Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Course Description

This course is designed to prepare you for a successful student teaching experience during IAP. Some of the major themes and activities are: analysis of yourself as a teacher and as a learner, subject knowledge, adolescent development, student learning styles, lesson planning, classroom management techniques and differentiated instruction. The course requires significant personal involvement. You will observe high school classes and perhaps actively participate in some classroom instruction, do reflective writings on what you see and think, design and teach a mini-lesson, "teach a book", design a major curriculum unit and engage in our classroom discussions and activities.

Main Activities

1. Reflect and write about your own educational experience both as a student and as a teacher.
2. Observe and work in a high school classroom(s).
3. Write about what you observe in the classroom(s) using the blog on a weekly basis. Also keep a pre-practicum log of your visits (form provided). In your blog raise any questions and concerns about what you have observed. Feel free to raise these during class discussions as well.
4. Learn about curriculum design and a variety of teaching issues such as setting student expectations, classroom management techniques, discipline, grading policies, conducting the lab part of a course, curriculum/time issues (depth vs. breadth), being an effective communicator in the classroom and parent communications.
5. Learn about adolescent development and effective communication skills.
6. Learn about your subject content in terms of the following: State Frameworks, MCAS, MTEL and a variety of typical student textbooks.
7. Become familiar with the Professional Teacher Standards.
8. Attend three meetings which address special education issues.
9. Design and teach a mini-lesson which will be followed by group feedback.
10. Read and "teach a book."
11. Design a major curriculum unit that you may use in your student teaching in January.
12. Keep a folder of all your work.

Course Requirements

1. Class attendance.
2. Field work in local high school (approximately 2-4 hours per week). Record your observations on the blog on a weekly basis and keep your written pre-practicum log up to date.
3. Assignments will include the following:
   • Written reflections.
   • Selected readings from a variety of sources. Topics deal with issues such as student learning, adolescent development, subject matter knowledge, assessment issues, curriculum frameworks, MCAS student testing, MTEL teacher testing, and planning for your January teaching assignment.
   • Read and "teach a book."
   • Two major reflective papers.
   • Prepare and teach a mini-lesson in your subject area.
   • Major curriculum project which may be used in January.
4. Workshops on special education on three Wednesdays.
5. Folder of all your work. The folder should contain a table of contents, major curriculum unit and any work you created or modified for the high school classes you observed this semester, pre-practicum log, diary of your classroom observations, mini-lesson work, and written support of your "teach a book."

Grading

The grading is based on you completing all the course requirements. The components of your grade are:

Class attendance is mandatory except in cases of illness.