EDUC+715


 * Education 715 **

Secondary School Curriculum (TEACH STEP Bridges to the Future) Fall 2014- Room 222 Ruth-Ellen Verock-O'Loughlin, Furcolo Cell (978) 660-0145 ruth-ellen@educ.umass.edu

Office Hours: Mon. and Tues. and by arrangement

** COURSE OVERVIEW-Abstract **

This course is designed as an introductory study of the work of the middle and high school teacher with an emphasis on the sociopolitical and organizational contexts in which the work is embedded. It is designed to encourage you to begin the process of reflection on observations, practice, and theory in order to consider the choices you will make in your classroom. You will be asked to observe in your own school, as well as to participate in field experiences at other schools, with the goal of noting and reflecting upon patterns, assumptions, questions and surprises. You will be asked to reflect upon yourself, your social identity and your school experiences in order to understand who you are as you enter the classroom and what this means to your teaching.
 * An Introductory Study **

You will be asked to examine the realities and challenges of a teacher’s life, including working hours, organizational support and constraints, and relationships to family and community. You will examine how teachers approach their work and how the setting impacts what happens in the classroom as well as develop and implement lessons and consider factors such as differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, classroom management, and assessment.
 * Approaching Teaching as a Researcher **

This course will ask you to examine yourself - your attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, expectations, identities, and world views - as situated knowledge that may or may not encompass the realities of the student, the classroom, the school and the larger society.
 * Work and the Self **


 * COURSE OBJECTIVES **

Education 715 is designed to:


 * Introduce prospective teachers to the complexities of the work of teachers.
 * Explore prospective teachers’ understanding of historical, sociopolitical, and organizational contexts for teachers’ work.
 * Relate participants’ motives and goals for becoming teachers to the reality of the work of the middle and high school teacher.
 * Develop initial skills in the design and implementation of lessons and unit planning.
 * Develop a habit of reflection on the practice of teaching that allows for the incorporation of new ideas and experiences into thoughtful choices in the classroom.


 * CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK **

The course is designed to demonstrate commitment to the following elements stated in the College of Education’s Conceptual Framework. These are:
 * Collaboration ** -- Educators recognize the imperative of collaboration - that we cannot achieve our vision for student learning as independent actors working in isolation. Educators exhibit attitudes, dispositions, and behaviors consistent with a collaborative approach to professional practice, as opposed to an individualistic or competitive approach to professional practice.


 * Reflective Practice ** -- Educators recognize the imperative of reflective practice – that to transform the status quo we must be willing to consistently examine and transform assumptions about professional practice. Educators exhibit attitudes, dispositions, and behaviors consistent with a reflective approach to professional practice that allows them to adapt practices based on considered reflection.


 * Multiple Ways of Knowing ** -- Educators recognize the imperative of multiple ways of knowing – that to create communities of practice, we must respect the perspectives of different stakeholders. In a spirit of inquiry, educators reflect on and challenge their own perspectives and beliefs and maintain a professional awareness of the influences that their perspectives may have in educational settings.


 * Social Justice ** -- Educators recognize the imperative of Social Justice– that we cannot achieve our vision of access to and success in education for all students without knowledge of and attention to the student’s social, cultural, developmental, and personal context. Educators exhibit attitudes, dispositions, and behaviors consistent with promoting equity that allow them to adopt practices that create and advance equitable conditions in which all students can learn.


 * Evidence-Based Practice ** -- Educators recognize the imperative of evidence-based practices that promote student engagement, achievement and performance. In so doing the candidate be able to: 1) gather and/or examine multiple sources of evidence, 2) determine the credibility, reliability and validity of the evidence, 3) synthesize and draw conclusions from evidence, and 4) use the evidence to modify professional practices that result in increased PK12 student learning outcomes.

Each week, we will try to encourage inquiry, pose relevant problems, structure learning around essential concepts, address misconceptions, and encourage high-level reflection. A conscious attempt will be made to vary the format and style of teaching in an attempt to address a variety of ways of learning.
 * INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGIES/SPECIAL NEEDS **

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), Learning Disabilities Support Services (LDSS), or Psychological Disabilities Services (PDS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements. Further information about University service for students with special needs is available from Learning Disabilities Support Services at 413-545-6218.

The integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research. Academic honesty is therefore required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty (cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, facilitating dishonesty) is prohibited in all programs of the University.
 * ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT **

** Overview of Field Based Experiences ** ** for ** ** TEACH Bridges to the Future Teacher Candidates ** In mid-August the University received the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s new regulations for the licensing of preservice teachers, dated July 2013. These regulations are intended to ensure that new teachers are “//ready to effectively teach and lead in the Commonwealth’s schools//.”

The new teacher license regulations state: “//It is ESE’s intent for candidates to have field-experiences that span the full school year to better prepare individuals to be effective beginning in their first year of employment. This will enable teachers to demonstrate acquisition of the Professional Standards for Teachers, and give them the opportunity to participate in the opening and closing of the school year and all events that occur during a school year//” (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Preservice Performance Assessment: Guidelines for Teachers, July 2013, p. 6).

Since its inception, the TEACH Bridges to the Future program has been structured to meet the state’s new guidelines. Candidates are in schools all year long, from the first day of school to the last and they are expected, when possible, to be involved in all of the professional roles of teachers. Each candidate assumes increasing levels of responsibilities in the classroom as the year progresses. Each candidate works with mentor teachers who have a proven record of success as an educator. By the end of the Bridges program, each candidate will have taken over all aspects of the classroom, assumed responsibility for teaching, assessment, and evaluation of students, and performed all the other roles of a effective and successful middle or high school teacher.

During the Fall 2014 semester, all TEACH Bridges to the Future teacher candidates are engaged in field experiences in schools as part of a required prepracticum and beginning student teaching phase of the teacher licensure process. Each candidate is also engaged in graduate level coursework focusing on instructional methods, subject area pedagogy, addressing the needs of English Language Learners, use of educational technology, and learning how to build effective relationships with students, colleagues, and families.

As we unfold this year’s Bridges program to address the new regulations, we envision the following timeline:


 * ** Foundation for Teaching ** (September to October). Candidates will spend the month of September and the beginning of October observing and teaching in their sponsoring teacher’s classroom and in their larger school organization. They will also engage in observations in other districts, including urban settings. The goal is for candidates to build a **foundation for teaching** through experiences that introduce them to the roles and responsibilities of a teacher in a middle and high school.


 * ** Co-Teaching and Interactive Coaching (October to end of December) ** . Candidates will assume increasing instructional roles in two to three classes by the middle of October, depending on the needs of the sponsoring teacher and the candidate’s readiness to take on these responsibilities. We envision this to be a period of **co-teaching and interactive coaching** between the candidate and the mentor teacher. We want mentors to give candidates targeted feedback to improve their teaching in the classroom and we want candidates to use proven, effective teaching strategies in their lessons with students.


 * ** Student Teaching Phase ** (January to April). Beginning in January, candidates will move into the **student teaching phase** of the program. During this time frame, they will complete 100 hours in which they assume **full responsibility for their mentor teacher’s entire instructional day**. During these 100 hours, candidates are expected to teach all classes during the day and perform other duties including school meetings and family conferences. Mentor teachers will be available to give coaching and support. The state’s new teacher regulations say that the 100 hours does not have to consecutive so teachers and candidates will be able to devise their own schedules for meeting the requirements. A candidate might teach a full load for a week, take a week to reflect and prepare, and then teach another full week, and so on. Or, a candidate might teach a full load 2 days a week for several weeks in a row. Candidates will be evaluated on how successfully they address the Massachusetts Professional Standards for Teachers as well as the national standards set by the National Council for Teachers of English (for English candidates), the National Council for the Social Studies (for history candidates), the National Science Teachers Association (for science candidates), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (for mathematics candidates). University supervisors will observe and co-evaluate candidate performance throughout this process.


 * ** Clinical Teaching ** (April to end of the school year in June). The final phase of the program is **clinical teaching** in which candidates have the opportunity to further demonstrate their learning and improve their skills and competencies as a teacher in the classroom. We envision that candidates will have full responsibility for 2 or 3 classes and conduct them with less day-to-day involvement and support by mentor teachers. The goal is for candidates to assemble all of what they have learned during the year into a sustained period of mostly independent teaching in the classroom. Mentor teachers will judge the levels of assistance and support needed by the candidates.


