EDUC400
- SYLLABUS
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
Welcome
to the student teaching semester! Through the courses and field
experiences that have preceded this semester, you have been
developing the roles and dispositions of scholar, problem solver,
and partner. As a teacher candidate at the University of Delaware,
you have discovered the importance of thoughtful analysis and
continual revision of approaches to teaching and learning. In
this, your student teaching semester, you now have the opportunity
to apply, adapt, and revisit all that you have learned about
teaching and learning as you serve the children, adolescents,
and adults within the school and community settings in which
you are placed.
COURSE
CONTENTS AND GOALS:
The
primary goal of the student teaching semester is to provide
you with the opportunity to be a reflective practitioner serving
diverse communities who assumes, integrates, develops, and refines
three related and critical professional roles: scholar, problem
solver, and partner.
As
a scholar, as a problem solver, and as a partner you will be
organizing content for student learning (planning), creating
an environment for student learning (management), teaching for
student learning (lesson execution), and developing your professional
skills and relationships (teacher professionalism). You will
also be developing several other important dispositions and
values. These include:
1.
Self-reflection, which will enable you to critique your performance
and to make and support judgements and instructional decisions
with evidence about the learning of individuals or groups of
students.
2.
Deeper insight into the nature of the learning process and greater
knowledge of human development.
3.
An understanding of the roles of the many different individuals
engaged in the teaching-learning process and of collaborative
partnerships that can work for common purposes.
4. Realization of the importance of your own personal and professional
goals.
5.
Proficiency in instructional competencies and classroom management
techniques through direct experiences and the thoughtful analysis
and revision of approaches
6.
Knowledge of the resources and materials available to the classroom
teacher and the ability to adapt and/or incorporate available
resources and materials into the instructional program.
7.
Increased skill in performing routine administrative duties
including the maintenance and submission of required records
and reports.
STUDENT
TEACHING AND THE UD CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHER EDUCATION:
•
Reflective Practice: During student teaching you will be asked
to identify strengths and weaknesses and summarize the results
of your evaluation of student learning. You will also suggest
ways to improve future instruction.
•
Diverse Communities of Learners: You will be placed in diverse
classrooms in Delaware, Maryland, or Pennsylvania. Each placement
will reflect diversity in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, ability
levels, and learning characteristics. You will identify and
develop accommodations for meeting your students’ unique
needs and abilities, and you will be coached on how to help
all children learn.
•
Scholar: You will be asked to use the tools of scholarship,
including technology, to research the content areas before constructing
lessons and to research, examine, and become familiar with the
national, state and local standards and performance-based indicators.
•
Problem Solver: Your student teaching placements will present
you with opportunities to test and refine your problem-solving
abilities. These opportunities will include identifying and/or
selecting appropriate curricula, teaching strategies, techniques
for classroom management, and appropriate evaluation tools and
strategies. You will work in collaboration with your cooperating
teacher to identify and solve problems that are part of the
fabric of instruction and management.
•
Partner: University of Delaware student teachers are viewed
as integral team members of each school’s faculty. You
will build professional relationships with colleagues to share
teaching insights and to coordinate learning activities for
students. You will be invited to faculty meetings, team meetings,
child study team meetings, professional development sessions
and IEP meetings. You also will be provided with opportunities
to communicate with parents and guardians through written, telephone,
and personal communication.
COURSE
OBJECTIVES:
1.
Organize content knowledge for student learning. That is, you
will:
a) Become familiar with relevant aspect of students' background;
b) Articulate clear learning objectives which are appropriate
for your students;
c) Demonstrate an understanding of the connections between content
learned previously, the current content, and that which remains
to be learned in the future;
d) Create or select appropriate teaching methods, learning activities,
and instructional materials or other resources and;
e) Create or select evaluation strategies that are appropriate
to the students and aligned with lesson objectives.
