EDUC 2200: Disciplined Inquiry (Social Studies)

Department of Instruction & Learning, University of Pittsburgh

Instructor: Michael Lovorn, Ph.D. E-mail: Phone: 412-403-3705 (c)

Course Meeting Time: M, 4:30-7:10 PMOffice Hours: Mondays 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to develop your ability to become an effective, reflective teacher through using evidence about student learning to improve instruction; reflecting upon this evidence to gain insight into your teaching practice; using pedagogical and assessment strategies to enable diverse students to meet learning goals; and participating in a teacher learning community to plan, assess, and improve instruction. You will learn the process of documenting, reflecting upon, and using evidence of teaching to improve your instruction through a Teaching Portfolio and a Teaching Project.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course intends to develop your knowledge and skills related to:

  1. making claims and using evidence about instructional improvement;
  2. engaging in regular reflection on teaching practice;
  3. using pedagogical & assessment strategies to enable all students to meet learning goals;
  4. contributing to a learning community to improve instruction;
  5. developing a teaching portfolio; and
  6. conducting action research in social studies.

COURSE READINGS

There are no required texts for this course. I will provide all readings (mostly journal articles and book chapters) as necessary throughout the semester.

EVALUATION
Grading Ranges / Activities / Point Values
A+
A
A-
B+
B
C
D
F / 297-300 points
282-296 points
270-281 points
264-269 points
240-263 points
210-239 points
180-209 points
< 179 points / Attendance & Class Participation
Teaching Portfolio
Action Research Project
Total: / 100
100
100
300
ATTENDANCE & CLASS PARTICIPATION (100 POINTS)

Your attendance and active participation in our class activities is critical to the success of this course. During our class meetings, we will engage in various group assignments including theoretical and practical discourses,individual and small group presentations, reflection, and peer evaluation. The depth and breadth of these activities will depend largely on your preparation and participation. Attendance: I expect you to attend all course sessions. You may have one excused absence without penalty. Each additional absence (excused or unexcused) will result in a standard 20-point deduction from your final point total. Two tardies or early departures will equal one unexcused absence.

Participation: I expect you to participate actively by completing readings promptly, taking part in all group and individual activities, and contributing to all class discussions. You will receive one cumulative, semester-long evaluation for your participation. I will use the following 100-point scale to assess this element of your development:

Class Participation Evaluation Scale

90-100 points – Your participation has been significant throughout the semester and has met or exceeded my expectations. You contributed/participated consistently in all or nearly all discussions and activities. You regularly demonstrated original and deep thinking, AND engaged in focused analysis of appropriate readings/topics. You regularly lead conversation AND introduced compelling ideas.

80-89 points – Over the course of the semester, your participation ranged from modest to good, and overall, you met many, perhaps not all, of my expectations. It was my observation that you usuallyengaged in an analysis of appropriate readings/topics, continued conversation, AND/OR built on the ideas of others.

70-79 points – Throughout the semester, I found your participation consistently weak or minimal, and overall, it met few if any of my expectations for graduate-level study. You made few if any contributions to our discussions/activities, OR you regularly appeared disconnected from those discussions/activities.

0-69points – Over the course of the semester, you made few if any meaningful contributions to our class, OR you were regularly severely disconnected from our discussions or activities.

TEACHING PORTFOLIO (100 POINTS)

This semester, each of you will develop a teaching portfoliothat chronicles and/or articulates your emerging professional identity. Your portfolio will be comprised of the evidential components based on claims and evidence of your development. Each component is listed below, and will be worth a maximum of ten points (for a total of 100 points for the completed portfolio):

  1. your emerging teaching philosophy (200 words);
  2. a record of your professional experience (your updated resume);
  3. evidence of your reflective practice (ten 150-word teaching reflections);
  4. a claim about at least one preferred approach to social studies content;
  5. evidence of your preferred approach to social studies content;
  6. a claim about at least one preferred student engagement strategy;
  7. evidence of your preferred student engagement strategy;
  8. a summary description of your classroom management style (200 words);
  9. at least five examples of feedback from your university supervisor and/or mentor teacher; and
  10. your goals and visions for continued professional and pedagogical development (200 words).

