Syllabus
for
EdCI 5260 (21040)
Evaluation of Abilities and Achievement
in the Literacy Program
Spring 2009
(Three Semester Hours Graduate Credit)
Department of Educational Foundations & Literacy
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Course Description:
This course examines the capacity and achievement assessment processes implemented in schools
and their effect on curricular and instructional decisions.
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
Warrensburg, Missouri
Belief Statement
The Central educator is a competent, caring, reflective practitioner committed to the premise that all can learn.
Conceptual Framework:
As a cornerstone of the institution for over 130 years, the University of Central Missouri’s Teacher Education Program shapes teachers and other school professionals who are well grounded in theory, display competence in content knowledge, and are prepared with strategies, and possess the dispositions to ensure success for all learners. The Teacher Education Program prepares individuals as professional educators for an ever-changing, culturally diverse population. Faculty and candidates provide support and service to schools in meeting their present and future challenges by developing communities that learn through research and scholarly activities. Education preparation is a campus-wide responsibility, a commitment that reflects the honor and worth of serving in a vital profession.
Class meets Mondays, 6 – 8:45 p.m. in Lovinger 2110
Dr. Dawna Lisa Buchanan (Butterfield)
2134 Lovinger
660543-8466
Office Hours: Monday 1 - 4 p.m./Tues & Thurs 11 a.m. - noon & by appointment
I. Purpose of the Course
The purpose of this course is to provide the graduate student with an advanced understanding of the theories and assumptions underlying the various assessment systems implemented in the schools for curricular decisions and learning in literacy education. The course will compare individual and group standardized assessment processes for both aptitude and achievement. Practical uses and approaches to assessment are investigated and resources identified. National and professional standards (International Reading Association & National Board Standards) are addressed and applied for both professional preparation and active assessment as reflected in policy and practice in schools today.
Important!
Graduate-level learning activities are more focused in content and purpose and more intellectually demanding than undergraduate education; faculty and students engage in scholarship involving research and practice as appropriate to the discipline or field; and learning activities involve frequent interactions among faculty and graduate students.
Handbook of Accreditation (3rd ed.). The Higher Learning Commission (2003), section 3.2 – 12).
The major theoretical bases of the course are as follows:
A. Central's Quality Educational Model
The following dispositions, drawn from the Assessment as Learning Model and Total Quality philosophy are central to the learning experience provided in this course and the assessment of the learner.
1. All learners can learn.
2. Learning is a process not just a product.
3. Multiple performances are needed to assess learning.
4. Explicit criteria are shared with learners prior to the assessments.
5. Assessment is made of relevant and valid behaviors related to the stated outcomes.
6. Productive feedback is essential to learner learning.
7. Self-assessment is important for learner to learn as a means of moving from a dependent learning environment to an independent, self-motivating environment.
8. Curriculum should be systematically driven by outcomes.
9. Methods of teaching should be varied and appropriate to the outcomes.
10. A combination of direct instruction and authentic reading and writing experiences is necessary to teach children to be literate (Snow, et al 1998).
11. Literacy involves reading and writing, but it also involves communicating through technology (Thorburg, 1992).
B. Constructivist Theory
Constructivist theory posits that students make sense of the world by synthesizing new experiences into what they have previously understood. They form rules through reflection on their interaction with objects and ideas. When they encounter an object, idea, or relationship that does not make sense to them, they either interpret what they see to conform to their rules or they adjust their rules to better account for the new information (Brooks & Brooks, 1993)
C. The Importance of the Oral Language in Literacy Development.
The process of acquiring language is continuous and unending (Cooper, 2000). Language is first and foremost a social process (Wells, 1990). Theorists of language acquisition, such as Chomsky (1965), Piaget (1969), Vygotsky (1978) and Halliday (1975) contribute to our understanding of how children learn language. Cooper (2000) indicates that children acquire language when they have a need that is meaningful and real, and have the opportunity to interact with peers and adults. Teaching children to read and write is an outgrowth of oral language development. The process is whole, meaningful, supportive and continuous.
D. Social Development Theory
The major theme of Vygotsky's theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states: "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." A second aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain time span that he calls the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). Furthermore, full development during the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of skill that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone.
E. Reflective Thinking and Decision Making
One definition of reflection is "behavior which involves active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or practice in light of the grounds that support it and further consequences to which it leads" (Canning, 1991). The goal of reflective thinking in teacher education, according to Tama & Peterson (1991), "is to move students from a technical understanding of teaching to comprehending the big picture of teaching with all its social and moral implications." Reflective thinking is at the core of reading assessment and informed decision-making and is the course foundation as teachers analyze, apply, and evaluate reading theories, methods of teaching, and instructional materials.
F. Diversity
Central seeks to develop professionals who embrace human diversity, as indicated in Central’s Diversity Outcomes (approved Fall, 2001). As a result, this course includes curriculum and school field experiences that allow candidates to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to help all students learn.
II. COURSE PERFORMANCES STANDARDS for Knowledge, skills, and Attitudes:
The following course performance standards are derived from standards set by the International Reading Association for Reading Professionals and the National Board Performance Standards for Teachers.
International Reading Association (IRA) standards:
1.1 recognize that reading should be taught as a process
1.3 recognize the importance of literacy for personal and social growth
1.5 perceive reading as the process of constructing meaning through the interaction of the reader’s existing knowledge, the information suggested by the written language, and the context of the reading situation.