2. Create an environment for student learning. That is, you
will:
a)
Create a climate that promotes fairness;
b) Establish and maintain rapport with students in ways that
are appropriate to their developmental needs;
c) Communicate challenging learning expectations to each student;
d) Establish and maintain consistent standards of mutually respectful
classroom interaction and behavior; and
e) Make the physical environment safe and conducive to learning.
3.
Teach for student learning. That is, you will:
a)
Make learning objective and instructional procedures clear to
students;
b) Make content comprehensible;
c) Build professional relationships with colleagues to share
teaching insights and to coordinate learning activities;
d) Monitor students' understanding, provide feedback to assist
learning, and adjust learning as the situation demands; and
e) Use instructional time effectively.
4.
Demonstrate teacher professionalism. That is, you will:
a)
Reflect on the extent to which instructional objective were
met;
b) Demonstrate a sense of efficacy;
c) Build professional relationships with colleagues to share
teaching insights and to coordinate learning activities; and
d) Communicate with parents or guardians about student learning
REQUIRED
TEXTS:
1.
University of Delaware ETE Teaching Manual. The manual includes
course requirements, various forms and logs, evaluation information
and instruments, detailed information about lesson planning,
developing units, and other assignments and projects, and more.
2.
University of Delaware Student Teaching Guidelines. This manual
provides information about the student teaching program including
your responsibilities as a student teacher and suggestions regarding
procedures and activities to employ during the student teaching
period.
3.
A Handbook for Beginning Teachers (2nd edition) by Robert E.
MacDonald and Sean Healy (Longman). This handbook serves as
a practical field-experience guide for preservice and beginning
teachers. It describes and explains basic skills and strategies
that will enable entering teachers to deal creatively and responsibly
with the new challenges that they will face.
FORMAT
OF THE COURSE:
Over
the course of your student teaching placement(s), you will engage
in a variety of activities and experiences designed to enable
you to apply, adapt, revise, and revisit all you have learned
to date about teaching and learning. Specifically, you will
engage in guided observations designed to acquaint you with
students, with classroom management techniques and with instructional
methods, strategies, and materials. You will plan and implement
daily lesson plans, and develop and implement larger projects
such as an integrated unit and writing project. You will be
evaluated using criteria that reflect the course objectives,
and you will receive feedback, suggestions, and guidance from
your student teaching coordinator and your cooperating teacher.
Finally, you will engage in thoughtful analysis and continual
revision of your approaches to teaching and learning.
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS:
1.
Organize content knowledge for student learning. That is, you
will:
a)
Become familiar with relevant aspect of students’ background;
b) Articulate clear learning objectives which are appropriate
for your students;
c) Demonstrate an understanding of the connections between content
learned previously, the current content, and that which remains
to be learned in the future;
d) Create or select appropriate teaching methods, learning activities,
and instructional materials
or other resources and;
e) Create or select evaluation strategies that are appropriate
to the students and aligned with lesson objectives.
2.
Create an environment for student learning. That is, you will:
a)
Create a climate that promotes fairness;
b) Establish and maintain rapport with students in ways that
are appropriate to their
developmental needs;
c) Communicate challenging learning expectations to each student;
d) Establish and maintain consistent standards of mutually respectful
classroom interaction and behavior; and
e) Make the physical environment safe and conducive to learning.
3.
Teach for student learning. That is, you will:
a)
Make learning objective and instructional procedures clear to
students;
b) Make content comprehensible;
c) Build professional relationships with colleagues to share
teaching insights and to
coordinate learning activities;
d) Monitor students’ understanding, provide feedback to
assist learning, and adjust learning as the
situation demands; and
e) Use instructional time effectively.
4.
Demonstrate teacher professionalism. That is, you will:
a)
Reflect on the extent to which instructional objective were
met;
b) Demonstrate a sense of efficacy;
c) Build professional relationships with colleagues to share
teaching insights and to coordinate learning activities; and
d) Communicate with parents or guardians about student learning.
