EDN 408: INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
SEMINAR, SOCIAL STUDIES
Instructor
Dr.
Office:
Website:
http://people.uncw.edu/smithrw/
Email: smithrw@uncw.edu
UNCW practices a
zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment of any kind. For emergencies
contact UNCW CARE at 962-2273, Campus Police at
962-3184, or
OVERVIEW
The
course supports students’ professional growth and reflection throughout the
internship. The main focus of the course is on planning, developing effective
teaching strategies and assessing the impact of instruction on student
learning. The course is aligned with the WSE conceptual framework in
emphasizing the development of highly
competent professionals to serve in educational leadership roles.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Students
will demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a variety of instructional
strategies.
3.
Students will prepare a two week plan to be implemented during internship,
taking into account the prescribed curricula, class assignments and student
needs.
4.
Students will investigate the effects of instructional decisions on 9-12
student learning.
5.
Students will document their performance in relation to INTASC, NCSS
professional standards and NC Advanced Technology competencies.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
·
Attendance is required. The final grade can be reduced by one letter grade for
each two unexcused absences.
·
Participate in class activities.
·
Complete all assignments as detailed in the requirements section.
ASSIGNMENTS
1.
TWO WEEK PLAN
Design a two week unit that you will implement at the
start of your internship. Planning helps draw out connections between topics,
ensures that you have a sense of where the course is going, and enables you to
plan ahead for resources (speakers, videos, duplicating). Student assignments
can be scheduled more evenly which is particularly important if students are
required to complete assignments (e.g. projects) involving significant
preparation. Similarly, planning helps you think about how and when you will
utilize different instructional strategies. As with any plan, however, you will
likely have to make changes.
It is essential that you discuss the assignment with
your partnership teacher. You need to obtain written feedback from your partnership
teacher and your teacher needs to sign off on the plan.
Create your unit plan on TaskStream. The template is
listed as SS 2 Week Unit Plan.
To access the template, log onto TaskStream, and click
on Web Folio Builder.
Give
your Unit Plan a name (eg. Smith 2 Week Plan), then select SS 2 Week Unit Plan.
Select style for your unit plan.
Provide a one page overview for your unit including the
main objectives/outcomes. Describe how you will connect this unit to the
previous topics that have been taught. Use the six point lesson plan and modify
as needed.
A
draft copy of the plan is to be submitted Jan. 19 with the partnership
teacher's written comments included. Final version due Jan. 24 (50 points).
2.
ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK
Select an example of student
work that you found significant. This may be work that demonstrated a
high level of achievement or conversely, one that did not meet your
expectations for the assignment. Analyze the work including a written
statement addressing the following areas:
· Why you selected this particular
work.
· Whether the example selected is
above average, below average compared to the performance of other students in
the class.
· The factors (e.g. quality of
instruction, student motivation) you see as contributing to students’
performance on this assignment.
· If you were to use this
assignment again, would you make any changes to the assignment or to your
instruction. (20 points).
Be prepared to discuss your
analysis with the class.
3. PEER EVALUATION
During
the weeks of March 19 and March 26, spend one day at a different school
observing another social studies intern’s classroom. Consult with your
partnership teacher, and notify your university supervisor, to select a day
that will be least disruptive to your teaching e.g. on a day when you would be
testing students. Use the attached Observation form to complete a
peer evaluation of one lesson. Turn in a copy of the evaluation (10 points).
4.
Intern Portfolio Due May 1
Students will complete an electronic portfolio
that demonstrates competency in relation to the NC Advanced Technology
competencies and remaining 5 INTASC and 5 NCSS standards. The portfolio will be
submitted electronically using TaskStream (60 points)
Format – the format is also repeated on TaskStream under the
template Secondary Education Licensure Portfolio Spring 07. (Remember
you have to first give your portfolio a name, choose a style and then
select the template Secondary Education Licensure Portfolio Spring 07).
(If needed, more detailed instructions on setting this up in TaskStream)
Include
a letter to the reader (two pages maximum). The letter should include:
1. discuss the
professional goals you had when you entered the program and the extent to which
they were achieved
2. explain how the
degree program has helped you meet the INTASC Standards (and National Content
Standards, if required by instructor)
3. explain how the
degree program helped you meet NC technology competencies
4. summarize your
understanding of the implications that professional standards have on your
teaching practice.
Categories
of Evidence for meeting INTASC standards and Technology Competencies (and
National Content Standards, if required)
In developing your portfolio, choose evidence that best represents your work in
your program of study. The portfolio should include 6 artifacts. Ideally, one
artifact can be used to demonstrate proficiency in relation to one INTASC
standard, one Content Standard and one Technology Standard. Where this is not
possible, more than six artifacts will need to be included. Each standard must
be addressed by at least one artifact.
Format for INTASC and Content Standards:
Evidence
Standard
Reflection: For each standard, write a reflection of a minimum of half page in
length, explaining to the reader how the evidence demonstrates competency in
relation to the specific standard. (If the evidence meets two standards, the
reflection should be approx. one page in length.)
