Newburgh, NY

Division of Education

Spring, 2006

Instructor: Dr. Ludmilla Smirnova Ph.D (Ed)

Office: 569- 3527 mailto: smirnova@msmc.edu

Home: 845-294-0751 milasunshine@hotmail.com

MSMC webpage:http://faculty.msmc.edu/smirnova,

Personal Web Site: http://www.ludmilasmirnova.com

Course Description

Student will learn to distinguish among and apply a variety of teaching approaches, such as discovery learning, direct instruction and inquiry-based learning. They will learn to: a0individualize procedures to accommodate the needs of students including those with disabilities; and b0 regularly infuse use of technology to engage students in active learning. Fieldwork is required. (MSMC Graduate Catalog 2005-2007, p. 134)

Prerequisite : A grade of C or better in ED 2501.

COURSE OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be expected to:

Teaching and Learning Strategies

The philosophy of the course is that learners are involved in the process of reflection, inquiry and active construction of knowledge. Students are encouraged to engage in reflective and critical thinking about education. The course is organized in a seminar format, around a series of topics approached through interactive discussion and analysis of themes.

We will learn from each other. Our role as INSTRUCTOR is to facilitate as much learning and sharing as possible. The class meetings in many ways will be constructed as a model for teaching your future pupils. We will model various instructional methods and alternative assessments.

Strategies used in this class:

• Direct/ Indirect Instruction., Cooperative learning, Independent Study, Role Playing, Team-Teaching, Peer Tutoring and Evaluation, Video Discussions, Virtual Guest Speakers, Internet Exploration, Inquiry-Training, Reading, Writing Reflective Analysis, Application to Practice.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

All the assignments and parts of the course curriculum are placed on the Webct. You are expected to DAILY visit the course site, check the new postings, HOME PAGE, Discussion Forum topics, read and follow the instructions and course announcements; keep in touch with your team members and your instructor. You are expected to submit all the assignments through the Webct system.

Attendance and punctuality are mandatory. This is a professional development course in which you will be learning and practicing teaching skills; therefore, attendance is required and critical to success. The field-based experience involves an exceptional commitment on the part of the teachers, students and administration in the public schools. It requires a similar commitment from the College faculty and students. This is a professional commitment and you must be in attendance every scheduled time.  It is the student’s professional responsibility to attend classes, produce quality work, and adhere to the ethics of the profession. Failure to attend all classes may result in lowered grades or failure.

NB! It’s your responsibility to call or e-mail the professor if you are going to be absent. Be sure to check the assignments and the materials for the missed and the next classes from web ct site as soon as you are back to school. All the materials of the course are posted on the web ct site; they can be easily retrieved and studied. No excuses for the missed classes will be made. You should be ready for every scheduled class.

• Home Assignments and Presentations in class (individual, and/or within a group): You are expected to thoroughly prepare your home assignments, as they form the basis for the upcoming class activities. Participate in class discussions, articulate your ideas on Readings and class happenings, design graphic organizers on the concepts, starting, developing, and closing activities, drafts of daily lesson Plans, design a webquest, a course e-folio, etc., and you develop the most valuable skills and talents of the effective teacher. You have a chance to exercise eye contact, test voice projection, display professional behavior, and apply and develop different professional skills during class sessions. Not all the assignments are graded through the webct system, some of the assignments are designed to develop your skills and abilities, improve your understanding of the course concepts, teaching methods, a pedagogical process. Don’t expect grades for every assignment done in class. Active participation in class events, individual and group projects will add extra points to your final grade.
• Group and Individual Assignments : You will be assigned to a group for specific assignments. Assignments are used to assess application of skills targeted in course content. Your peer group members and the instructor will evaluate yours and their own “level of performance and participation.” You are required to participate in all group activities. (Group assignments cannot be made-up. This means if you are absent any time the group works on the assignment you will receive NO CREDIT for the assignment). All class assignments are viewed as microteaching experiences . As members of a group, you will plan and implement a lesson on an assigned topic using an assigned model of teaching. You are expected to observe and be ready to give fair and honest evaluations of the peers’ work in individual and group projects to exercise the professional assessment skills. You will be developing skills in designing daily lesson plans for different models, instructional strategies. Before submitting the lesson plans through the “Assignment” location you are expected to send the draft to the professor for the feedback. The checked and corrected variants you will submit through “Assignment” location of the course. NB! Your Draft Lesson Plans will be graded as follows: P+ (pass+ = + 5pts ), P (pass = 0 pts ), F (Fail= minus 5pts ). There will be a lot of reflective reviews on class work which you are expected to post on the Discussion Forum (DF). By doing so you will develop your professional erudition, critical thinking skills, and will show your support to each other in class.
• ReflectiveJournal writing: You are required to keep a log/journal of class readings, discussions and fieldwork observations. It helps develop your reflective , critical thinking and meta-cognitive skills . The Framework for the Journal Writings is given on the webct site. You will submit 3 Journal Entries. Due dates will be provided on the webct. The requirements and the evaluation rubric are posted on the webct course site. Read and follow the guidelines attentively. Submit the rubric with the self-evaluation rating points together with the journal entries.
• Midterm Project – You are given an opportunity to express your professionalism and creativity through the design of a webquest on one of the topics of the curriculum from your Curriculum Planning class Unit plan. The suggestions on this assignment and the evaluation rubrics are given on the course webct site . The tutorial on creating a webquest can be found at under “a template to assist teachers”: http://www.spa3.k12.sc.us/WebQuests.html
• Field work Experience: During the course of the semester, you are required to complete 20 hours of field work: observe your cooperating teacher and your students, plan and teach a minimum of 3-5 lessons in elementary classroom setting. You should base your lessons on the models, strategies and methods of instruction that we will be learning about in this course. You must schedule, plan and teach a minimum of the three types of lessons. Lesson plans must be reviewed and initialed before teaching by the Field Work Cooperating Teacher.

