TE+408+Syllabus+Helmsing+Kenyon

Crafting Teaching Practices in Social Studies Spring Semester 2012 – 6 credit hours

__**Instructors**__: Mark Helmsing (Section 5)  Office: 213 Erickson Hall   Phone: 517/515-8653   E-mail: helmsing@msu.edu   111 Erickson Hall 12:40-2:30 on M/W and W from 4:10-6:00 Elizabeth Kenyon (Section 6)  Office: 313 Erickson Hall   Phone: 202/384-5062   E-mail: kenyone2@msu.edu   113 Erickson Hall 12:40-2:30 M/W   112 Bessey Hall 4:10-6:00 W (until Spring Break)

** __Course Description__ **


 * MSU describes this course in the following manner: **

Gathering data on learners to inform content and instructional decisions. Deciding what should be taught for specific disciplines at the secondary level (7-12). Teachers' multiple roles and their professional, intellectual, sociopolitical, and communal responsibilities.


 * This is the second course in the two-semester sequence on attempting to figure out what it means to teach social studies. Much of last semester in TE 407 was devoted to asking: **
 * What is/are the social studies?
 * What does it mean to teach social studies?
 * Why are these subjects taught?
 * How can we arrange and present curriculum about social studies in meaningful ways to adolescent learners?


 * We will continue to explore those questions this semester, but we add new questions to which we anchor our work this semester: **
 * What might the consequences of different approaches to social studies be for various groups of people?
 * How do we, as teachers, enact a pedagogy that amplifies, rather than silences, student voice?
 * How do we make lesson plans that address the above issues?
 * How do we navigate the public school system as we go about doing so?
 * What actions can we undertake as novice teachers to ensure we understand the legal, political, and ethical facets of the teaching profession?

** __Course Expectations__ **

We firmly believe that as teachers, the most powerful messages we send to our students, colleagues and communities come through our actions. As teachers, it therefore behooves us to model responsible, positive, democratic behavior. Each of us has our own way of being in the world, our own values, and our own beliefs about what constitutes a good citizen. Nevertheless, it is our expectation that we will all strive to model certain aptitudes and behaviors important to the success of democratic living. Primary among these include:

1. a positive and supportive attitude toward the groups of which we are part 2. respect for public space (at MSU, in our field placements, and elsewhere) 3. offering helpful, constructive feedback as opposed to unproductive criticism 4. sharing of knowledge and experiences in ways that build and not tear down 5. coming to class on time, turning in assigned work and doing assigned readings


 * Course Work: ** All work should be word-processed and shared on your individual wiki page as plain text (NOT embedded as a PDF or Word file). A printed copy should also be included in your Professional Practitioner Portfolio. Teachers often adapt ideas from one another. If you use or adapt an idea from another person (published or unpublished), the individual should be given appropriate credit. Written work is expected to have appropriate grammar and spelling. As educators, it is imperative we can communicate professionally with students, colleagues, and parents. Any lack of careful proofreading for typographical errors will result in a lower grade.


 * Class Attendance: ** Being in class for each class session (and on time) is an important piece of the class being successful. You should view attending your courses as a professional obligation in which absences should be __communicated toboth instructors before class__ . __This correspondence should be either by phone message or email__ . You are allowed two absences for this semester. Upon the third absence, your grade will be lowered and a probationary meeting will be held with the course instructors and university supervisors to determine your progression in the program and, to decide upon your eligibility for the student teaching internship.


 * Field Placements: ** As part of TE 408 you will continue your field placement experiences that you began last semester in TE 407. Your attendance at the field placements is required. If you miss a visit, you will need to make it up. Successful navigation of your field placement is a requirement to pass TE 408. Completion of a field placement project will be required this semester in addition to teaching, independently and in groups, lessons you design and deliver to students.