Portfolio Evaluation Scale (10 points per component)
10 points – Mastery.This component meets all described criteria, is concise yet comprehensive, and relates dynamic and distinctive evidence of your emerging professional identity.
8-9 points – Proficient. This component meets all described criteria, is concise yet comprehensive, and relates adequate evidence of your emerging professional identity.
6-7 points – Developing. I found this component fairly well designed, but also lacking in some respects. Any of the following factors warrants this evaluation: component does not meet all described criteria, is missing at least one significant element, is not comprehensive, OR provides inadequate evidence or examples of your emerging professional identity.

0-5 points – Underperforming. I found this component poorly designed or significantly lacking in one or more respects. Any of the following factors warrants this evaluation: component fails to meet multiple described criteria, is missing multiple elements, is not comprehensive, OR fails to provide evidence or examples of your emerging professional identity.

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT (100 POINTS)

The purpose of this activity is to provide you with an opportunity to identify an issue or problemin your own social studies classroom, and then to outline a means by which you can study and work to correct it. After you identify and define a particular issue or problem, you will develop and present a plan for an action research project to address it. You are not required to implement the research project this semester (you may do this later in the MAT Research Seminar), but you will present your proposal to your classmates and me. Your presentation should be 15-20 minutes in length, and should be well-organized, highly informative, and demonstrate your mastery of an action research design. Your PowerPoint or Prezi presentation should include slides on the need for the study, the purpose of the study, your selected process (including resources, methodology, and data analysis activities), limitations of the study, and a plan for action. This activity will serve as your MAT/MOSAIC social studies comprehensive exam, and will be evaluated with the following 100-point rubric.

Action Research Project Evaluative Rubric (10 points per component)

Evaluative Element / Underperforming
(0-15 points) / Developing
(16-17 points) / Proficient
(18-19 points) / Mastery*
(20 points)
Mastery of an Action Research and a Related Design / You demonstrate a poor understanding of AR and your selected design. / You demonstrate only a cursory or marginal understanding of AR and your selected design. / You demonstrate a clear understanding of AR and your selected design. / You demonstrate a clear and complete understanding of AR and your selected design.
Appropriateness of Action Research Design for the Proposed Study / Your AR design is inappropriate for the proposed study, or is not doable in this setting. / Your AR design is only marginally appropriate for the proposed study, or may not be doable in this setting. / Your AR design is appropriate for the proposed study, and is likely doable in this setting. / Your AR design is the best possible choice for the proposed study, and is certainly doable in this setting.
Quality and Originality of PowerPoint/Prezi Presentation / Your presentation is poorly designed, difficult to read, erroneous, extremely wordy or cluttered. Few AR components are represented. / Your presentation is relatively clear, but is wordy or cluttered. Still, it represents most components the AR proposal. / Your presentation is well designed, engaging, relevant, & represents most components of the AR proposal. / Your presentation is well designed, engaging, relevant, & clearly represents every component of the AR proposal.
Quality of Presentation Delivery / You demonstrate a severely limited knowledge of AR, are difficult to follow/hear, or stray from study. / You demonstrate a limited or cursory knowledge of AR, are difficult to follow/hear, or only marginally address major points of the study. / You demonstrate a comprehension of AR, are well spoken, present in a fluid, engaging manner, & address all major points of the study. / You demonstrate a clear and concisecomprehension of AR, are well spoken, present in a fluid, engaging manner, & address all major points of the study.
Presentation Time / Your AR talk lasts less than 10 minutes or is poorly paced. / Your AR talk lasts 10-14 minutes. / Your AR talk lasts longer than 20 minutes. / Your AR talk lasts15-20 minutes.

*Please note that I reserve scores of 20 for those students who demonstrate mastery, defined here as clear, complete, original, purposefully connected, or in other ways exceptional attention to each presentation element. Simply presenting a research proposal does not entitle you to a score of 20 on any element. If you are unsure about any rubric component or score attribute, please ask for clarification beforeyou present.

COURSE SCHEDULE – Spring 2017 (Alternating Weekends with IL 2520)
Date / Activities & Assignments
Jan 9 /
  • Course introduction
  • Making claims & collecting evidence in social studies

Jan 23 /
  • Engaging in regular reflection on teaching practice
  • Strategies for enabling all students to meet learning goals in social studies

Feb 6 /
  • Action research in secondary social studies
  • Discussion of possible action research projects in your classroom

Feb 20 /
  • Strategies for approaching content and engaging students
  • Collecting evidence of success in social studies

Mar 6 /
  • Spring Break – No Class

Mar 20 /
  • Online class – One-on-one progress reports
  • Action research project development time

Apr 3 /
  • Action research presentations
  • Teaching portfolio due

Apr 17 /
  • Action research presentations
  • Course wrap up

MY CLASS POLICIES

Attendance: You are expected to attend all class meetings, arrive in a punctual manner, and stay for the duration of each session. Please refer to the ‘Attendance and Class Participation’ section of this syllabus for point deductions for absences or tardies. Should extenuating circumstances limit or prevent your attendance for any reason, I expect you to contact me in writing (via e-mail) prior to the start of that class session. Attendance can impact my evaluation of your class participation and professional disposition. I will elaborate on my expectations for attendance and discuss my case-by-case approach for make up work during our first class meeting.