You must submit your lesson plan on Web CT after teaching and provide a detailed self-reflection on teaching your lesson. Be ready to discuss the results of your fieldwork experience with the peers and instructor in class.

• E-folio - As a final outcome of the course you are expected to present an electronic portfolio, which will reflect your professional growth and understanding of the teaching process. Portfolio components (projects, daily lesson plans, activities, etc.) will be discussed in class, designed by you during the theme studies, checked by peers, instructor, improved and handed in for the final product presentation and evaluation.

Read and follow all the Rubrics provided on the Web CT site.

DIVISION OF EDUCATION POLICY REGARDING WRITING (July, 2005)

“In grading any work submitted by a candidate, if the instructor identifies five or more errors in spelling (including use of apostrophes), grammar, and/or sentence construction, the instructor will discontinue reading that work and will return it the candidate with a grade of zero. At the discretion of the instructor, the candidate may correct the document and resubmit it once (only). In this case, the candidate may receive no more than the equivalent of 73% (undergraduate) or 83% (graduate) on the document, receiving a lower grade if otherwise warranted. This grade will be final for the document. (This policy does not apply to work written in class such as on a test.)”

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

Reflective Class Journal (3 entries) - 15 pts

Self-Evaluation report on Class Assignments,

Projects, DF postings, tests - 15 pts

Field Work Experience - 10 pts

Mid-term ( WebQuest Evaluation Report ) - 15 pts

Individual/Group in class Micro-teaching - 5 pts

Lesson design and presentation ( 3 types ) - 20 pts

E-folio Web site - 20 pts

Total: - 100 pts

Grading Scale :

Newburgh, NY

Division of Education

ED 2601. 01 Methods of Teaching forChildhood Education (3)

Spring, 2006

Instructor: Dr. Ludmilla Smirnova Ph.D (Ed)

Office: 569- 3527 mailto: smirnova@msmc.edu

Home: 845-294-0751 milasunshine@hotmail.com

MSMC webpage:http://faculty.msmc.edu/smirnova,

Personal Web Site: http://www.ludmilasmirnova.com

Course Description

Student will learn to distinguish among and apply a variety of teaching approaches, such as discovery learning, direct instruction and inquiry-based learning. They will learn to: a0individualize procedures to accommodate the needs of students including those with disabilities; and b0 regularly infuse use of technology to engage students in active learning. Fieldwork is required. (MSMC Graduate Catalog 2005-2007, p. 134)

Prerequisite : A grade of C or better in ED 2501.

COURSE OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be expected to:

Teaching and Learning Strategies

The philosophy of the course is that learners are involved in the process of reflection, inquiry and active construction of knowledge. Students are encouraged to engage in reflective and critical thinking about education. The course is organized in a seminar format, around a series of topics approached through interactive discussion and analysis of themes.

We will learn from each other. Our role as INSTRUCTOR is to facilitate as much learning and sharing as possible. The class meetings in many ways will be constructed as a model for teaching your future pupils. We will model various instructional methods and alternative assessments.

Strategies used in this class:

• Direct/ Indirect Instruction., Cooperative learning, Independent Study, Role Playing, Team-Teaching, Peer Tutoring and Evaluation, Video Discussions, Virtual Guest Speakers, Internet Exploration, Inquiry-Training, Reading, Writing Reflective Analysis, Application to Practice.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

All the assignments and parts of the course curriculum are placed on the Webct. You are expected to DAILY visit the course site, check the new postings, HOME PAGE, Discussion Forum topics, read and follow the instructions and course announcements; keep in touch with your team members and your instructor. You are expected to submit all the assignments through the Webct system.

Attendance and punctuality are mandatory. This is a professional development course in which you will be learning and practicing teaching skills; therefore, attendance is required and critical to success. The field-based experience involves an exceptional commitment on the part of the teachers, students and administration in the public schools. It requires a similar commitment from the College faculty and students. This is a professional commitment and you must be in attendance every scheduled time.  It is the student’s professional responsibility to attend classes, produce quality work, and adhere to the ethics of the profession. Failure to attend all classes may result in lowered grades or failure.

