Fall 2016 - EDUC 446 Student Syllabus Addendum: Student Guidelines and Responsibilities)
Faculty: Marian Kotowich-LavalEmail:
Class Blog:
Phones:250-615-3328 (Direct); 250-615-5578 (General); 250-615-5478 (Fax)
Location:Room 147 (Terrace Campus)
EDUC 446- Welcome to the journey!
I hope you find this addendum helpful and informative. Our class is a safe place for you, as a student, to explore and grow in awareness and knowledge of aboriginal education and epistemologies or knowing. The ideas and information shared are designed to expand your current knowledge-base, address any pre-existing assumptions, and gain more insight into Aboriginal Epistemology designed to inform your current and future practiceas an educator. Our class is intended to engage you holistically, a tenet of Aboriginal Epistemology.
School of Education’sUNIQUE Grading Scale
The School of Education adopted its own grading scale in 2013. See the SYLLABUS. B.Ed. students MUST maintain a minimum C+ to continue in the program. If you are concerned, consult with Dr. Ed Harrison.
Teacher Regulation Branch (TRB) Teaching Standards
The TRB Standardsguide the learning outcomes of the course. An emphasis on Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 8 in conjunction with Aboriginal educational approaches and epistemologies has been established. (See Syllabus)
Indigenizing the TRB Standards (Examples)
Class Activities and Participation: TRB Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 8
The weekly class activities will include: talking circles, lectures, group activities, research activities, experiential learning, guest-speakers, etc. These activities emphasize active learning and engagement.
Reading and Written Assignments: TRB Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 8
The weekly assignments will provide you with the opportunity to analyze aboriginal historical and current issues related to aboriginal educational epistemology and phenomenology. Students need to come prepared to summarize and critically analyze the important points in the assigned readings and other written work. Sample analysis questions may include: What points did you agree/disagree with and why? What new understandings did you acquire? How did this material contribute to your understanding of Aboriginal education and epistemology?
Class Presentation: TRB Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 8
As a student, you will present on topics related to Aboriginal Educational Epistemology, having reflected on the perspectives and insights that you have gained.
Community Engagement & Learning: Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 8
Mutual collegial communications and engagement are central to a high-functioning class. Engaging yourself respectfully in the aboriginal community provides the opportunities to gather insights into the Aboriginal worldviews and philosophies, as well as build on your cultural competencies.
Exemplary collegial and community leadership and achievement: Standards 4, 5, 6, & 8
Students will have ample opportunity to expand their personal and professional goals to become more culturally-attuned. Exemplary marks recognize those who demonstrate exceptional collegiality and leadership.
Student Performance
As a student, you are responsible for yourown work and achievement levels, especially in group work. The conversational and experiential approaches will demonstrate your level of engagement andwill be graded (low, average, high). For example, participation levels in discussions, integrating additional source materials and experiences, meeting timelines, givingquality presentations, deepen your cultural competencies, andactions and standards reflective of the education profession and praxis.
Student Engagement
Our class will engage insafe participatory activities, lectures, discussions, circles, group-work, * field trip/s (TBA), and community engagement opportunities. Your participation will be evaluated based on, for example:
- Critical contribution – offering strong and insightful discourse is essential to the participatory style. (* See below)
- Interpersonal skills – being encouraging and supportive of others; active participation, discussion, verbal and written communication, and articulation of your perspectives and questions.
- Attitudinal – Being cognizant of the attitudescongruent with teacher-candidacy, professionalism, respect for differing opinions and perspectives.
- Overall participation – supporting verbal discourse, questioning, active listening, collegiality, preparedness, and balancing the workload in group projects.
Behaviours and Attitudes
- * Critical contribution: If no or minimal engagement is evidenced in class by me, you will be asked to complete an additional paper or oral assignment to fill out the gaps. As the instructor, I need to hear what you are thinking and processing. Any additional assignment will be due by next class. If you are having difficulties following in class or contributing meaningfully, please let me know so we can problem-solve.
- Please be aware that your behaviours bothinside and outside of the classshould focus on being constructive, which includes thoughtful critique.
- Please be on timeat the start and returning from breaks. Hand-in quality work. Be a participatory and collegial student. If you struggle with these or any other issues, please discuss them with me.If you are dealing with any serious issues and group dynamics, please let me know. These may include issues of gossiping, bullying, racism, inappropriate joking, etc. These under-currents can significantly interfere with the safety of everyone and can undermine students’ success and professional development. If you are having concerns with your own behaviours or that of others, please inform me immediately so they can be resolved promptly and safely.
Assignments
Assignments will includeexperiential learning, group-work,public presentations, and solo projects. When working in groups, the “how” you work together is as important as the completion of the exercise. Individualized grading is given to group projects. Please try to work-out any group issues collegially amongst yourselves. However, if you feel that more clarification or instructor-involvement is needed to resolve issues, then please do let me know.
Student Academic and Writing Support
For academic services, i.e. writing coaching, etc., see: .
Marking of Assignments
Assignments are generally marked on a first-come-first-serve basis. Late submissions or re-drafts are marked last. Marks are returned at the same time for all students, which can result in delays. Marks are confidential between the instructor and the student. Please do not share or compare your marks with your colleagues.