 * Discussion: ** Your participation in class discussions is an important way to develop yourself as an educator. We ask that you pay careful attention to your role as a classroom discussant. Do you need to discuss a bit more than you might normally? A bit less? How can we ensure that all of us meaningfully participate in democratic classroom relationships?

** __Course Outline__ **
 * TENTATIVE LIST OF LAB SESSIONS: **

January 9 Course Overview/Cooperative Learning January 16 No class/Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 23 Cooperative Learning January 30 Simulations & Role-Play February 6 Simulations & Role-Play (lab visits with mentor teachers) February 13 Classroom Discussion & Debate February 20 Classroom Discussion & Debate February 27 Student-Directed Investigations March 5 No class/Spring Break *Minor Labs meet online after March 5


 * TENTATIVE LIST OF SEMINAR SESSIONS: || DATE: **
 * HELMSING || KENYON ||
 * January 11 || Music & Media in Social Studies || Special Education ||
 * January 18 || Literature & Art in Social Studies || Special Education ||
 * January 25 || Technology in Social Studies || Special Education ||
 * February 1 || Assessments & Accountability || Special Education ||
 * February 8 || Constructing Assessments || Special Education ||
 * February 15 || Grading & Feedback || Special Education ||
 * February 22 || Management & Motivation || English Language Learners ||
 * February 29 || Management & Motivation || English Language Learners ||
 * March 7 || SPRING BREAK  || SPRING BREAK ||
 * March 12/14 || Management & Motivation || English Language Learners ||
 * March 19/21 || Management & Motivation || English Language Learners ||
 * March 26/28 || Legal/Political/Ethical Issues || Differentiated Instruction ||
 * April 2/4 || Legal/Political/Ethical Issues || Differentiated Instruction ||
 * April 9/11 || Museum Field Trip - TBA || Communities & Families ||
 * April 16/18 || Career Preparation || Social Issues & Justice ||
 * April 23/25 || Career Preparation || Social Issues & Justice ||
 * May 2 || Final Exam Period – TBA  || Final Exam Period - TBA ||

** __Course Grading Scale__ **

93 - 100: 4.0 86 - 92: 3.5  79 - 85: 3.0  72 - 78: 2.5  65 - 71: 2.0  58 - 64: 1.5  51 - 57: 1.0  0 -50: 0

** __Course Assignments__ ** Similar to the process in TE 407, you will submit a Professional Growth Plan for the semester in January in order to monitor your progress towards achieving those goals and your participation during seminar, lab, and at your field placement. You will evaluate your growth in a revised plan submitted in late April.
 * __25% - Program Participation [20 points] due Monday, January 16__ **

During the first half of the semester, Monday class sessions will be spent in lab sections (Section 5 with Mark Helmsing and Section 6 with Elizabeth Kenyon) with each lab instructor grading the following lesson plans (paste electronic version on your wiki page and include a printed version in your Professional Practitioner Portfolio).
 * __25% - Lesson Plans [20 points]__ **
 * 1) Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan - due January 23
 * 2) Simulation/Role-Play Lesson Plan - due February 6
 * 3) Discussion/Debate Lesson Plan - due February 20
 * 4) Student-Directed Project Lesson Plan - due March 5

Mark Helmsing will assign and evaluate the following artifacts (paste electronic version on your wiki page and include a printed version in your Professional Practitioner Portfolio).
 * __25% - Artifacts of Instructional Enhancement [20 points]__ **
 * 1) Humanities-Based Lesson - due January 25
 * 2) Assessment Samples - due March 5
 * 3) Classroom Procedures Plan - due April 6
 * 4) Resume & Cover Letter - due April 27

Elizabeth Kenyon will assign and evaluate the following artifacts (paste electronic version on your wiki page and include a printed version in your Professional Practitioner Portfolio).
 * __25% - Artifacts of Teaching All Learners [20 points]__ **


 * 1) Special Education Project (10 points) - due February 16
 * 2) Differentiated Instruction Lesson Plan - due April 2
 * 3) Imagined Classroom - due April 23