Welcome to English Education 451, Methods for English Education.  According to the course description this course will explore “principals, materials and methods for teaching English.”  That sounds like a wide open description, for good reason.  This course will be what you make of it, and I hope you’re enthusiastic about the learning opportunities that this course holds for you.

I.                  Course Description

Principals, materials, and methods for teaching English.  Note:  must be taken before student teaching.

II.                Rationale

This course builds on the work students have done in their studies of literature, composition, language, and pedagogy to help them develop the theories and skills to teach.  Students will focus on developing rationales and objectives for their teaching within the context of state standards and institutional values.  Through a combination of class work, reading, writing, and field experiences, students will prepare to teach a variety of students and to reflect on their own teaching.

This course fulfills a requirement in the speaking intensive category of the CCC.  Teaching the four-day unit and giving class presentations will allow you to hone your speaking skills.

III.            Required Texts and Materials:

Daniels, Harvey and Nancy Steineke.  Mini-lessons for Literature Circles.  Portsmouth, NH :  Heinemann, 2004.

Kohn, Alfie.  Beyond Discipline :  From Compliance to Community.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall, 1996.

Gere, Anne Ruggles, Leila Christenbury, and Kelli Sassi. Writing on Demand:  Best Practices and Strategies for Success.  Portsmouth, NH :  Heinemann, 2005.

Smagorinsky, Peter.  Teaching English Through Principled Practice.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson, 2002.

Weaver, Constance.  The Grammar Plan Book: A Guide to Smart Teaching.  Portsmouth, NH :  Heinemann, 2007.

·         Membership in the National Council of Teachers of English

·         Subscription to English Journal

·         Your FSU email account. 

·         Internet access outside of class.

IV.             Course Objectives and Outcomes

design a secondary English course within the context of state and national standards and testing:
 

use the English language arts to help students become aware of their own and others’ cultures;

help students develop lifelong habits of critical thinking and judgment;

promote the arts and humanities in the daily lives of students;

provide students with appropriate reading strategies that permit access to and understanding of a wide range of print and non-print texts;

plan instructional units that build toward course goals:

demonstrate an understanding of English grammar;

use a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts;

use instruction that promotes understanding of various uses and purposes for language in communication;

plan individual lessons that build toward unit and course goals:

demonstrate how reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and thinking are interrelated;

use writing, speaking, and observing as major forms of inquiry, reflection, and expression;

implement lessons:

demonstrate a respect for the worth and contributions of all learners;

show a respect for and an understanding of diversity in language use, patterns and dialects;

demonstrate how to respond to and interpret what is read in different ways;

demonstrate how to discover and create meaning from texts;

create learning environments which promote respect for and support of individual differences of ethnicity, race, language, culture, gender, and ability;

engage students in discussion for the purposes of interpreting and evaluating ideas presented through oral, written, or visual forms;

integrate assessment of student learning into effective teaching

design instruction to meet the needs of all students and provide for students’ continuous progress and success;

reflect on their teaching, using such reflections to improve student learning:

develop knowledge of theory and practice in English language arts;

experience modeling of effective pedagogy through on-campus and field experiences;

engage in reflective practice and pursue continued professional growth and collaboration with colleagues;

use teacher-researcher models of classroom inquiry; and

participate in professional organizations, conferences, and in-service workshops to continue professional growth.

read attentively, closely, and critically.

write thoughtfully, coherently, and persuasively.

develop and challenge their own thinking through scholarly research.

Candidates seeking initial and permanent/professional certification will also meet NCTE standards for the preparation of teachers of English Language Arts.

V.                Instructional Methods and Activities

The course will use a combination of class discussion, small group work, individual work, and activities.  You will also be observing and teaching in your placements for student teaching, earning 25 hours of pre-student teaching observation credit (field experience).

VI.            Course Evaluation

Your work for the class will be compiled in a course portfolio containing all your work this semester.  Do not throw away anything you do for the course.  The completed portfolios will be evaluated collaboratively, and your final grade will be negotiated.

VII.         Course Requirements

Engagement With Course Material And Activities.  Part of your obligation to this class is to participate vigorously in the ongoing dialogue we will have about literature, composition, language, and pedagogy.  Engagement includes sharing the work that you produce this semester as well as commenting on others' work.  If you don't attend class, it is difficult to participate in synchronous discussions, so I discourage absences unless absolutely necessary, in which case you should notify me prior to your absence and meet with me afterward.  Perfect attendance is expected.

JOINING A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION.  One of the best ways to grow as a professional is to join an organization such as the Children’s Literature Association, New York State English Council, or National Council of Teachers of English.  Often, membership includes a subscription to a professional journal, so you can kill two birds with one stone.

