EDUC 180 – Introduction to Teaching

EDUC 180 – Introduction to Teaching

Fall Quarter 2007

T, Th 6:00 PM to 7:45 PM

Stevenson Academy 150

Instructors:

Sara Roe sroe@ucsc.edu

Teri Marchese marches@ucsc.edu

http://people.ucsc.edu/~marches/

Office hours: By appointment Tuesday or Thursday after class

Teaching Assistants and email addresses:

Carrie Cifka Herrera ccifka@ucsc.edu

Sections:

22784 EDUC-180-01E F 8:00AM-9:10AM Hum & Soc Sci 359

22785 EDUC-180-01F F 11:00AM-12:10PM Hum & Soc Sci 359

Adele Barrett Hermann adele@ucsc.edu

Sections:

22227 EDUC-180-01A M 5:00PM-6:10PM PhysSciences 136

22782 EDUC-180-01C W 5:00PM-6:10PM Hum & Soc Sci 259

“Too many schools are characterized by a culture of compliant, passivity, authoritarianism, fatalism, and low expectations. As we work on our teaching projects, we need to counter this culture consciously with our own deepest commitments.”

William Ayers

To Teach: the journey of a teacher.

Course Description

This course is designed to encourage prospective teachers to think about education from the perspective of the teacher. Participants are expected to explore their own educational experiences, observe teaching and learning from a professional’s point of view, learn about the teaching/learning process, as well as understand more about K-12 learners. Finally, we will explore how we can have a different kind of academic setting; one that nurtures a democratic society. This course may be taken concurrently with courses 92A, 92B, or 92C. A practicum in the schools of 30 hours/quarter is required.

Questions for consideration:

Is the current educational system structured to maximize your success as a teacher?

Is the current system structured to maximize K-12 student success?

What beliefs, attitudes and behaviors contribute to becoming a successful educator?

How does one contribute to creating a culturally responsive, democratic learning community?

Four basic questions teachers must always ask:

Who are my students?
What do I want my students to “know” and “be able” to do? Why should they care?
What will it look like when I get them there?
What will I do to get them there?

Required Textbooks:

Ayers, William. To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. Second edition. Teachers College Press. New York, New York.

Meier, Deborah. Power of Their Ideas, Beacon Press, Boston MA: 978-080703113-1

Course Schedule and Attendance:

Attendance at class is expected. Attendance at discussion sections is mandatory. That said, it is the responsibility of any teacher to offer a learning experience that draws on the intrinsic desires of his or her students, rather than rely on force, threats or law that mandate attendance. As adult learners you are expected to monitor your personal motivation for attending this class.

If you will miss a group meeting of any kind, you must contact your section leader in advance. Field placements are a critical part of this course. Principals and teachers afford our students the opportunity to learn first hand, up close and personal, some of the ins and outs of teaching. The relationships that afford UCSC students these opportunities have been built over time. It is incumbent upon all of us to continue to invest for future students to have the same opportunities. If you cannot make a placement day, you must call your observation teacher at least 24 hours in advance. Please remember that you are representing both yourself and UCSC. It is imperative that you do all that you can to leave a lasting impression that is a positive one.

Note: A signed observation log is required for a passing grade in the course. Please make a photo copy of your observation log before turning the original one in.

Note: Alison DeAratanha is the Education Departments Placement Assistant. Alison completes all placements for Ed 180. If you need information regarding your placement, please contact Alison

Phone: (831) 459 1261

Email: alisond@ucsc.edu

Office: Social Sciences 1, Rm 200, Second Floor

Sections will be led by teaching assistants, Carrie Cifka and Adele Barret Hermann. Section time is committed to discussing various issues, as well time to complete certain class projects. In addition to the two core texts for the course, each section will be required to read one additional book as part of their literature circle project.

When turning in assignments, please include your name, student ID number, email address, phone number, and the name of your section leader along with the day and time of section meetings. For group assignments please include this required information for all members of the group.

Grading Scale: 100-105 A+, 93-99 A, 90-92 A-, 83-86 B+, 80-82 B, 77-79 C+, 73-76 C, and so on.

Reading Response / Placement Reflection E-Journals (NICENET):

Reflection on placement, readings and class / section experiences is an essential part of learning. These are the guidelines for your E-journal entries, which you will be posting on Nicenet, an electronic classroom forum:

You are responsible for a total of six postings. One of these postings will be the summary of your teacher interview. (See course calendar for due dates.) The other postings are guided by the following:

All postings must incorporate the ideas presented in at least two of these four class resources.

All assigned chapters from Ayer and Meier books.
Your placement observations
Class and Section material
Assigned readings

For example, one posting may be a synthesis of a guest speaker’s comments coupled with one of the articles assigned in class. Another posting may analyze connections between a chapter in Meier and an observation in placement. It is expected that you will draw from all four of these resources over the course of the quarter in your postings.
There is no set word count or length for each posting, but each posting must be long enough to fully address the connections are making. Your section leader may ask you to respond to specific questions in order to deepen your analysis. (Section leaders may offer a redo option on the first posting.)
Two of the postings may be in response to the content of other ED180 student postings. Read through the postings made by other students in your section and provide a short reaction to their writing that integrates references to placement observations, class content and / or assigned readings. For instance, you might compare your own placement observations, share a common (or diverse) reaction to a reading, or politely and constructively disagree with a conclusion posed by another student.
All reaction postings must conform to the UCSC Principles of Community, as well as guidelines for anonymity described below.