Format
for Technology Standards:
Evidence
Standard
Description: Describe the evidence and the connection to the standard - a
reflection is not needed.
There are 6 NC Educational Technology Standards. For Standards 1&5,
submission of an electronic portfolio plus prior coursework is accepted as
evidence that these 2 standards have been met. (See more detailed statement
below).
Interns only have to submit evidence for Technology standards 2, 3, 4 and 6.
The successful development of an electronic portfolio using TaskStream meets
the following NETS standards:
1)
b Technology Operations and Concepts: demonstrate continual growth in
technology
5)
a-d Productivity and Professional Practice: Teachers use technology to enhance
their productivity and professional practice
Successful
completion of EDN 303: Instructional Technology meets the following standard:
1) a Technology Operations and Concepts: Teachers demonstrate a sound
understanding of technology operations and concepts.
(Specific skills met in EDN 303 include: Computer Operation Skills, Setup,
Maintenance, and Troubleshooting, Word Processing/Intro to Desktop Publishing,
Spreadsheet/Graphing, Database, Networking, Telecommunications, Media
Communications, Multimedia Communications)
Evaluation
of the portfolio. The intern’s
partnership teacher and university supervisor review the portfolio to ensure that
the Advanced Technology Competencies have been met. Both have to sign to verify
that the intern has demonstrated mastery.
5.
INQUIRY PROJECT Due April 16
Good teachers are frequently engaged in thinking about
their practice and trying out new strategies to see what works. (The opposite
of this is where a person’s teaching is based on habit or tradition - “this is
the way it’s always been done.”) This process of experimentation may be
difficult for an outsider to observe and few teachers would probably ever see
themselves as engaged in “research.” However, effective teaching requires that
teachers reflect on their teaching and seek to find out answers as to what
works and what does not.
· You are to conduct
a small-scale inquiry project related to the improvement of your instruction.
· You are to examine
the effects of instruction on student learning.
In consultation with your partnership teacher, identify
an issue or question related to your teaching. In many cases it may be
beneficial to select a question that directly relates to an area of instruction
that needs improvement (e.g. if the target area for improvement of teaching is
“to improve lesson closure,” then the inquiry project could be an investigation
of the effects of different approaches to closure on student performance. Other
examples of questions include: the advantages or disadvantages of using student
selected groups vs. teacher selected groups, analysis of specific strategies
for working with unmotivated learners, the value of different note-taking
strategies etc. Given the range of instructional decisions that teachers
are engaged in, interns need to select different questions to investigate.
Hence I need to approve all questions.
Examples of inquiry projects
Time frame:
·
Question, and Implementation plan, Form 1& 2, due March 12
·
Final project due April 16
Format:
A) Identify and describe your question
B) Describe your implementation plan
C) Present findings
D) Discussion of findings, including 2 references on
your topic
E) Conclusion (50 points).
Students will use TaskStream to submit the 2 Week
Plan, the Portfolio and to post lesson plans for their university supervisor to
view prior to an observation.
|
Assignment
|
Points |
Due
Date |
|
Two
Week Plan with teacher comments
50 |
50 |
1/19
-Teacher Comments 1/24
- Final |
|
Videotape
of Teaching |
20 |
Sign
Up date |
|
Peer
Evaluation |
10 |
3/19-3/26 |
|
Inquiry
Project |
40 |
3/12
– Form 1&2 4/16
– Final product |
|
Portfolio |
60 |
5/1 |
|
Total |
180 |
|
Grades for EDN 408 will be assigned as follows:
|
A =
180-172 |
A- =
171-163 |
|
|
B+ =
162-158 |
B
= 157- 152 |
B- =
151-147 |
|
C+ =
146-142 |
C =
141-136 |
C- =
135-133 |
|
D =
132-127 |
Below
126 F |
|
New
Teacher Resources:
American
Federation of Teachers: http://www.t-source.org/
INQUIRY PROJECT
FORM 1
INQUIRY QUESTION
(Due –March 12)
Name:________________
DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE: (General statement of why the issue is of importance
or of interest)
PROBLEM STATEMENT: (Statement of the specific issue to be investigated)
OBSERVABLE BEHAVIORS: (What information do you need to be able to know
whether or not it works? Be as specific as you can about the data you will
collect. This needs to be student outcome related.)
It is possible to change
topics but you need to get approval for any changes from your partnership
teacher as well as your EDN 408 instructor or university supervisor.
The intern has discussed with
me their topic for the classroom inquiry project.
Partnership Teacher
Signature: ____________________________
INQUIRY PROJECT
FORM 2
IMPLEMENTATION
(Due March 12)
Name:_____________
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
QUESTIONS: (List the key questions related to investigation of
your problem)
INFORMATION REQUIRED: (How will I know it works?)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION : (Resources/People to contact for help)
METHODS FOR COLLECTING
INFORMATION: (E.g., interviewing a
teacher, students’ test scores)