1.6 Understand the major theories of language development, cognition and learning
1.7 Understand the impact of physical, perceptual, emotional, social, cultural, environmental and intellectual factors on learning, language development and reading acquisition.
2.1 understand the interrelation of language and literacy acquisition
2.9 understand how contextual factors in the school can influence student learning and reading (e.g., grouping procedures, school programs and assessment)
2.10 know past and present literacy leaders and their contributions to the knowledge base
2.14 understand that goals, instruction and assessment should be aligned
3.1 recognize how differences among learners influence their literacy development
3.4 recognize the importance of creating programs to address the strengths and needs of individual learners
3.5 know federal, state and local programs designed to help students with reading and writing problems.
4.4 know the instructional implications of research in special education, psychology, and other fields that deal with the treatment of students with reading and learning difficulties
10.1 develop and conduct assessments that involve multiple indicators of learner progress
10.2 administer and use information from norm-referenced tests, criterion-referenced tests, formal and informal inventories, constructed response measures, portfolio-based assessments, student self-evaluations, work/performance samples, observations, anecdotal records, journals and other indicators of student progress to inform instruction and learning
12.2 adapt instruction to meet the needs of different learners to accomplish different purposes
12.4 select and evaluate instructional materials for literacy, including those that are technology-based
12.5 use multiple indicators to determine effectiveness of the literacy curriculum
12.6 plan and implement programs designed to help students improve their reading and writing including those supported by federal, state, and local funding
12.7 help develop individual educational plans for students with sever learning problems related to literacy
14.1 apply research for improved literacy
16.1 pursue knowledge of literacy by reading professional journals and publications, and participating in conferences and other professional activities
16.6 promote collegiality with other literacy professionals through regular conversations, discussions and consultations about learners, literacy theory and assessment and instruction
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
This course meets all five of the NBPTS propositions of accomplished teaching:
1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning
2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
5. Teachers are members of learning communities.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT--This course will provide the MSE intern with the opportunity to demonstrate acquisition of the above knowledge through completion of the following competency requirements.
1. Research Paper on assessment in literacy education
The graduate will research professional literature to gain insight into one of the following
areas and develop a persuasive paper on the topic. Another option is to conduct action research in
the classroom and support findings and discussion with the professional literature. A scoring rubric
will be presented in class.
· an understanding of how contextual factors in the school can influence student learning and reading (e.g., grouping procedures, school programs and assessment)
· Address how goals, instruction and assessment should be aligned and achieved.
2. Assessment Notebook
The graduate student will develop a "notebook" on current assessments in literacy achievement approved by the state department for implementation as a result of HB889. A hard copy definition of the bill must appear as part of the notebook. (This is now a Senate Bill and may have a different number - consult with instructor). To receive the points, the candidate must show both the hard copy and a written statement as to what implications he/she thinks this bill has for students and teachers in Missouri. The notebook should serve as a resource guide in the schools as each district develops and implements an assessment process for district curricular and instructional decisions. Students will implement assessments from selected chapters of the Lipson & Wixson text (see calendar) in their classrooms and be prepared to share these as indicated on the calendar. In addition, each student will interview the person in his/her district responsible for coordinating assessment (and in some cases, curriculum as well). This will offer a broader overview of how assessment is handled in the entire district, preparing the graduate candidate with an awareness of leadership roles in terms of achievement and abilities. (See below).
The "notebook" is not something that you must hand in as a completed tome to the instructor every week or at the end of the course. Each component of this resource will be evaluated as it becomes due. It is the responsibility of the graduate candidate to organize and store this resource, which will be of enormous value in continuing professional development (including the graduate MSE portfolio, any work for NBStandards, any work towards an Ed. Specialist degree and in any ongoing professional practice and leadership the candidate enjoys or anticipates in his/her school district).
3. Develop an analysis based on an interview with district representative regarding that district’s assessment plan
The graduate student will work with a school district representative to evaluate the assessment process for district curricular and instructional decisions. A guideline for this interview is established elsewhere in the course documents.
4. Assessment knowledge in group leadership
Candidate knowledge acquisition in assessment and the ability to articulate and lead constructive discussion among peers will be assessed through each individual’s commitment to presenting and reviewing a chapter or chapters from the Marzano text. Although peers will have read the material and are expected to be prepared, the group discussion leader (or leaders) must have prepared questions, an activity, some examples and a way of reviewing/summarizing the value of the chapter for the entire group. These will be conducted panel style in class.
5. Internet resource files for literacy assessment
An internet resource literacy assessment notebook will be developed for the entire class. Each student will be responsible for sharing Internet resources to assess K-12 students’ literacy development with peers. The assessments must focus in the areas of sight word development, word analysis development, vocabulary development, comprehension development, or written proficiency. (Five topics – each student will sign up for one). These will be posted on Blackboard for access by the entire class. They must contain a teacher resource for classroom assessment or an interactive site that will assess student achievement in one of the skill areas listed above. Sites that require purchase or use inappropriate advertising are discouraged.
6. Class preparation and professional participation.
Each MSE intern will earn points for class preparation and participation. This will be assessed through the assignment completion and participation in the weekly reflective discussions, as well as for hosting one of the guest speakers who will be presenting to our class. In addition, participation in panels will be required on several occasions - details are outlined on the calendar.
III. Outline of Course Content
A. Grading and Evaluation:
Evaluation will be based upon attendance, participation, and the evidence of student performance on the performance standards listed under knowledge and skill development. Grades will be computed using the following percentages of the total number of points possible at the end of the class.