NB! It’s your responsibility to call or e-mail the professor if you are going to be absent. Be sure to check the assignments and the materials for the missed and the next classes from web ct site as soon as you are back to school. All the materials of the course are posted on the web ct site; they can be easily retrieved and studied. No excuses for the missed classes will be made. You should be ready for every scheduled class.

• Home Assignments and Presentations in class (individual, and/or within a group): You are expected to thoroughly prepare your home assignments, as they form the basis for the upcoming class activities. Participate in class discussions, articulate your ideas on Readings and class happenings, design graphic organizers on the concepts, starting, developing, and closing activities, drafts of daily lesson Plans, design a webquest, a course e-folio, etc., and you develop the most valuable skills and talents of the effective teacher. You have a chance to exercise eye contact, test voice projection, display professional behavior, and apply and develop different professional skills during class sessions. Not all the assignments are graded through the webct system, some of the assignments are designed to develop your skills and abilities, improve your understanding of the course concepts, teaching methods, a pedagogical process. Don’t expect grades for every assignment done in class. Active participation in class events, individual and group projects will add extra points to your final grade.
• Group and Individual Assignments : You will be assigned to a group for specific assignments. Assignments are used to assess application of skills targeted in course content. Your peer group members and the instructor will evaluate yours and their own “level of performance and participation.” You are required to participate in all group activities. (Group assignments cannot be made-up. This means if you are absent any time the group works on the assignment you will receive NO CREDIT for the assignment). All class assignments are viewed as microteaching experiences . As members of a group, you will plan and implement a lesson on an assigned topic using an assigned model of teaching. You are expected to observe and be ready to give fair and honest evaluations of the peers’ work in individual and group projects to exercise the professional assessment skills. You will be developing skills in designing daily lesson plans for different models, instructional strategies. Before submitting the lesson plans through the “Assignment” location you are expected to send the draft to the professor for the feedback. The checked and corrected variants you will submit through “Assignment” location of the course. NB! Your Draft Lesson Plans will be graded as follows: P+ (pass+ = + 5pts ), P (pass = 0 pts ), F (Fail= minus 5pts ). There will be a lot of reflective reviews on class work which you are expected to post on the Discussion Forum (DF). By doing so you will develop your professional erudition, critical thinking skills, and will show your support to each other in class.
• ReflectiveJournal writing: You are required to keep a log/journal of class readings, discussions and fieldwork observations. It helps develop your reflective , critical thinking and meta-cognitive skills . The Framework for the Journal Writings is given on the webct site. You will submit 3 Journal Entries. Due dates will be provided on the webct. The requirements and the evaluation rubric are posted on the webct course site. Read and follow the guidelines attentively. Submit the rubric with the self-evaluation rating points together with the journal entries.
• Midterm Project – You are given an opportunity to express your professionalism and creativity through the design of a webquest on one of the topics of the curriculum from your Curriculum Planning class Unit plan. The suggestions on this assignment and the evaluation rubrics are given on the course webct site . The tutorial on creating a webquest can be found at under “a template to assist teachers”: http://www.spa3.k12.sc.us/WebQuests.html
• Field work Experience: During the course of the semester, you are required to complete 20 hours of field work: observe your cooperating teacher and your students, plan and teach a minimum of 3-5 lessons in elementary classroom setting. You should base your lessons on the models, strategies and methods of instruction that we will be learning about in this course. You must schedule, plan and teach a minimum of the three types of lessons. Lesson plans must be reviewed and initialed before teaching by the Field Work Cooperating Teacher.

You must submit your lesson plan on Web CT after teaching and provide a detailed self-reflection on teaching your lesson. Be ready to discuss the results of your fieldwork experience with the peers and instructor in class.

• E-folio - As a final outcome of the course you are expected to present an electronic portfolio, which will reflect your professional growth and understanding of the teaching process. Portfolio components (projects, daily lesson plans, activities, etc.) will be discussed in class, designed by you during the theme studies, checked by peers, instructor, improved and handed in for the final product presentation and evaluation.

Read and follow all the Rubrics provided on the Web CT site.

DIVISION OF EDUCATION POLICY REGARDING WRITING (July, 2005)

“In grading any work submitted by a candidate, if the instructor identifies five or more errors in spelling (including use of apostrophes), grammar, and/or sentence construction, the instructor will discontinue reading that work and will return it the candidate with a grade of zero. At the discretion of the instructor, the candidate may correct the document and resubmit it once (only). In this case, the candidate may receive no more than the equivalent of 73% (undergraduate) or 83% (graduate) on the document, receiving a lower grade if otherwise warranted. This grade will be final for the document. (This policy does not apply to work written in class such as on a test.)”

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

Reflective Class Journal (3 entries) - 15 pts

Self-Evaluation report on Class Assignments,

Projects, DF postings, tests - 15 pts

Field Work Experience - 10 pts

Mid-term ( WebQuest Evaluation Report ) - 15 pts

Individual/Group in class Micro-teaching - 5 pts

Lesson design and presentation ( 3 types ) - 20 pts

E-folio Web site - 20 pts

Total: - 100 pts

Grading Scale :