Practicum in Secondary English Language Arts
Instruction and Learning 2725
Fall 2015
Section 1080
Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:45 pm
3 credits
Classroom: 5700 Posvar Hall
Instructor: Dr. Katrina Bartow Jacobs
Email:
Phone: (412) 648-3117
Office location: 5106 Posvar Hall
Office hours: Wednesdays 11-12 and 3-4 and by appointment
Course Description
For this course, teacher candidates engage in 20 hours per week of fieldwork in secondary school sites. Fieldwork includes working with individual and small groups of students, collaborating with mentor teachers to design lessons, supporting instruction in the classrooms, and observing classroom instruction. Teacher candidates will also be responsible for independent instruction during this practicum. Assignments and weekly meetings are designed to help teacher candidates recognize and apply current research on effective English Language Arts instruction and theories of adolescent learning and development.
The course is a required teaching methods course in the English Education Masters of Arts and Teaching (MAT) and MOSAIC programs.
Learning Goals
At the end of the course you will be able to:
· Analyze the teaching you observe and your own teaching to improve your practice.
· Appreciate and build upon the varied, out of school literacy practices that your students bring to class.
· Select texts to represent a variety of genres, media, and perspectives.
· Design literacy lessons that are inquiry-based and culturally relevant to your students.
· Participate in a professional learning community (PLC) by giving and receiving constructive feedback with peers.
Required Texts and Supplies
· Shakespeare, W. Romeo & Juliet
· Morrison, T. (1970). The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume
· A device to digitally video-record yourself.
· Other required texts and resources available on CourseWeb
Grading and Assignments
Attendance, Preparation, Participation, Dispositions (20%)
This course requires your active, thoughtful, daring, candid and respectful participation in all activities. Come prepared to be actively engaged in each class. Preparing for each session by completing all readings and assignments completely and on time will enable you to enter fully into the discussions and contribute to the development of our class conversations. Our class discussions will focus on two aspects of your experiences as a novice teacher: (1) Your observations of your two placements, as viewed through the lenses of the readings you’ve done for this program (including summer readings), and (2) Your practice lessons on Bluest Eye. Professional dispositions include thoughtful participation in class discussions, attending all classes and arriving to class on time. Please see English Education Handbook for related policies.
Lesson Plan, Lesson Implementation and Feedback to Peers (20%)
Using course readings, the University of Pittsburgh lesson plan template and the PA Core English Language Arts Standards, you will plan and execute a videotaped, 20-minute English language arts lesson using a non-print or multimedia text to connect to Bluest Eye through inquiry-based and culturally relevant pedagogy. Be sure to plan ahead for videotaping your lesson with your own device. Your lesson plan should address a clear learning goal and engage your “student” peers with an activity that aligns with those goals. After your lesson, you will receive constructive feedback from your peers (oral and written). Your lesson plan must be turned in on CourseWeb the day before you deliver your lesson in class.
Providing feedback to your peers is an integral part of this course, this assignment, and the teaching profession. In addition to your oral feedback after each lesson, you will respond in writing to each lesson. Consider framing your feedback in ways that first acknowledge a specific strength that you observed in the lesson. Then, with careful consideration of the vulnerable experience that teaching for the first time in front of peers, provide specific, non-judgmental constructive feedback that refers to the course materials employed in developing this lesson plan. Statements such as “This was good” are not necessarily helpful for your peers in improving their teaching practice. However, a statement like, “I thought the introductory exercise in your lesson was engaging. Perhaps you could consider better organizing the sequence of activities in this writing lesson to transition from that introduction to the instructional strategy to the independent exercise”. As you provide feedback, you might also engage in a step-back in which you consider your experience in the lesson first as a student, then as a teacher and finally as an instructional designer. The ultimate task is to provide meaningful and thoughtful feedback that is grounded in your personal understandings of pedagogy, the readings you have done for this program, and your new learning from the courses you are currently enrolled in.
Lesson Reflection Essay (20%)
In your 3-4 page reflective essay, you will reflect on your experience of teaching your lesson. In your reflection, you must do the following:
1. Use evidence from the video to discuss the strengths of your lesson.
2. Use evidence from the video to discuss areas for improvement in your lesson.
3. Describe how you would revise the lesson if you were to teach it to your students.
4. Discuss how you used feedback from your peers and instructor to shift and/or extend your thinking about teaching ELA, about yourself as a teacher, and about your lesson.
The reflective essay is due one week after you deliver your lesson.
Fieldwork in Your Teaching Placement (20%)
This is based on the recommendation of the field supervisor. Your supervisor uses the English Education Evaluation form and observation form to recommend a grade based on consultation with your mentor teacher.
Fieldnotes, Observations, & Data Collection (10%)
You will observe several dimensions of your mentor's practice and your own practice in your English language arts classroom sites. These dimensions include: 1) classroom talk; 2) using multiple modes of instruction; 3) formative assessment; and 4) how theory is being used in teaching practice. You will occasionally be turning in these fieldnotes for comments, but you are expected to be collecting them continuously through the semester.
You will also be collecting evidence of your teaching including (i.e. lesson plans, Powerpoint, notes, teaching reflections, student work and mentor & supervisor feedback). You will bring your notes and data to class for discussion and analysis and submit a binder of your material at the end of the term along with the reflective paper (See below for details). Tips and templates for fieldnote documentation will be discussed in class.
