GED 516: The Decision to Teach
Spring 2011 Tuesday 4:30-7:30 pm
307 St. Edmund’s Hall
Instructor: Dr. Amy Saks Pavese / Office: 318 St. Edmund’s HallOffice Phone: 802.654.2648 / Email:
Office Hours: By appointment / Course Website: www.smcvtonline.org
The SMC Department of Education is committed to
awakening and sustaining the spirit of teaching and learning through nurturing the following characteristics in ourselves and our students:
Dignity and Diversity – We are committed to deep respect for the dignity andinherent worthiness of each person. We honor all dimensions of human development and emphasize the distinct gifts, needs, and interests of each learner. We are also committed to the inclusion of diverse cultural values and knowledge. As a result, we embrace and model varied learning and teaching methodologies.
Character and Community – We view teaching as an ethical calling through which we and our students can nurture the moral dimensions of our lives, including our sense of social responsibility, and our leadership qualities within a context of compassionate relationships. The qualities we strive to promote include the development of integrity, a commitment to peace and justice, empathy, humility, and the courage to act on one’s principles in pursuit of both educational and social change.
Knowledge and Wisdom – Our search for knowledge and wisdom is strongly grounded in the liberal arts tradition, which incorporates mastery of discipline, interdisciplinary perspectives, and an increasing sense of responsibility for one’s own learning. The habits of mind we most value include the application of intellectual curiosity and persistence, critical thinking, self-reflection, and imagination to challenge within schools and the larger culture.
Course Description
Individuals choose to become teachers for a variety of reasons. Many teachers describe their work as a calling. Some identify a simple love of children as their motivating force. Others are passionate about a particular subject and want to share that passion with students. Some come to teaching with a desire to make the world a more just place on a global level or to enhance the lives of individual students. Still others, like Kozol, pinpoint the light in children’s eyes and the opportunity to keep that light alive as the force calling them to teaching. These motivating forces; the experiences individual teachers have had in their own schooling and lives; and their beliefs about schools, students, teaching, and learning all shape the lens with which they interpret and approach their work.In this course we will explore how beliefs about teaching and learning are manifested in practice on an individual and societal level. You will develop a stance of inquiry which will allow you to critically observe, question, and challenge assumptions related to the multiple factors influencing the educational opportunities and experiences of children in U.S. schools. The investigation of three central topics—the purposes of education, how curriculum is determined and taught, and equity in schools—will provide a way of thinking about other educational issues. To further know education is to further imagine, experience, and reflect on what exists (or doesn’t) in our schools and how we can humbly contribute to the lives of children and young adults. Together, with different stories and backgrounds, we enter a journey to share concerns, insight, creativity, and discoveries. Through observing and critiquing classroom settings; practicing the art of teaching; developing an understanding of the sociology, philosophy, history and politics of contemporary education; and by participating in dialogue and experiential activities you will confirm (or, on occasion, disabuse yourself of) your passion, commitment, and "calling" to teach.
The overarching, or essential question, which we will seek to answer in our course is:
Using a theoretical framework of culture, language and identity, how can we critically examine and understand teaching and learning in the 21st century and our roles in schools as future educators?
Course Outcomes
Enduring Understandings:
As a result of the course, students will understand that:
· The lens of culture, language and identity is a way to inquire about society, institutions and individuals.· To understand teaching and learning in a community, one must examine the culture, language and identity of the community, school, classroom, and parents, teachers and students who make up that community, and the interactions among them.
· By collecting various sources of data (e.g. the lived experiences of students, demographic information, classroom observations, student work and standardized test data) and implementing qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, we can understand how to effectively teach all students. / Guiding Questions:
· What are the purposes of schooling in the United States today and how have they evolved over time?
· How is curriculum determined and taught in public schools?
· What is the role of schooling in the promotion of equity versus its role in the reproduction of inequity?
· What are my core beliefs about teaching and learning and how will those beliefs shape my actions as a stakeholder (e.g. voter, parent, volunteer, teacher) in schools?
Students will know…
· Different educational theories, recognize their application in practice during the field placement, analyze theorists’ philosophies, and apply theory to teaching practice.· Key policies and events in the history of American education and how they influence educational opportunities in the 21st century.
· Major philosophical perspectives in the field of education.
· The relationship between their past experiences and the lenses through which they view and interpret the world of schooling, and how those lenses, in turn, shape their actions within that world.
· Effective approaches to classroom management, and the connections among classroom management, student motivation, and student learning.
· The process of backward design. / Students will be able to…
· Demonstrate a stance of inquiry toward self, society, and schooling in order to recognize and challenge their assumptions and biases.
· Use quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data on the culture, language, and identity of students, families and teachers within classrooms, schools and communities, and apply educational theories to analyze the effects of those factors and others on student learning.
· Discern, articulate and support a personal educational philosophy.
· Communicate orally and through writing about key policies in the history of American education and relate those policies to issues of education in the 21st century.
· Design standards-based lessons using the Vermont Standards and Grade Expectations, teach the lessons, collect assessment data and reflect on student learning and their teaching using that data.
· Work collaboratively with colleagues, school staff, and professionals.
Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:· Oral History of Education and Visual Representation of Key Event (5%). In order to understand why people are doing what they are doing in schools, and to make your observations in schools meaningful, a clear picture of the history of American education in the past century is critical. We will begin the course with an overview of this time period. For the second class (due 1/25) you will create a factual or symbolic representation of a milestone event that you will share with the class in a brief (5 min.) oral presentation. Your representation may be temporal (as in a timeline), in order of importance, in response to events outside of education, or representative of the philosophy of the times. (This will be the first of several creative assignments that will stretch your imagination and increase your breadth as an educator.)