 * Field Experiences with Diverse Students and Settings **

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education “ Guidelines for Program Approval” ( page 25) state that candidates must have experiences with diverse students and diverse settings : // "Field-based experiences shall cover a range of time periods within the school year. Experiences should include working with diverse student learners, English language learners, in a variety of settings." // In addition, the regulations state: //"ESE strongly encourages programs to design pre-practicum experiences that require candidates to bridge theory and practice in a rigorous way. Components of pre-practicum experiences may include://
 * // Increasing responsibility to ensure readiness for full practicum //
 * // Assignments that require candidates to reflect on experiences //
 * // Experiences that require candidates to apply aspects of theory to school/classroom practices //
 * // Opportunities in different school settings, classroom delivery models, etc. //
 * // Experiences at different grade levels within the range of the license being sought." //

To fulfill both the letter and spirit of the new regulations, we are recommending that Bridges teacher candidates complete the following diversity experiences during the fall semester:


 * Mandatory Observations ** :
 * Visit an urban district and host an urban intern (Bridges to 180 Days, 180 Days to Bridges)
 * High School interns observe Middle School and Middle School interns visit a High School
 * Visit a teacher in another subject area
 * Observe/Participate a Special Education Setting/Meeting(s)
 * Guest Teach or Co-Teach in another class in your subject field


 * Candidates choose Two of the following observations ** :
 * Observe/assist with classes/meetings of other teachers within the department


 * Observe/assist with classes/meetings of teachers in areas outside history/social studies


 * Attend meetings of other departments or teams


 * ELL teacher/student observations


 * Special Education teacher/student observations


 * Special programs teacher/student observations (OT, PT, Speech and language or some other special services)


 * Shadow/work with a school librarian


 * Shadow/work with a school administrator


 * Shadow/work with a district administrator


 * Shadow/work with a school secretary or administrative assistant


 * Shadow/work with a district secretary or administrative assistant


 * Shadow/work with cafeteria staff


 * Shadow/work with custodial staff


 * Shadow/work with school nurse


 * Documentation of Diversity Requirements ** :

Candidates will keep a digital journal (type up the notes after your visits) documenting the experience that includes a signature of the teacher/staff person they spent the day/a class. When visiting a classroom, the teacher candidate should ask the teacher to note demographics of the student population (no names or identification of students specifically should be given to preserve confidentiality) in order to track diversity demographics of classrooms visited.

Candidates will be asked to make summative Observation/Experience notes about ideas, issues, and insights gained from the experience and how they have shaped their thinking about teaching.
 * Course Activities and Assignments **
 * ** //TB2F// Independent Activity **
 * PART I ** : **Exploring and Building Your Identity as a New Teacher**
 * Read and take notes about //Big Ideas// **
 * Due: Orientation Week and Beyond **
 * Independent Education 715 Classes 1, 2, 3, & 4: ** ||

Rutherford, Paula. //Why Didn’t I Learn This in College? Teaching & Learning in the 21st Century. Second Edition//, Alexandria, Virginia: Just ASK Publications, 2009**.** New books will include a CD ROM of teaching resources.
 * // Assignment: //** **Use Post-Its or paper bookmarks to highlight ten ideas that you think will apply to your first few months of teaching. What result for you as a teacher will doing these ten things produce?**

Prensky, Marc. //Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010.
 * // Assignment: //**** While reading, pick one idea from each chapter that your parent(s) or family members would find new and surprising. Find two ideas inside each chapter that //you// find new and or surprising. Take notes to help you explain these differences. **

Lemov, D. //Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College.// CA: Jossey-Bass. 2010.
 * // Assignment: //**** Choosing one strategy from each chapter, describe your memories of the person using the strategy by answering these questions: **
 * Do you recall anyone who you would call a ‘teacher’ using some or all of the techniques written about in Lemov’s book? **
 * Who were these teachers and at what level did they teach, elementary, middle, high school or all three? **
 * How did the students in the class respond? **
 * If you were a student of this teacher, how did you respond and or feel about these types of strategies? **

Read the books in any order you’d like. Most online booksellers offer reduced rates. Please be sure to check the publication dates before you purchase these books. As you read the three texts, take notes and be ready to discuss the big take-away ideas you find most helpful, interesting and puzzling. We will talk about these ideas during the //TB2F// Orientation and continue to explore these during the first few weeks of the //TB2F// courses.

The reading notes will be submitted as homework and returned to you so you can to refer to them during orientation and throughout the year. You will also be posting your notes on tk-20, the University’s online teacher license recordkeeping system, so you may want to type them. These are notes and you may use an informal writing style, including bulleted lists.