Assignment Quality and Timeliness
Assignments are expected be on-time, complete, neat, well thought-out, well-organized, double-spaced, cited using APA. Please includeyour name, course name, assignment name, and page numbers on your papers. PLEASE use a RUNNING HEADER and NOT a full title page, to save on the paper. A10% deduction will be made on all assignments that are missing your name. Consider designing a generic template for yourself. Late assignments will be deducted 5% per day from the total possible percentage; UNLESS other arrangements have been made with me. If you need to negotiate a new timeline, please ask in advance.If your assignment is returned to youas “draft quality”,please resubmit the paper within3 days. Additional marks will likely be deducted if no significant changes are made. Discussion and papers marked “DRAFT#” are welcome prior to the due date.
Submitting Assignments and Requests for Re-Submissions
All assignments are expected to be completed on time and submitted electronically to . Handwritten papers will not be accepted. After they are marked and returned, I will accept requests for re-grading and/or re-submissions on the following conditions:
- The request must be made by the student by email within 2 days.
- ONLY assignments marked lower than a C+ will be admissible for re-submission.
- The original mark could go up or down on all re-submissions. Discuss with me the improvements needed.
- A limit of 2requests for re-submission can be made in one semester.
EMAIL Assignments only
All assignments must be sent and received to your UNBC EMAIL. Please include: EDUC 446, YOUR NAME, and the ASSIGNMENTNAME in the EMAIL HEADER. Please check your UNBC email regularly.
Evaluation of Assignments
Some assignments come attached with a detailed rubric to betterassist you in achieving the goals of the assignment. Mygeneralevaluation includes the following:
MARKING / Above Avg. / Avg. / Under Avg.Materials: Presentation of papers are well formatted and written (APA, grammar, spelling, organization, includes sufficient scholarly content and connections that fit the topic and expands on your ideas, be well-structured (clear beginning, middle, and end), make good use of vocabulary and sentence structure, and use proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar, meticulously referenced work and no *plagiarism, etc.
Content: Knowledgeable, clear, cited research, provocative, original, insightful, connected to teaching standards, reflective of Aboriginal epistemology, and is values-based.
Mechanics of Delivery: Audible, engaging body language, well-organized and written materials, use of presentation technology, copy made available, etc.
Engagement: Creative opening or “hook”, encouraged audience involvement and discussion, invited questions, evidence of critical thinking, and provided a concise summary or closing.
*Plagiarism is a serious academic offence. Please be informed of what plagiarism is and ask for help. UNBC’s policy is available at: . Be diligent about properly referencing scholarly materials. If you are uncertain about APA referencing, contact the Academic Success Centre at .
Attendance, Lates, Absences, and Consequences
The TRB requires that B.Ed. students be taught face-to-face; therefore, there are NO distance-education options. Each class is unique and non-duplicable, so please attend. If you are experiencing any difficultyin attending or meeting these expectations, please consult with me. There are NO SUBSTITUTIONS for field trips or time to pursue personal interests or unsanctioned holidays.
Health & Safety:Certain unavoidable circumstances mayarise and students must consider their own health and safety issues first, e.g. extreme weather conditions, contagious illnesses, family emergencies, etc. If you anticipate being late, absent, or must leave a class early, pleasecall-in day or night at 250-615-3328 or email: . Generally, an automatic 1% deduction is made for repeated lateness of 15 minutes and 3% for non-attendance of afull class.
Absences and Make-up Assignments:Although there are no substitutions for face-to-face engagement; under exceptional circumstances, a partial recovery of marks is possible by following these steps:
- Inform the instructor of the circumstances by leaving a phone message at 250-615-3328.
- After your return: a. Check with one, preferably two colleagues about the content of the missed class; b. check the BLOG for any due assignments and notes; and check in with me.
- Contact me to suggest a topic, based on what you discovered about the class. See: #2 (above). Submit a 1000-word essay related to the class. Generally you will have 5-7 days to submit the paper or be negotiated, depending on your health and circumstances.
- A minimum of 10% will be deducted from your final grade if no make-up paper is submitted.
Technology Requirements
Technology is used throughout the course, i.e. research tools, using the class blog, PowerPoint, SmartBoard, etc. If you have questions, contact Alex Ippel, IT Support or call 250-615-5578 to set up your email, computer, wireless network, and mobile devices.
Class Blog: Our class blog is a 24/7 confidential and accessible online-repository for course documents, assignments, and communications. Please check it regularly at:
Health Breaks
Your health is important, please take care of it and use your breaks wisely. Every 1-hour of class has a 10-minute break. Break times will be negotiated each class. Please return from breaks on time, otherwise these must be recovered at the end of the class. Class overageswill be recovered at the end of the semester.
Student Accessibility and Support
Students requiring special accommodations are encouraged to contact the UNBC Access Resource Centre (ARC). ARC is “committed to the goal of creating and maintaining physical, intellectual and social access to the University for students with disabilities.” ARC advisors are accessible to regional students, toll free: 1-888-960-5682 during office hours: Monday to Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. See:
Other Helpful Contacts and Resources are available on the Blog:
If you need an appointment, want to make any suggestions, or have any concerns, please call me at
250-615-3328 or email: .
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