Directions for accessing and posting to Nicenet:

1. Go to nicenet.org

2. In (brown) box on right, click on Students: >>Join a Class

3. Enter the Class Key: Carrie and Adele will email you the key number.

4. Click on Join the Class >>Enter personal info. Names need to match our class rosters for assessment purposes. >>Join the Class

5. Go immediately to Edit User Profile (2/3 down on left) and change your privacy option as desired.

6. To officially begin your e-journal, begin by clicking on "Conferencing" and go to the Topic labeled "Protocols and Expectations." This explains the netiquette that we will all be following when posting to the Nicenet: appropriate and professional tone and language in all postings, and complete anonymity of the placement site / teacher / students about whom you will be writing. It is important you understand that no identifying features be included in your postings, even if you are making positive comments. It is vital to protect the privacy of the students you are working with.

7. To begin your postings, find the "Conferencing Topic" for your specific section. You are welcome to browse and read other sections' postings, but please only post to your own section group's conference.

8. All students have been given the ability to initiate a topic, so if you would like to seek others' input on a burning question you have and/or continue a discussion begun in section times, then be proactive. Another option may be to initiate a conference topic around your Lit Circle book. Make this e-space work for you as an extended internal and external dialogue.

9. To indicate your agreement to adhere to the protocols, please Reply to the message by writing "Agreed"

Evaluation criteria: Each posting, both original and responses, are scored 0-4. Insight, amount and quality of connections between readings, lectures, and observations, clarity, and quality of reflection. Contribution to overall grade/evaluation: 20 pts.

Letter to a Former Teacher: Write a letter to a teacher that made a difference in your life. This letter should clearly communicate what this teacher did to connect with you as an individual and what they did to make a lasting impact on your life. Finally, this letter should describe how you have used or plan to use the lessons learned from your time with them. Due in lecture the week of October 8. Contribution to overall grade/evaluation: 10 pts.

Quick Writes in Class: There will be various points in the quarter where students will be asked to respond to a “Quick Write Prompt” at the end of lecture or section. These prompts will relate directly to the readings or class experiences and may only be completed in class. They will be collected and a student must turn in at least four of the total 6 “Quick Write” responses to pass the class. Each Quick Write will be worth 5 points. These can’t be made up. Contribution to overall grade/evaluation: 20 pts.

Signed Observation Log: A signed observation log is required for a passing grade in the course. Please make a photo copy of your observation log before turning the original one in to your section leader.

Literature Circle Study Project: Each member of the class will be a part of a Literature Circle. Each group will read a book selection assigned by the section leader and prepare a lesson to present in section. Ideas and guidelines for these lessons and reflections will be discussed in section. Each group member will turn his/her own lesson reflection to the section leader one week after the group presents the lesson. Contribution to overall grade/evaluation: Lesson 15 pts. / Lesson Reflection 10 pts.

Author	Book Title	Publisher
Berlak, Ann and Sekani Moyenda	Taking it Personally	Temple University Press
Glickman, Carl D.	Letters to the President	Teachers College Press
Rose, Mike	Lives on the Boundary	N.Y. Penguin
Orenstein, Peggy	School Girls	Doubleday/Anchor
Michie, Gregory	Holler If You Hear Me	Teachers College Press
Nieto, Sonia	The Light In Their Eyes	Teachers College Press
Paley, Vivian	White Teacher	Harvard University Press
Logan, Judy	Teaching Stories	N.Y. Kodansha International
Ashton-Warner, Sylvia	Teacher	N.Y.: Simon & Schuster
Tatum, Beverly Daniel	Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?	Basic Books

Interview of your placement teacher:

Conduct an interview with your placement teacher. Choose one to three of these guiding questions to frame the interview. These questions are neither exhaustive nor limiting. Interview synthesis will be posted on Nicenet as one of the six required E-Journal responses on or before November 22. Contribution to overall grade/evaluation: 10 pts.

What had been your greatest achievement as a teacher? Greatest disappointment?
In your view, what are the greatest challenges facing public education right now?
What do you see as the greatest threats to public education?
If you could recommend two things to raise the level of the teaching profession, what would those two things be?
Is it possible to make all students successful in school? How so?
What advice do you have for someone like me who has chosen (or at least considering) a career in teaching?
As a male primary grade teacher in a female dominated setting, insights or issues have you experienced?
As a female secondary level teacher in a male dominated setting, insights or issues have you experienced?
In what ways do you integrate the mandated standards into the unique multiple cultures and life experiences your students bring to your classroom community?
In what ways do you use ongoing formative assessments to guide your instruction? How do you let your students in on the process?

Final Project:

Creation of contemporary “Pedagogical Creed.” (See Dewey’s Pedagogical Creed as an exemplar of what a quality creed looks like.) You may work alone, (highly non-recommended), or work in a group of up to six people (highly recommended), to develop a creed for contemporary educators. This creed must include themes from the readings and discussion of this class. It is suggested that you not begin to develop the creed until it is introduced in class which is about half-way through the quarter in order to have a substantial amount of the course material to draw upon. The Pedagogical Creed should include three guiding principles, with at least two sub-sections under each main guiding principle. This assignment is presented the final week in class. Your actual document is due to your section leader by December 11 during Finals’ Week. Contribution to overall grade/evaluation: 20 pts.

Other:

Students with disabilities are encouraged to speak with Sara, Teri, Carrie or Adele for modifications to course structure.  Please contact the UCSC Disabilities Resources Center at 831-459-2089 for general assistance.

Please read and follow the UCSC guidelines for academic integrity