Electronic Communication: E-mail is my preferred method of communication for all course-related correspondence or work submissions. I do not use or check CourseWeb or TaskStream for the administration of this course. My e-mail address is . This address serves as my only means of official course-related correspondence. I accept Word document or PDF attachments for electronic submissions of class assignments and official documents. I will also accept Google Docs, but only if I have been granted permission upon initial submission. Assignments that have been submitted via Google Docs are only considered “turned in” if I can access them. I do not use G-mail or other personal accounts for school-related communication, and will not send the assignment back to you to grant me permission to view them. Please take care of this upon initial submission.

Commitment to Social Justice:This course is centered on reflective discussion and exchange of ideas, many of which challenge established societal norms and conventional educational practices. These discourses will be guided by principles of critical pedagogy and social justice. Please respect this space by checking insensitive behavior or comments that makes other students feel unnecessarily uncomfortable. These behaviors or comments include interrupting others while they are talking, carrying on conversations separate from the class discussion, or making insensitive or derogatory comments about gender, sexual orientation, belief structures, race, ethnicity, nationality, or disability. Please make every effort to maintain an academic atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable sharing and responding to ideas.

Academic Integrity: 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. Pitt School of Education Academic Integrity Guidelines can be viewed by accessing the following webpage:

Disability Services: If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you need to notify both the instructor and Disability Resources and Services no later than the second week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 412-648-7890 (Voice or TTD) to schedule an appointment. The Disability Resources and Services office is located in 140 William Pitt Union on the Oakland campus.

Statement 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.

DIL Grievance Procedures: The purpose of grievance procedures is to ensure the rights and responsibilities of faculty and students in their relationships with each other. When a student in DIL believes that a faculty member has not met her/his obligations (as an instructor or in another capacity) as described in the Academic Integrity Guidelines, the student should follow this procedure: (1)The student should talk directly to the faculty member to attempt to resolve the matter. (2)If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the student should talk to the relevant program coordinator. (3) If the matter remains unresolved, the student should talk to DIL Associate Chair Trish Crawford. (4) If needed, the student should next talk to SoE Associate Dean Michael Gunzenhauser. (5) If the matter still remains unresolved, the student should file a written statement of charges with the dean’s designated Academic Integrity Administrative Officer.

REFERENCES

Chapin, J. R. (2014). A practical guide to middle and secondary social studies(4th Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Drake, F. D., & Nelson, L. R. (2009). Engagement in teaching history: Theory and practice for middle and secondary teachers (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Fischer, F. (2014). The memory hole: The U.S. history curriculum under siege. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Gaudelli, W., & Fernekes, W. R. (2004). Teaching about global human rights for global citizenship: Action research in the social studies curriculum. The Social Studies, 95(1), 16.

Larson, B. (2016). Instructional strategies for middle and secondary social studies: Methods, assessments, and classroom management (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

National Council for the Social Studies. (2013). College, career, and civic life (C3) framework for social studies state standards: State guidance for increasing the rigor of K-12 civics, economics, geography, and history. Retrieved from

National Council for the Social Studies. (2010). National curriculum for social studies: A framework for teaching, learning, and assessment. Retrieved from

Snyder, C., Paska, L. M., & Besozzi, D. (2014). Cast from the past: Using screencasting in the social studies classroom. The Social Studies, 105(6), 310-314. doi:10.1080/00377996.2014.951472

Teachers’ Curriculum Institute. (2010). Bring learning alive! Methods to transform middle and high school social studies instruction. Palo Alto, CA: TCI Press.

VanSledright, B. A. (2014). Assessing historical thinking & understanding: Innovative designs for new standards. New York, NY: Routledge.

VanSledright, B. A. (2010). The challenge of re-thinking history education: On practices, theories, and policy. New York, NY: Routledge.