 * ** TB2F Independent Activity **
 * PART II ** : **Exploring and Building Your Identity as a New Teacher**
 * Reflect and Write 500 words **
 * Due: Orientation Week, and Beyond **
 * Independent Education 715 Class 5 ** ||

Social Identity Paper In the Social Identity Assignment, share to the level that you think will be of interest and significance to your class. Be thoughtful about how vulnerable you want to make yourself. Your paper should be approximately 500 words.

As a step towards understanding the impact that race, ethnicity, class, gender, etc. have on the school experience; this paper is designed to help you explore your own sense of social identity. Social forces such as gender, social class, ethnicity, religion, etc. become aspects of individual social identities. Describe the historical development of your own sense of identity. For example, you might address ethnic background, social class, gender identity, religious identity, etc. In your description, include how your family, school, work, and social and religious experiences have contributed to the development of that identity.


 * ** TB2F Independent Activity **
 * PART III ** : **Teacher Interview**
 * Interview a Teacher and Write 500 Word Profile **
 * Due: Orientation Week **
 * Independent Education 715 Class 6 ** ||

Teacher Interview: “What brought you to teaching?" Interview that teacher you know by phone or in person for a meaningful period of time (1/2 hour is suggested).

1. Note that the question is not “why did you want to be a teacher?” although that can certainly be a question asked in the interview. “Why” is often an ineffective question with which to begin an interview. By presuming a simple, linear approach it can push a participant to oversimplify past experiences. What is needed for an interview is not an analysis, but a description of events, over years, leading to a decision. Substituting “how” for “why” seems to work better. 2. Make sure that your partner understands the nature of the interview and that those aspects of it will be shared in class. 3. Take notes on what the person is saying to you (or tape record the interview and take working notes). Try to capture the essence and detail of what the teacher is saying in his or her own words. 4. Construct a report on the interview in the first person voice of the teacher. This can be done if you have paid attention to number 3 above. Review your notes and underline those parts of the interview that are of compelling interest to you. Weave these together into a narrative that you will read to the class, in the words of the teacher. You should be able to read the paper in approximately five minutes. 5. The material you select for your report must be fair to the larger interview and must be consistent with the dignity of your partner. After you have written the report, it is best if you let the teacher you interviewed read it before you share it with the class--that way they can edit any parts out if they decide not to share certain information.

Share to the level that you think will be of interest and significance to our class. Be thoughtful about how vulnerable you want to make your peer teacher. Your paper should be approximately 500 typed words. Do not use your peer teacher's name or their school name. Please use //pseudonyms// instead.


 * ** TB2F Independent Activity **
 * PART IV ** : **Investigating Community**
 * Readings **
 * Due: Week of September 2nd, 2014 **
 * Independent Education 715 Class 7 and 8 ** ||

Explore the variety of Internet websites and articles below. **Once you have read all of the resources, write about one or more experiences that you had in “school” that mirrored or mimicked one or more of the themes discussed in the resources.**

Students Experience Greater Learning for the Greater Good (with audio slideshow) from Edutopia []

Rita Pierson: Every Kid Needs A Champion from TED Talks []

New York Harbor School []

Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service from the University of Michigan []

Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Celia Oyler (first chapter free on Amazon) []


 * ** Explore the following 21st Century Resources ** ||


 * Once you have read all of the resources listed below, write about one or more experiences that you had in “school” that mirrored or mimicked one or more of the themes discussed in the resources. **

From Chalkboards to Tablets: The Digital Conversion of the K-12 Classroom: Speak up 2012 National Findings K-12 Educators and Parents April 2013 []

Clay Shirky: How social media can make history:[]

The “MOOC revolution” in higher education— the advent of massive online open courses—is causing massive anxiety in American universities, where professors are worried about the consequences of computers replacing campuses as places where people learn. Two hundred years ago, higher education faced a different distance-learning technology, one as cutting-edge as MOOCs, that also augured a revolution in the way we think about knowledge. “A textbook is something anyone can read no matter who they are or where they’re from. It allows education to occur on a global, universal scale,” says Hansun Hsiung, a fourth-year graduate student at Harvard University who studies the rise and spread of textbooks in late-18th-century Europe and Japan. Today it might seem that there’s nothing more boring or conventional than textbooks, but 200 years ago they were a radical idea. Find the link below: []
 * When textbooks were the next big, evil thing, **** Kevin Hartnett, Boston.com **