VIII.  General Policies

In the event of an emergency absence, it is your responsibility to check for any missed assignments.  See the office hours above and check with classmates or the web board for work missed.  Of course, the information you receive from these sources will be less complete than if you were actually in class.  Just avoid the whole mess and be here.  You’ll find as an effective teacher that it’s just easier to go to school than to miss, and that attitude should be evident here.

 

I hate grades.  There, I said it.  See the FAQ's for more details.  I try to do as little grading as possible, but I DO love reading your writing.  Basically, I'll assign a grade for your portfolio, which counts for 100% of your grade, at the end of the semester, but I’ll look at drafts of your work throughout the semester to give you feedback.  Any other time you want to talk about your progress in class, come and talk to me.  We won't necessarily talk about your grade, but we will talk about what you are learning in class.

 

Sadly, computers don’t always work the way we want them to.  It’s an unfortunate fact of life.  You are ultimately responsible for your work, even if the computer fails.   Please avoid saying things like, “My jump drive broke,” “I couldn’t get online,” “I swear I e-mailed it to you” to me.  Ways to avoid computer problems include 1) printing everything, 2) backing up on disk/jump drive, at home, in cyberspace.

Which leads me to a long discussion of professionalism.  I will expect you to act in a professional manner.   Such behavior means, among other things, always doing your best work, remaining positive in the face of adversity, showing integrity in your actions, joining professional organizations, and reflecting on your teaching (sometimes before the fact).  A question I’ve always found helpful is this:  “Would I do/say this/act this way if my principal/grandmother were standing right here/able to see this?”  You should always be able to be proud of your actions as a professional.  This includes any public forums in which you choose to represent yourself:  Facebook, MySpace, or other venues.

 

Being a professional also means solely taking responsibility for your actions.  While your parents may be an integral part of your personal life, they should not be part of your professional life.  That is, they may rejoice with you or grieve with you in your professional successes or disappointments, but they should not take an active role in discussing these events with your colleagues or supervisors. 

 

Acting in a professional manner also means being academically honest (i.e. not plagiarizing anything).  The lines are often blurry, but in general, when you adapt a lesson for use, it’s a good idea to acknowledge or cite the source of the lesson or idea.  It’s professional courtesy, really.  When in doubt of whether or not you are plagiarizing something, either ask me or cite it.

 

Professional Dispositions and English Adolescence Education Program note

Professional dispositions are very important in this class, as they are in all of your classes. Your academic ability is only part of being an effective teacher; your dispositions are also a crucial determiner of how effective you will be. Moreover, the EAE faculty expect you as adults to be able to self monitor your behavior to determine if there may be some problems. If there are, you need to meet with your advisor and/or members of the EAE faculty to discuss solutions and/or options other than a career in English Education.  It would be unfortunate if you were to fail your professional year based on inappropriate dispositions because you were unable or unwilling to recognize and to remedy potential problems earlier in the program.

Professional dispositions are not mysterious. Essentially, they are the traits necessary for being a good teacher. Most generally, these dispositions include the professional behaviors discussed above. You should refer to the official disposition handout from the College of Education for more specific descriptions of dispositions.

Here are some specific dispositional problems you need to avoid:

1)      An unprofessional (rudeness, disrespect, contempt, condescension, detachment, indifference, scorn ridicule, derision, to name a few) attitude;

2)      Unreliability

3)      Disorganization

4)      Patterns of thinking/speaking incompatible with successful teaching

5)      Acute anxiety

 

If you are having problems with the class, PLEASE see me.  That’s what learning is about, people helping people.  I would LOVE to have you visit me during my office hours.  You can be sure I will not hesitate to see you if you are having problems.   Other sources of help to consider:

The Learning Center                          4^th Floor, Reed Library                       673-3550

Disability Support Services               in The Learning Center                        673-3270

Counseling Center                             LoGrasso Hall                                        673-3424

SUNY Fredonia complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which mandates reasonable accommodations be provided to students with documented disabilities.  Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Adam Hino at 673-3270 (Voice) or 673-4763 (TTY) or disability.services@fredonia.edu early in the semester so that you can be provided with accommodations you may need.  If you have not already done so, you will need to register with the office of Disability Support Services for Students, the designated office on campus to provide services for students with disabilities.  The office is located in the Learning Center on the 4th Floor of the Reed Library.  

 

IX.     Course Schedule

The nature of this course demands collaboration with ENED 450 as well as flexibility in meeting the needs of a particular class’s members.  Because of this fact, I hesitate to write an inflexible schedule.  Here are the topics we MUST address in the course:

·      Planning on the macro and micro levels ·      Assessment linked to planning ·      Curriculum and selecting appropriate materials of study ·      State standards

·  Management in the classroom on the macro and micro levels ·  Professionalism ·  Pedagogical pitfalls

 I am planning on your contributions to determine other topics that you feel you need to explore before student teaching.  This course will be organic, changing throughout the semester in order to meet your needs as a pre-service teacher, my needs as a teacher educator, and the school’s needs as a producer of certified public school teachers.