1MLE 3110 Curriculum and Instruction in Middle Level Spring 2008 Instructor: Jeremie R. Smith Location: Buzzard 2160 Time: 4:00-6:30 M Office Hours: All by appointment Telephone: Office (217)238-5803 Home (217) 258-6998 Cell: (217) 821-9786 E-Mail: [email protected], [email protected] Theme: Educator as creator of effective educational environments- integrating diverse students, subjects, strategies, and societies. Course Description: Topics include instructional models, assessment methods, models for classroom management and discipline, parent-school community involvement, familiarity with Illinois Learning Standards, and school law. Proficiency is required in lesson planning, writing communication, and the use of a variety of technological equipment. Outcomes for all ELE classes: • Develop a desire of lifelong learning in students and personally display one’s own desire for learning, including self-evaluation skills. • Demonstrate good communication skills. • Demonstrate/exhibit sensitivity to students’ feelings. • Design instruction to develop and utilize the cognitive processes by which students learn. • Manage the classroom to optimize academically engaged time. • Perform successfully within the social and political contexts of school and community. • Demonstrate knowledge of facts, and an understanding of fundamental principles, ideas, and relationships among various domains. • Demonstrate knowledge of past and present developments, issues, research, and social influences in the field of education. Outcomes specific to ELE 3110: • Using a variety of assessment and evaluation procedures, demonstrate alternative instructional methods to teach the designated curriculum in order to achieve similar learning outcomes. • Using the designated curriculum and Illinois Learning Standards, design instruction to meet the needs of all students and foster a desire to learn. • Provide for the uniqueness of individuals, recognizing the characteristics of culturally pluralistic and “at risk” populations, and foster appreciation for those differences. • Model appropriate professional behavior. • Design instruction to promote a healthy concept in students. • Demonstrate alternative methods of achieving similar learning outcomes. Decide what will be learned and ways to achieve that.2Course Goal: The goal of this course is to provide proven teaching methods coupled with effective instructional theory to pre-service teachers. We want to develop the premise that the teacher is an educational leader and decision-maker who directly affects students and influences the presentation of subject matter. We will offer a broad spectrum of instructional methodologies, techniques, and approaches that are workable in today’s classroom. Course Texts: Muth, Denise K., Alvermann, Donna E., (1999). Teaching and Learning in the Middle Grades (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Charles, C.M. (2005). Building Classroom Discipline. (8th ed.). New York: Longman. ** We will be using Teaching and Learning in Middle Grades for the first part of the semester, and Building Classroom Dsicipline in the second half of the semester. PLEASE be sure to bring your text to class each session. Learning Model: Information-processing Model (Joyce, Weil & Showers, 1992) This model enhances student attempts to comprehend acquiring and organizing data, sensing problems/generating solutions, and developing concepts (i.e., including the language needed to convey them). This model focuses on input, processing and output. As the content is taught, the teacher directs attention to the methods and materials used to present the data, (e.g., advance organizers) and has students focus on what is occurring as it is assimilated (e.g., inductive thinking and questioning). This model provides the student with information while emphasizing concept attainment and hypothesis testing. Course Dispositions: Dispositions are the attitudes, perceptions or beliefs that form the basis for behavior. CEPS has identified the following five dispositions relevant to its courses: Interaction with Students (IWS) Interaction with students encompasses those behaviors that evidence the candidate’s regard for the learners. These include acts of fairness, respectful tone of voice, positive use of humor, and interest in students as individuals. In addition, candidates should evidence a supportive and encouraging atmosphere for learning through their interactions with students. Professional Ethics and Practices (PEP) Professional ethics and practices are often the most easily observed of the dispositional behaviors. Respect for the professional environment is evidenced through acceptable dress and grooming, and timeliness, not only in arrival and departure, but in completion of tasks. Appropriate use of language, academic integrity and honesty, and the ability to keep professional confidences are in this dispositional category. Effective Communication (EC) Easily identified as a skill domain, effective communication within a dispositional framework refers to one’s regard for3honest, fair, and accurate communication. Effective communication encompasses the belief that teachers must model effective communication for their students. Honorable and non-judgmental professional discourse, especially in relation to the candidate’s progress, is essential for growth. Effective communication considers the audience as well as the message. Planning and Teaching for Student Learning (PTSL) Planning and teaching for student learning in the dispositional arena refers to the beliefs about student learning and how these are evidenced in the acts of planning and teaching. Positive dispositions in this area are reflected in rich and varied teaching approaches. Sensitivity to Diversity and Equity (SDE) Sensitivity to diversity and equity goes beyond the acknowledgement or awareness of differences in the classroom or community. A positive disposition in this area may be evidenced by seeking out alternative materials, careful use of appropriate language and naming, equal disbursement of resources, and a lack of ethnocentric or gender-specific generalizations. MLE 3110 will specifically address IWS, SDE & PTSL. Course requirements and demonstrated competencies are aligned with the following standards: Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (IPTS) http://www.isbe.net/profprep/PDFs/ipts.pdf.