IPTS #10, 11, ACEI # 5.1) b. Analyze the cultural contexts of school and community and explain their connection to the sociocultural environment of the classroom. (IPTS # 3, #9, ACEI 5.4) c. Plan instruction that develops content knowledge and supports literacy across the curriculum and addresses the diverse needs and backgrounds of elementary students, including English language learners. (IPTS # 1,4, ACEI 1, 2.1, 3.2) d. Critically evaluate and apply appropriate technology to the classroom. (IPTS#1, 4, ACEI 3.2, 3.5) e. Use a variety of assessment tools and be able to explain assessment results in order to evaluate student learning and improve teaching. (IPTS#8, ACEI #, 4) f. Create a unit plan aligned with the Illinois Learning Standards that integrates math, science, social studies and literacy, and is designed to meet the needs of a specific classroom environment. (IPTS# 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 ACEI # 2.8, 3.1, 3.3) Topical Content Outline: Reflective teaching keeping a reflective journal reflecting on classroom planning and assessment procedures Classroom environment sociocultural context of the classroom classroom organization and procedures understanding the surrounding community building a classroom community working with families review of classroom management models and strategies Planning for extended instruction developing an integrated unit aligning instruction with state standards supporting literacy across the curriculum using instructional and assessment strategies effectively Assessment assessment as a guide for instruction sharing assessment and standardized test results with parents offering a variety of assessment practices Diverse Learners differentiation of instruction English language learners Bilingual education Technology in the classroom Critical analysis of technology use of technologies to support teaching and learning Sociocultural issues and concerns
Required Course Materials: Cooper, J. M. (2005). Classroom Teaching Skills. (8th edition) Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Course Reading Packet (The packet will say C&I 211 on it, but my name will not appear. Dr. Anita Bohns name will most likely be on the front of this because she is the elementary program coordinator) Related Readings: Delpit, L. (1996). Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New Press. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers, successful teachers of African-American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Liston, D. P. and Zeichner. K. M. (1996). Culture and teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Montgomery, K. (2001). Authentic assessment, a guide for elementary teachers. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Schmoker, M. (2001.) The results fieldbook: practical strategies from dramatically improved schools. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Strickland, K and Strickland, J. (2000). Making assessment elementary. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wheeler, R. S. and Swords, R. (2006). Code-switching: Teaching Standard English in urban classrooms. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Required student tasks/assignments: Journal (IPTS# 10, ACEI #5b) Candidates will write five journal entries focusing on selected events that take place in their K-8 field experience classrooms. Briefly describe what took place, explore its significance, and determine the implications for the candidates professional development. Prompts to respond to will be provided. Integrated Unit: (ACEI # 2a, 2c, 2e, 2i, 3a, 3b, 4) This semester you will have the opportunity to work on preparing a unit that focuses on a broad theme and integrates four major subject areas math, science, literacy and social studies. In class, we will discuss possible themes and offer guidance as you begin to work on this project. The integrated unit must be submitted in LiveText and will be formally assessed using the rubric in LiveText. If you do not know how to use LiveText, please see me immediately for a list of help sessions offered this semester. Unit Components: 1. Purpose and Significance: This section describes the rationale for the unit (why this is a significant topic, why it is important for elementary students to learn, how it fits into the elementary curriculum, how the unit is relevant to this age group, and how the approach is developmentally appropriate.) This section will also describe the target grade level and type of classroom, and the amount of time that is allotted for this unit (2 weeks). 2. Unit Outcomes: These are the overall outcomes for the unit. The unit objectives state what the students will know and be able to do as a result of the unit. These outcomes should focus on content knowledge, and specific skills and processes. The goals must be
aligned with the Illinois Learning Standards. (The associated learning standard benchmark must be written out.) 3. Timeline/Flow Chart: All lessons in the unit are listed in the order in which they will be taught. This section requires some careful thinking about how to sequence individual lessons to scaffold student learning and should include specific ideas for both initial and culminating activities or discussions launch to and to bring closure to the unit. 4. Content and Skills Development Lessons: These are the lessons selected or created to accomplish the outcomes of the unit. The individual lesson plans should help students acquire or practice appropriate concepts, principles, methods of inquiry and skills in each four major content areas: literacy, mathematics, social studies, and science. The lesson plans should involve a variety of instructional strategies such as small group work, problem solving, experiments, dramatizations and simulations, research, games, use of video/films/filmstrips, development of student products, writing and reading. One lesson plan must include a guided reading plan. Be sure to include accommodations for diverse learners, including English language learners. 5. Assessment: This section includes a description of how achievement of the unit outcomes will be assessed. Both formative and summative assessment tasks should be included. The overall assessment plan should reflect a variety of methods such as tests (include a sample), projects, self-evaluation, peer evaluation, notebooks, journals, interviews, dramatic presentation, etc. Rating scales and teacher-developed rubrics should be included where necessary. The means of evaluating students attainment of each unit objective should be included here. 6. Instructional Aids and Resources: This section offers a wide variety of good quality materials that support student learning and teacher development. It is list of web sites, audio-visual materials, CD-ROMs, commercial games, teacher reference books, student literature and non-fiction, etc., on the topic of your unit. Publisher/distributor information, and a brief annotation should be included. Community Investigation Paper This assignment will help you understand the relationship between the school and the surrounding community. You are given a series of questions to answer about the city/area where your school is located. Most answers can be found on the Internet. Once the questions are answered, you will reflect on the connections between the community and your classroom. Typed responses will be collected and graded. Be prepared to discuss in class: a) how your findings may be reflected in your classroom, and b) what general kinds of accommodations/special considerations you might need to make in your instructional and classroom management plans because of the unique characteristics of the community. 1. Using the school report card, find the following information about your school: a. Percentage and categories of students that are not White. b. Percentage of teachers that are White. c. Percentage of students that are low income. d. Number of hours the third grade spent in reading instruction.
e. What is the statistic for parental involvement? 2. Using the same source, find the following information about the district: a. Percentage of low income students. b. Percentage of students of color vs. teachers of color. 3. What is the dropout rate of the school district? 4. What is the community newspaper? a. List the headlines for three consecutive issues. b. Look for important issues for the community by looking at three issues of opinions/letters to the editor. 5. What is the structure of the government for the city in which your school is located-i.e., how are the citizens represented, etc.? 6. What commercial and recreational resources are there in the community? What is the proximity of these to your school community? 7. What is the unemployment statistic for the city? 8. What are the major industries and who are the major employers in the area? 9. Find two little known facts about the community. 10. What is the median price of housing in the area? 11. Describe the community area around your school. Compare it to the city in general. In-Class Assignments/Engagements In-class assignments are designed to provide students with an opportunity to practice or collaboratively apply the ideas, methods, tools, and issues that are addressed in readings and presentations. Some components of in-class activities may require advance out-of-class preparation or brief follow-up out-of-class tasks. In-class assignments may include but are not limited to: writing sample unit objectives developing performance indicators for specific state learning standards benchmarks conducting mock conferences with parents to explain standardized test results practice identifying/analyzing a communitys demographics, concerns, values addressing specific student behaviors with different classroom management theories critically evaluating a Web page for authori...