FLAN 403 SPRING 2014
Pedagogical Service-Learning Project with
SoutheasternLouisianaUniversity
HEAD START
Spanish: Gumpert, Javaherian, Sánchez
Course Description, Goals and General Objectives:
Flan403 is a pedagogical venture, a partnership betweenthe Department of Languages and Communication and the SLU Head Start. Students participating in all of these ventures will address all five of the goal areas for standards established by the ACTFL: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities. More specifically, they will engage in the following best practices of second-language teaching:
- ‘Present information, concepts, and ideasto an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics (Standard 1.3 [Communication]). Head Start service learners will work with their classroom teachers to introduce second-language vocabulary adaptable to materials being taught by the classroom teacher.
- ‘Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied'as well as the 'relationship between its products and perspectives' (Standards 2.1 and 2.2, 'Cultures') by virtue of preparing and implementing mini second-language cultural units for their respective classes.
- ‘Reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language'(Standard 3.1, 'Connections'). In the case of Head Start, service learners will accomplish this through having children interact with vocabulary that is varied and adapted to the classroom teacher's presentations in the native language.
- ‘Demonstrate understanding of the nature of language and the concept of culture through comparisons of the language and cultures studied and their own.'(Standards 4.1, 4.2). They will be putting into practice what they are learning about childhood bilingual education both from their young charges and from their investigative materials, and they will be assessing their results in checklist performance (Pre-K) and quizzes and other formative evaluative activities (K-12), when appropriate.
- ‘Use the language both within and beyond the school setting'(Standard 5.1, 'Communities') by taking their language skills to children in their community who otherwise might not encounter them at the early age when second-language learning is most effective.
I. Requirements and Guidelines for Spanish Service-Learners.
Students will meet each week with their assigned faculty mentor to plan for the weekly lessons. Lesson plans should not only be discussed in person with a mentor, but each lesson should be sent via e-mail to all of the faculty mentors at the following addresses:,,. Each lesson plan needs to be reviewed by a Flan 403 faculty before being taught; this is a mandatory requirement. An un-reviewed lesson plan will represent 6 points reduction per lesson on your grade.
Service learners for Head Start will help in the planning and implementation of two-three mini classes (depending on the number of interns we have in any given semester) of 15-20 minutes duration to be given for 10 weeks in 6 classes of Head Start youngsters, ages 3-5. They will work as a team with foreign language faculty who initially visit each class with the intern and offer advice about the implementation of the class. After the initial period of observation, the interns will be observed on an intermittent basis, but they will be formally evaluated on two occasions. Development and implementation of learning activities and assessment of results will be a primary focus of this project. Since Head Start administrators follow the policy of non-testing for children at this level, the only assessment tool requirement (and only for Education or Alternate Certification majors) will be the devising of and implementing of a skills checklist, in keeping with early childhood development and in accordance with ACTFL general guidelines for standards. Twenty (20) contact hours of observation and/or teaching (with two mini-classes constituting one contact hour) will be required for all Education majors.
Non-education majors will have twelve (12) contact hours (of observation and/or direct teaching, instead ofthe 20 required of Education majors. It is expected that both Spanish Education majors and Spanish majors or minors will help with the preparing of the piñata party held each semester, after classes end. This is a unique opportunity for hands-on learning with young pupils in a fun atmosphere.
Students will keep a reflective journal of their service-learning experiences and will create a portfolio with materials produced in this course. Education majors will receive documented credit towards the fulfillment of their extra service and observation hours now required by the Department of Education. A log is kept in the main office of Head Start, and the student will be required to sign in and out each day he/she serves in this facility. Education majors should remember to acquire a copy of the logs of time spent in either place, to facilitate entering observation/teaching hours into Passport.
Grading. Grades will be based on the following points distribution:
I.Book Review Written Summaryof a study concerning bilingual education.
