Rationale:  As a beginning teacher, you’ll be expected to prepare lessons for your students, and this assignment will give you practice for that.  Analyzing the lesson in terms of the teaching and learning theories we’ve been studying will help you understand why a particular lesson works (or doesn’t) and will demonstrate your familiarity with the theories we’ve been discussing.  Reflection is an essential part of becoming an active teacher-researcher, and again this assignments gives you practice to that end.  While this activity is not as authentic as I would like it to be, it comes as close to authentic as I can possibly make it.

The teaching demonstration assignment:  You will need to plan for about 30 minutes of class time for a lesson typical of an ELA classroom.  You’ll lead the rest of the class through the lesson, or as much of it as you’d like to, just as you would in a regular classroom, and we will talk through the rest of it in class.  You’ll also get some feedback from me and your “students” from the teaching demo.

In order to meet the target goals for the teaching demonstration, you should:

• plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology

• implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning

• apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies

• create an inclusive and supportive learning environment in which all students can engage in learning

• use practices designed to assist students in developing habits of critical thinking and judgment

• examine and select resources for instruction such as textbooks, other print materials, videos, films, records, and software, appropriate for supporting the teaching of ELA

• align curriculum goals and teaching strategies with the organization of classroom environments and learning experiences to promote whole-class, small-group, and individual work

• integrate interdisciplinary teaching strategies and materials into the teaching and learning process for students

• engage students in critical analysis of different media and communications technologies.

• thoroughly analyze the lesson(s) by articulating the pedagogical theories that underpin the lesson

• revise plans based on reflection and feedback

• write the lesson(s) so that a qualified substitute could carry out the lesson(s).

Steps for successful completion:

• Long before you do your teaching demo, you’ll turn in a lesson plan proposal, which will be your preliminary plans telling me what lesson you’re interested in teaching, how you think you’ll go about it, and as much of the lesson plan as you can fill in.  I’ll read it and comment on it and return it to you for revision before you give your demo.
• The week before your teaching demo, you’ll turn in a completed lesson plan, based on the lesson plan template.  This document will show me how thoughtfully you’ve planned your demonstration.
• After you do your lesson, you’ll add to your lesson plan by reflecting on it in the final section.  I will see a completed version before the final draft of your lesson plan goes into your portfolio.