UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
Secondary Teacher Education Program
Monday 4 – 6.30: Furcolo Hall Rm. 21 A
Prof. Allan Feldman 230 Furcolo Hall, Tel: 545-1570 |
Jack Czajkowski
413 863 3188 (work)
413 549 5976 (home)
|
Jill Chapdelaine
Fairview Veterans Memorial MS 413
636 6479 (cell) |
Michael Koski Plymouth County Extension/UMass Amherst Extension Educator P.O. Box 658 Hanson, MA 02341-0658 |
This course is
designed for teachers in their first few years of teaching. The goal of the
course is to help new teachers develop the knowledge and skills necessary to
provide the best possible educational experience for their students.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Global Objectives:
* To
help you to improve your educational situation for yourself and your students.
* To
help you to become critically conscious of your assumptions about teaching and
learning and to teach your classes accordingly.
* To
communicate to you that teaching is intellectual work, that it requires a
dedication to and a love of our subject matter, a respect and caring for our
students, a concern for equity, and a moral imperative for excellence in our
teaching.
* To
continue your development as a reflective practitioner.
Curricular Objectives:
The primary curricular objectives
of this course are to help you to develop the knowledge and skills that will
allow you to provide the best possible educational experience for your
students. Therefore, the course will focus on the following topics, as well as
others selected by the class:
* Classroom
management
* Assessment
* Inclusive
pedagogy
* Special
education & Differentiated
teaching
* Teacher
research
Required text:
Discipline With Dignity
Richard L. Curwin, Allen N.
Mendler
ISBN: 087120357X
ASCD
publications
Recommended text:
The New Teacher Book
Salas, Tenorio, Walters and Weiss, Editors
ISBN : 0942961455
Rethinking Schools
publications
Both of these books are available at either the Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or ASCD websites.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Ø Your grade in this course will be determined by your level of completion of all assignments and your participation in class. Satisfactory work at the graduate level for all course assignments and requirements will result in an AB for this course. Exemplary work will result in an A. Any written work deemed unfit by the instructors will be returned to the student with comments for improvements.
Ø Participation is
integral to the success of this course.
All participants will be asked to share their thoughts, ideas, research,
and experiences at each meeting. The
class meets on Monday evenings from 4 – 6.30 at Furcolo Hall in Room 21
A. (Metered parking is available on both sides of Furcolo hall – payable up
to 5 pm each evening. Additional
space may also be available at the Immanuel Lutheran Church – located to the
north of Furcolo Hall.)
[Other arrangements are being made for the satellite class meetings in Plymouth
County.]
Ø Attendance at all class meetings is essential. Your active participation is required. If at all possible no classes should be missed. Should this be problematic, please negotiate how you intend to make up the absence with your instructor.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Written reflections on readings or prompts (typically two pages per entry). Each week you will be required to respond to readings or to a prompt. The prompts or questions about the readings will be posted each week in the Assignment section of WebCT. Make sure that you check it every week. To complete this weekly assignment, follow this procedure:
The readings will be central to our discussion at each class sessions and your reflections will help you be prepared for class.
2. Classroom Management Plan: You will be asked to develop and implement a classroom management plan. This plan should be based on your experience as a teacher, the course readings and on-line research. The plan, after peer and personal reflections, will be due and possibly showcased at our final meeting. As with all written assignments, please submit it to us via WebCT. Due Dates: The first draft should be submitted to us via WebCT by 2/28. You will share it in small groups in class on 3/7. The second draft is due on 3/14.
3. Photovoice: In order for you to learn more about the setting and the students at the site where you teach, take a series of photographs of your work. The photos should include captions that inform the viewers about the work you do and the students you teach. Make sure that you read the Photovoice summary http://people.umass.edu/afeldman/Photovoice.htm Allan Feldman's sample Photovoice project (without a reflection piece is in the Course Extras folder on WebCT. You can find out more about Photovoice and other sample projects at the website of its originator, Caroline Wang: http://www.photovoice.com/
PHOTOS WILL ONLY BE SHARED WITHIN CLASS AND SHOULD NOT BE
USED IN ANY PUBLIC MANNER WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE PARENTS OR
GUARDIANS OF ALL STUDENTS IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS. We will provide you with a letter
that you can share with your principal and the parents about this project. Due
Date: 3/7.
