Aagaard, Dr. Alan A. Spring 2009

CI 271/272 PreCore Campus

CI 271 --- Introduction to the Profession

The Beginning of a Journey

Instructor: Dr. Alan A. Aagaard

Office Address: 118 Corbin Education Center

Office Hours: one hour prior to class and one hour after class; plus by appointment

Telephone: (316) 978-3352 (both live and/or voiceMail)

FAX: (316) 978-6935

eMail: --- and be sure to use the “Code” ALWAYS

COE Website: http://education.wichita.edu

Prerequisites: C or better in English I and II, Communication, and College Algebra; sophomore standing; 2.75 GPA over 35 hours.

Co-requisite: concurrent enrollment in the corresponding CI 272. (Please check schedule for the correct section numbers.) Both courses must be taken in the same semester and time frame.

Course Description: Introduction to the Profession (2). Students examine the nature of teaching: the roles of collaboration, reflective practice, critical thinking, problem solving, and inquiry. Students will be engaged in activities using all of these tools.

Textbook(s) and Related Material: Powell, S. D. (2009). An Introduction to Education: Choosing Your Teaching Path. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,0137147937,00.html

Academic Honesty (Wichita State University’s Undergraduate Catalog): A standard of honesty, fairly applied to all students is essential to a learning environment. Students violating such standards must accept the consequences; penalties are assessed by appropriate classroom instructors or other designated persons. Serious cases may result in discipline at the college or university level and may result in suspension or dismissal. Dismissal from a college for academic dishonesty constitutes dismissal from the University.

Statement on Disability: If you have a physical, psychiatric/emotional, medical, or learning disability that may impact your ability to carry out assigned course work, contact the Office of Disability Services (DS), Grace Wilkie Annex, room 173. (Voice phone 978-3309; tdd/tty 978-3067). DS will review your concerns and determine, with you, what accommodations are necessary for you. All information and documentation of your disability is confidential and will not be released by DS without your written permission.

Technology Statement: The use of technology will be a critical requirement for this course. At a minimum, students will have to be fluent in word processing, have access to a word processing program capable of inserting pictures and hyperlinks, a color printer, and have Internet connectivity and access to email. All of the above are available in the COE Technology Center for students in the teacher education program.

Inclement Weather: Call (316) 978-6633 (select 2) to inquire about class cancellations due

to inclement weather.

Course Information

The general format of this course is discussion. At times I will lecture to provide a framework or baseline of information which we will be manipulating. You will be expected to stay ahead of me in the readings and be prepared to utilize the information in class.

My job is to help you explore the concept of teacher.

Your job is to come with something to explore.

Curricular Goal

The students will begin to build the concept of “teacher” combining the experiences and background knowledge they bring into the class with information presented in the class and in the readings, discussions, and activities, as well as experiences from their school observations.

Rationale

The information and experiences offered to you in this course is intended specifically to help you make decisions about your future as a teacher. It is important to create a picture of what teachers, teaching, schooling, and education in this country are about to help you decide.

Standards and Major Topics

We will be talking a lot about standards and what they mean for us in the classroom. Every grade, every content area, and even higher education must attend to a list of standards either set by the state Board of Education of an accrediting agency such as NCATE. These are broad general statements of what the learner is expected to know at the end of a specific grade level or at the end of a course of study. Further, standards are intended to guide our teaching.

All of the course work in all of the Teacher Education programs here at Wichita State are linked together by a set of common threads we call Guiding Principles. These Guiding Principles are woven together to create meaningfulness and make connections. Wichita State’s visions for the preparation of education professionals and other school personnel is like a rope that connects guiding principles and binds the constituents together. The Guiding Principles are:

1) Professionalism and Reflection;

2) Human Development and Diversity;

3) Connection of Teaching Experiences and Assessment;

4) Technology;

5) Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge and Alignment with Standards;

6) Collaboration. Each guiding principle, associated with the following major topics, is addressed and assessed in this course.

Guiding Principles from the Unit Conceptual Framework
Major Topics / Professionalism and Reflection (PR) / Human Development and Diversity (HDD) / Connection of Teaching Experiences and Assessment (CTA) / Technology (T) / Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Alignment with Standards (CKS) / Collaboration (C)
Techniques for collecting evidence of knowledge, skills, performance, and dispositions of a future teacher / X / X / X / X
Analysis of a classroom teacher’s role / X / X / X / X
Choices and decisions teachers make daily as they plan, instruct, and evaluate / X / X / X / X / X
Personal suitability for the teaching profession / X / X / X / X / X
Understanding schooling in America / X / X / X / X / X / X
Utilizing children’s development / X / X / X
Relating diversity to education / X / X / X
Social influences and legal issues / X / X / X / X / X / X
COE Technology Integration Plan / X / X
Contextual Factors and their Implications / X / X / X / X / X / X
Program Advising / X

The Guiding Principles are directly reflected in the following learner outcomes.