Critical Moment of Practice (10%)
One of the main goals of this course is to work together to collaboratively inquire into what it means to be an English/Language Arts teacher. The goal is not to be “the expert” by the end of the semester, but rather to learn how to explore your own moments of uncertainty, learning, and engaging in the classroom. Your peers are a critical resource in this endeavor. During the semester, you will sign up to share a “critical moment” from your field experiences during class. This includes:
· Completing the Critical Moment Narrative Description (see CourseWeb for template)
o This description must be made available on CourseWeb by 5 pm the Monday before you present
· In class, you will present a brief description of your critical moment and provide some guiding questions/themes for discussion. This should be about 5 minutes
· You will then facilitate a 15-minute discussion in class about your critical moment. For the first 5 minutes, you must be silent and engage in active listening. For the last 10 minutes, you will engage with your peers in inquiring into the moment and what can be learned
· Finally, you will complete a one-page reflection on the experience. This reflection is due the week following your presentation.
Final Portfolio (20%)
This portfolio should represent the culmination of the course, as well as the first semester that you spent in the field. Specifically, it should include:
· A cover letter/reflection
· A copy of all of your fieldnotes, including revisions made during the course
· The data that you have collected on your developing practice and inquiry
· A copy of your fieldwork critical moment narrative and one-page reflection
Your portfolio reflection consists of a 3-page cover letter in which you address the following questions:
· How has engaging in observations of English language arts classrooms shaped my view of teaching in terms of classroom talk, multiple modes of instruction, formative assessment and the use of theory in practice?
· How has this study enabled me to become a better teacher of English Language Arts?
· How has my teaching changed over time?
Your letter should reference your fieldwork, course readings and discussions. You will place your cover letter and revised fieldnotes and data in a three-ring, labeled binder that includes a table of contents and section headers. Please make sure to reference how you tracked the four areas of practice listed in the section above on fieldnotes.
Due December 16
Competence Policy
It is expected that all students receive at least a minimum level of competence on each assignment, defined by a grade of S (satisfactory), in order to pass the course. Assignments that receive a grade below S (satisfactory) must be revised and resubmitted within one week.
Grading scale
H/S/U (honors/satisfactory/unsatisfactory)
H = 96-100 points
S = 85-95 points
U = 84 points and below.
Other Information
• Please see the English Education Handbook for program policies including those regarding attendance and late work.
• You will find some course readings and materials on our Courseweb site. To log onto Courseweb, go to http://courseweb.pitt.edu/. Type in your Pitt username (email ID) and password, then select the name of the course.)
• All cell phones should be turned off during class.
• You are encouraged to bring laptops or other devices to class, as we will frequently be looking for resources or creating projects and plans during class. However, they are to be kept closed in class unless in use. Please do not use laptops, phones, or other devices for personal or off-topic work during class. Stay engaged.
• All assignments must be completed in order to pass the course. Assignments are due at or before the beginning of class or as specified for electronic submissions.
• All of the writing you do for this seminar should be wordprocessed in 12 point font (yielding approximately 250-300 words/page) with one inch margins. Proficiency with the conventions of Academic Written English must be demonstrated as part of the professional competence of all prospective teachers of English.
• At any point during the semester if you are not doing satisfactory work, I will let you know in writing immediately.
• Most assignments will be returned to you within a week with written feedback and evaluation.
• You can expect that I will respond to your emails within 24 hours Monday through Friday and 48 hours over the weekend.
• University Policy on Classroom Recording: To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures, discussion and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.
• If you need to miss class for a religious observance, please notify me as early as possible in the term so that we can arrange make up work.
• If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 140 William Pitt Union (412) 648-7890, , (412) 228-5347 for P3 ALS users, as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
• You are expected to maintain your responsibility towards academic integrity as stated in the University of Pittsburgh academic policies and as stated in the English Education handbook. University Policy: “Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the semester will be required to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual suspected of violating University Policy. Furthermore, no student may bring any unauthorized materials to an exam, including dictionaries and programmable calculators”
Course Schedule
September 9: Discuss Field Placements and Inquiry Into Practice
Readings:
· Review work from TL1
· Review fieldnote templates and tips on CourseWeb
· Lytle. S. L. (2008). At last: Practitioner inquiry and the practice of teaching: Some thoughts on “better”. Research in the Teaching of English, 42(3), 373-379.
In Class:
· Sign up for date to deliver lesson (2 people per class Sept 16 – Oct 14)
· Sign up for date to deliver critical moment of practice (2 people per class Oct 21 – Nov 18)
· Discuss placements and fieldnote templates
September 16: What is Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy?
Readings
· Excerpt from The Dreamkeepers
· Paris, D. & Winn, M. (2014). Trust, feeling, change: what we learn, what we share, what we do. In Humanizing research: Decolonizing qualitative inquiry with youth and communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
In Class
· General Discussion of Placements
· 2 people will present their lessons. Please bring 2 copies of the lesson plan to class.
September 23: Documenting Practice
Readings
· Emerson, R., Fretz, R. & Shaw, L. (1995). In the field: Participating, observing, and jotting notes. In Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (17-38). Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
In Class
· General Discussion of Placements
· 2 people will present their lessons. Please bring 2 copies of the lesson plan to class.
Due
· Turn in fieldnotes for review
· Reflection for students who gave lesson previous week
September 30: Fieldwork as Text: Reading the context
Readings
· Jacobs, K. B. (2014). The role of field experiences in the professional socialization of early career literacy teachers. Learning Landscapes, 8(1), 173-191