Two-page typed (double-spaced)summary.Due Feb. 14, 2014…………………………..50 points
II.Attendance / Participation...... 200 points
This is a very important part of each participant's grade. Absenteeism, tardiness and lack of preparation are not acceptable (except in a true emergency) due to the fact that students will be working with youngsters and their teachers in very structured school settings. Teachers are incorporating our students into their carefully-organized pedagogical plans and are counting on usto be present and participate at the scheduled times.
Head Start Participants: 200 points will be awarded for participation in each of the weekly class sessions (20 hours for Education majors and 12 hours for Non-education majors). Points will be awarded at 10 points per hour (an hour = 2 or 3 classes taught, depending on the need, usually back-to-back, on one or two days) for Spanish Education Majors and 16.5 points for Spanish Majors or Minors. A log specifically set up for keeping track of hours willbe kept in the Foreign Language file folder in the main office of Head Start.The participation points also include a weekly consultation in the office of a FLAN 403 mentor) for approval of the week’s lesson plan. As mentioned before, a -6-point penalty will apply for failure to meet with a mentor for guidance in the creation and approval of any weekly lesson plan.
III.Development, Presentation, and Implementation of PedagogicalMaterials…160 points
Up to 160 points may be awarded for development, presentation,implementation, and assessment of pedagogical materials in the respective weekly classes for which each participant will be responsible. Participating faculty mentors will evaluate each student intern 2 times (a possible 80 points are awarded during each of the two evaluations), in the areas of: 1) pronunciation; 2) grammar, diction, and syntax; 3) development and implementation of age-appropriate activities, with an effort being made inall school settings, to create and execute these activities, in accordance with ACTFL standards., 4) development and execution of an assessment tool or tools (when required and/or appropriate), and 5) classroom management and rapport established with the children. Together, these evaluations constitute a mid-term and final.
IV.Journal for Self-Reflection………………………………………………………………40points
40 points will be awarded for 4 personal journal entries (at 10 points apiece), each at least one double-spaced, typewritten page in length, which students will write every other week, beginning with the second or third week of meeting with their classes (see timetable below), for the purposes of self-reflection on their ongoing endeavors in their respective classrooms. Guidelines will be provided as to the content of these journals.
Journal 1______Feb. 21, 2014
Journal 2______Mar. 14, 2014
Journal 3______Apr. 4, 2014
Journal 4______May 2, 2014
V. Portfolio…………………………………………May 9th, 2014 (last day of classes) ...50 points
Students will keep a portfolio of their work that will show a variety of content area taught over the course of the semester. It will be graded on:
1)Completeness ------15 pts.
2)Neatness and organization------15 pts.
3)Creativity (originality / materials / quality of presentation) ------15 pts.
4)Meeting deadline /------5 pts.
It should include the summary of the book review, 4 self-reflective journals, 2 evaluations, 10 lesson plans, assessment tools (if required--for education majors only) and samples of teaching materials created during the course. Samples of portfolios from previous semesters are available for viewing prior to completion of this final project.The portfolio will be due on or before Friday, May 9th (the last day of classes).
SUMMARY OF POINTS TO BE AWARDED AND GRADING SCALE EQUIVALENT:
500-450 =A 449-399 =B398-348=C 347-322 =D 321-0 =F
The above is equivalent to the following, based on a 10%-percent scale:
A-100/90B-89/80C-79/70D-69/65F-below 64
GENERAL DATES TO REMEMBER:
a. Last day to withdraw or resign from the University for regular semester only will be Friday, March 14th (by 12:30pm)
b. Term I the withdraw day will be Friday, Feb, 14th (by 12:30pm).
c. Term II the withdraw day will be Thursday, May 1st (by 5:00pm).
d.All rental textbooks must be returned to textbook rental on or before 6:00 p.m. on the first business day following the last day of final examinations. Hours of operation each day during final exams: 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Rental books must be purchased if not returned byFriday, May. 23rd–by 12:30 p.m