The following are a few recommended books that are on reserve in the library to provide you with sources to understand the history of education in the United States over the past century. While you may feel free to access other sources, these books will give you a quick survey of the major events and movements that have impacted public education today. You are expected to have an understanding of the history of education from the early 1900’s to the present day:
· Gutek, G. Education and Schooling in America, 3rd Ed., (1992)
· Gutek, G. An Historical Introduction to American Education, (1991)
· Hlebowitsh, P. Foundations of American Education: Purpose and Promise, (2001) Ch 8
· Mondale, S., and Patton, S.B. (Eds.) School: The Story of American Public Education, (2001)
· Pulliam, J. and Van Patten, J. History of Education in America, 7th ed., (1999)
· Rippa, A. Education in a Free Society, (1984) Part III
· Sadker, D. Teachers, Schools and Society, 8th Ed., (2008)
· Spring, J. The American School: 1642-1985, (1986)
· Webb, Metha and Jordan. Foundations of American Education, Ch. 7, (2000)
· Narrative Reflection on the Texts (5%). As a way to explore the connections among the various texts and articles we will read in this course, you will be writing a narrative reflection in which you take on the role of Hirsch or Kozol and write a letter of response to one of the other authors that we’ve read. In your 2-3 page (double-spaced) letter you will provide “your” (Hirsch’s or Kozol’s) response to the ideas presented by the author. Explain why “you” agree or disagree with the author’s arguments, citing ideas presented in “your” book that seem to support or refute the other author’s point of view.
· Classroom Observations and Reflective Responses. As part of this course you will complete a minimum of seven classroom observations, spending approximately 3 hours per observation in a classroom setting (a total minimum of 21 observation hours). It is your responsibility to gain and maintain access to classrooms for observation. I will give you a letter from Saint Michael's College to help with your entry into the schools. You are required to visit the same school for the first five observations of the semester to come to understand that learning environment in depth. The other two observations must be at different schools and with different teachers of your choosing. I ask you to be intentional about your choices. By state regulations, you are required to observe at the grade level or in the content area in which you will get your license. I will be glad to help with site recommendations, though you are responsible for setting up your own observations. Please be sure to thank the teacher and the principal when appropriate, to assure continued access for yourself and other St. Michael's graduate students.
Part of becoming a teacher requires you to be reflective about events, situations, policies and practices that you witness, discuss, and in which you participate. To keep a record of your thoughts, ideas and observations you will take field notes. I will provide you with field note topics on which to focus during your observation. Using your field notes and readings as a guide, you will reflect on how the factors you are observing in the classroom, school, and community seem to affect student learning. In these 2-3 page (double-spaced) responses you will challenge your assumptions, link theory and practice, and pose additional questions that have emerged for you. In each reflection you will connect your observations to the readings from the week as a means of analyzing the factors affecting teaching and learning. Later in the semester you will use these responses as the foundation for your Analysis of the Learning Environment paper. Five of these reflective responses will be written journal reflections, one will be a narrative reflection and one will be an expressive reflection.
· Journal reflections (10%)—These reflections will be written in a style that encourages you to explore your reflective writing voice. The recommended length for the journal reflections is two-three pages typed, double-spaced with 1" margins and 12 point font. Your reflections are expected to emphasize your discoveries and inquiries. Keep your description of the observations brief; you want to focus on your insights and reflections. My advice is to write succinctly and critically proof your work, and find your own voice and tone. You are expected to make connections between your observations and assigned readings (cite examples from your observations as well as the text when appropriate). Make sure that you read before your observation. Use the reflection rubric attached to guide your writing, and include the grade level/content area, school name, teacher’s name, and date/time of your observation.
· Narrative reflection (5%)—Your narrative reflection will be in a style that encourages you to explore your creative voice though still retaining the integrity of critical reflection and elements of quality writing. This narrative style may take on many different forms: a letter to a state official, a letter to yourself or your future self, a newspaper/newsletter, a parent or child, a relative, a favorite teacher, an author of an article that you have read for that week, a student narrative after seeing an observer’s notes, a teacher narrative written to an observer, a student narrative to the observer, or other. You bring your personal biases, passions, and experiences into these reflections, but you will still connect your observations to the readings for the week, so again, be sure to read before your observation.
· Expressive reflection (5%)—For this reflection you will use your creativity outside of writing (in many cases) to help you respond to classroom observations. Here I am asking you to reflect through drawing, painting, music, poetry, sculpture, movement, puppetry, skit, etc. Your observations are points of departures for you to encounter new ways of perceiving. You may engage literally or abstractly.
In class, we will learn from your creative process and interpretations. This assignment asks you to “speak” through a new medium; as teachers we need to explore our roles as learners as well as develop our capabilities to attend to different/multiple intelligences. These brief works (5 min w/ discussion) will be shared in class on designated days on the schedule. If you choose to perform a skit, feel free to include your classmates in the role-play. For this exercise, focus on a revealing incident, interaction, routine, or complexity that raises your curiosity about a theme in the course/reading. Unveil an assumption of yours that is challenged by your observation (i.e. “I thought all 2nd graders learn at the same pace”).
· Licensure Portfolio Entry I—Analysis of the Learning Environment (20%). The major paper in this course will be part of the Vermont Teacher Licensure Portfolio. For this assignment, you will take on the role of ethnographer exploring the culture of the learning environment based on your five observations in one classroom described above. In this 7-8 page (double-spaced) paper you will analyze the information gathered from your observations. Using the lens of culture, identity and language you will discuss the relevant factors that you feel affect the teaching and learning process. Because it is part of the licensure portfolio, you will need to receive a grade of B or higher on this assignment. Further direction on this assignment will be provided.