4. Written Case: Prepare, in writing, a teaching case focusing on different types of learners. The focus of your case should be on your actions as a teacher. Include evidence of what the students are doing in response to your teaching. Models or examples will be provided in class to guide you through your case. The focus of this case could be students on an IEP or a 504 plan. Due Dates: The first draft should be submitted to us via WebCT by 4/4. You will present in class on 4/11. The second draft is due on 4/25.
5. Final Presentation/Showcase: At our final meeting you will be asked to make a short presentation in order to showcase your teaching and learning during the semester. You may highlight any of the above assignments (#’s 2 – 4) for your presentation.
The final version of Assignments 2 & 4 are all due on May 9 for your
semester grade.
GRADING:
The final grade in this course will reflect your work in the five areas as follows:
Activity |
Proportion |
1. Written reflections |
20 % |
2. Classroom Management plan |
20 % |
3. Written case |
20 % |
4. Photovoice |
20 % |
5. On-line participation & class attendance |
20 % |
All course work must be completed on the due dates and
handed in to the instructors. (Or
emailed to your instructor when you meet in your cohort group) A final folder with all the assignments
should be handed in at the last class – May 2nd 2005. If for some
reason this cannot happen, the student must (in advance) make arrangements with
the instructor to complete the work before a mutually agreed upon date. The
student and instructors will draw up a contract specifying the work that needs
to be completed and the completion date. They will sign the contract and each
will receive a copy.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
Should there be any reason that you feel you will not be
able to meet these requirements, please make an appointment with me during the
first two weeks, in order to create a plan that will meet your individual
learning needs.
CALENDAR FOR MEETINGS AT UMASS
Shaded sessions are held at UMass on Mondays from 4 – 6.30 in Room 21A – Furcolo Hall
Session |
Date |
Readings, assignments and
topics to be completed for this class |
I |
1/31 |
UMass class
Introductions Course syllabus and expectations Intro to WebCT |
II |
2/7 |
UMass class
Reflective practice, Classroom
management, and Assessment WebCT revisited Lost at Sea (WebCT) Ms. Moffett (WebCT) |
III |
2/14 |
Readings: Curwin and Mendler: Discipline with
Dignity, Chs. 1-4 Forest and the Tree (WebCT) |
|
2/21 |
Presidents' Day Holiday |
IV |
2/28 |
Readings: Curwin and Mendler: Discipline
with Dignity, Chs. 5-8 DUE 1st draft of
classroom management plan via WebCT |
V |
3/7 |
UMass class
Doing a case study Present classroom management
plan in small groups. DUE Photovoice project to whole
group (PowerPoint preferred) Readings: Curwin and Mendler: Discipline
with Dignity, Chs. 9-12 |
VI |
3/14 |
Reading: Teaching myths (WebCT) http://www.ed.gov/teachers/become/about/survivalguide/index.html DUE 2nd draft of
classroom management plan via WebCT |
|
3/21 |
UMass Spring Vacation |
VII |
3/28 |
Readings: Select two articles from ENC:
Assessment that informs practice http://enc.org/focus/assessment |
VIII |
4/4 |
Readings: Nieto 2003 (WebCT) Diversity Principles (WebCT) DUE 1st draft case
study via WebCT |
IX |
4/11 |
UMass class
Readings: Inclusive curriculum (WebCT) Solner & Thousand (Promising
practices) (eReserves) http://ereserves.library.umass.edu/
password: Feldman Presentation of case studies |
X |
4/18 |
Continue work on case study |
XI |
4/25 |
Special education and
Differentiated Teaching Readings: Universal design (WebCT) DUE: 2nd draft case
study via WebCT |
XII |
5/2 |
Special education and
Differentiated Teaching Readings: Middle School Inclusion (WebCT) |
XIV |
5/9 |
UMass class
Student Showcase and
Presentations |