Student Learning Outcomes: The Pre-candidate is becoming a reflective professional who will

Outcome / Related Assessment / KSBE Standard / Guiding Principles from COE Conceptual Framework
1. Observe and interpret interactions between students and educators, to become aware of how learning occurs. / - Analysis of teaching segments and videos / S-2 K1
S-3 K 1 / HDD 1
HDD 3
2. Collect evidence to support the knowledge gained about teaching, learning, and assessment. / - Summaries of videos
- Formative assessments, such as the midterm and vocabulary exams / S9-K1 / CTA1
3. Begin to collect evidence from a variety of sources to demonstrate awareness of the skills needed, for becoming a teacher. / - Analyze current events in education, such as Legal Briefs / S6-K3 / PR 1
4. Demonstrate having appropriate dispositions for becoming a teacher. / -Dispositions Rubric / S9-K1 / PR 3
5. Show evidence toward gaining knowledge about standards in education for both content and pedagogy. / -Formative Assessment Rubrics
-Design-a-School project / S8-K1 / CKS
6. Identify tools of inquiry during classroom observations. / -Analysis using the Observation Cycle / S1 / PR 1
PR 3
7. Describe and analyze the governance of schools / - Summaries of videos
- Formative assessments, such as the midterm and vocabulary exams / S4-K2 / PR 1
8. Identify technologies used in teaching. / -Class Products / S12-K1 / T 4

Course Products and Points:

A product may be turned in one day (not class period) late for a reduction of 20% of the total points. Products turned in later than one day will not be graded.

Example: If your first summary paper is due on Monday and is worth 50 points. It may be turned in on Tuesday, but will be worth a maximum of 40 points. On Wednesday, it will be worthless.

a. Legal Briefs - Over the course of the semester, students will be asked to read and respond to four different legal issues through current court cases. These can be found at http://www.nsba.org/cosa/ under Legal Clips at the bottom of the page. They will fall into four categories: First Amendment Rights, Student Discipline, District Issues, and Teacher Dismissal. Please refer to the Blackboard under ASSIGNMENTS for instructions on how to sign up for the briefs to be sent to your e-mail address. The format for your summary and response can be found there as well. (each is worth 25 pts.)

b. Analysis of Classroom Video - The students are introduced to the to various classroom issues through video tapes. An analysis sheet for each video can be found under ASSIGNMENTS. You will need to print them off and bring to class.

c. Contextual Factors Summary - The Contextual Factors segment of the Teacher Work Sample will be used to analyze information viewed in video tapes as well as the information gathered during your field experience. Please view the Contextual Factors information and rubric contained under ASSIGNMENTS. (50 points)

d. Key Terms and Vocabulary - Education, as all other professions, has its own language. It is important that the student begin to understand the educational jargon which is a part of our everyday speech. During the semester, there will be assessments of the students’ grasp of conceptual terms and vocabulary terms we use. (The total for this assessment will be 100 pts.)

e. Midterm - A midterm exam will be given, which will cover the first 6 chapters. The study guide is included under COURSE INFORMATION. (100 points)

f. Final Design-a-School Project - For the final, you will be assigned to design a school which addresses many of the topics we have covered in the course. It will be a group project and will include a presentation to the class. The description and rubric are included in the handbook. (100 pts)

g. Attendance - There are 31 days in this session. Each day you are here, you will earn 5 points for being on time, and but only 2 points if you are late. For example, if you are here for 18 days on time, and 2 days you were late, you will have 94 points. If you are here for 18 days, late on a day, and absent on another, you will have 92 points.

h. Book report – Each of you will do a book report presentation from the list of books in the handbook. This will be done in pairs or small groups. See the information under book report on the ASSIGNMENTS page. (100 points)

Grading:

Your grade will be determined by the following grading scale:

A = 100 - 90% of total possible points;

B = 89 - 80 %

C = 79 - 70 %

D = 69 - 60 %

F = less than 60 %.

Please Remember, a product may be turned in one day (not class period) late for a reduction of 10% of the total points. Products turned in later than one day will not be graded.

CI 272 is no longer a separate course. However, it is carried that way by the registrar. It is graded S/U. If you receive an A or B in 271, you will get an S in 272. If you receive a C or lower, you will have a U in 272. owever

Entry into Teacher Education

You will receive a handbook containing all of the information you need to apply to the teacher education program of your choice. You should begin collecting the artifacts which are required as soon as possible.

Ø A grade of B or better is required in CI 271 for entrance into Teacher Education.

Ø Pre-professional Skills Test

This may be the in the form PPST, or some exam you took at a junior/community college. There are a variety which are now accepted, and there is a list in the Application Packet. These tests may be taken at the campus testing service or at Sylvan Learning Center. (Just a note, Sylvan is cheaper)

Ø “Why Teach?” Essay

All students will be required to write an essay explaining why they want to be teachers. This will be done through the College of Education Technology Lab. The essay will be used as part of the entrance documents.

Ø CBASE

In addition to the PPST, Elementary Education Majors ONLY are required to take the College Base (CBASE) Exam. Dates can be obtained at the CI office or ESS. Currently, Sylvan does not offer the C-BASE.

Ø Interview

Education Applicants will be scheduled for interviews with a member of the Curriculum and Instruction faculty. These interviews also become part of the student’s entrance documents.

CI 272 --- Introduction to the Profession

Field Experience