Foundations Syllabus
Professor:
Marcia M. Burrell
Department Chair: Pam Michel
Email:
burrell@oswego.edu
Phone:
341-3584
Home:
342-5939
Office:
207 Poucher Hall
Office hours:
TBA
Credits: 4
OVERVIEW:
What does it mean to be a teacher? Many of the education courses you take will
help you learn how to teach. This course is designed to help you think about being
a teacher. What does it mean to say “I teach?” What do I think of
children? What kinds of things do I value and
what does this mean for my teaching, today’s schools, and the learning of my
students? What is the purpose of schooling? Where do I fit into society’s plan
for teachers, students, and schools? By examining the place of schooling in our
society you can arrive at the answers to these questions.
In
this course we will examine the relationship between schools and society. We
will consider the meanings made of schooling and teaching in the United States
in light of three perspectives: 1)historical, across the past 250 years
of schooling; 2) sociological, with a particular focus on social structures and
current social issues; and 3) applied or real world through the views of current
educators, You will add to this a fourth view—that of having actively
participated as a student of a school system (and in some cases, as an employee
of a school system or as a parent of a student).
While
the course is not designed to teach you how to teach; a key goal of the course
is to challenge and enhance how you think about many social structures, school
structures, and underlying assumptions that shape teaching.
Historically, we will
examine the relationship between four key aspects across the 18th, 19th, and
20th centuries: material conditions (political, economic, technological, social,
and so on); ideologies and social values; teaching conditions; and pedagogy
(major curricular theories as well as actual school activities). This
examination will provide a framework for your own problem solving about current
schooling conditions. When you can understand school issues as an integral part
of the broader social-political-economic conditions in this country, you can
begin to develop action plans for making a positive contribution in today’s
schools. Public education as we know it today has more than a 150 year legacy.
This course is your first step in becoming part of
that legacy (KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION)
Sociologically, the course
will address the close relationship between what happens in society in general
and what happens in schools. We will focus on obstacles that affect educators’
efforts to develop actively participating democratic citizens within our
society. Specifically, these include forms of discrimination/oppression such as:
sexism, racism, class-cism, able-ism, and heterosexism. We will examine how
these structures play out in schools, and consider what we as individual
teachers can do to confront such structures. We will consider multi-culturalism
as the location (site) where discussions of these issues are presented and
debated, and the context within which teachers can actively operate to develop
strategies to make our society more just. The course begins with the assumptions
that teachers can help change social attitudes and confront unjust traditions of
schooling (KNOWLEDGE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, REFLECTION).
To
examine a real-world view of schooling, you will make use of assigned
practicum visits to collect information and reflect upon the conditions in
schools today that relate to the course themes. (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE,
REFLECTION, AUTHENTIC LEARNING).
Most simply stated, the meaning we make of schools and
our roles in them is molded by the attitudes we bring to school (social
structures), traditions of schooling (history), and attitudes of those who work
in schools (including students) and others outside of schools (real world view).
People make meaning of their world as they interact with it. We will use this
social constructionist framework to identify several components that drive the
meaning we all make of schools: historical, sociological, and applied. Class
activities and assignments are designed to continually weave these perspectives
together. You should become capable of understanding current educational issues
using this historical/sociological/applied matrix.
You
may feel overwhelmed as you recognize that many, many factors contribute to our
understanding of schools and their future roles as teachers. You will also come
to learn that you contribute to this meaning making process. By exploring how
the institution of school is constructed within each of these perspectives, you
should leave this course with a useful framework from which to address issues
you will confront as educators. These views will focus for the most part on
public schools (grades k-12), although there may be incidental mention of
private schools, alternative schools, pre-schools, and college level schooling.
In class: This class meets on Mondays, so
come prepared since we will only be in class once per week. (4:30
p.m. -7:50 p.m.). In class activities will include small and large group
instruction, discussion, presentations, and individual work.
Class will begin and end on time.
Practicum: You will be assigned to visit a
school classroom for two to three hours each week (most likely on Friday),
beginning in about four weeks. Toward the end of the semester, you will have
time to visit more than one day a week, in conjunction with assignments in EED
305 and/or EED 306. You are expected to make 8-10 visits, with all visits
totaling at least 25 to 30 clock hours. The practicum will be considered an
extension of your class time here.
Outside of class: You are
expected to spend approximately two hours for each in-class hour. You will be
spending an average of four hours of college and practicum class time each week,
so plan to devote about eight hours preparing for class. Out of class activities
include: reading, writing, meeting with classmates, preparing assignments, and
(of course) critical thinking.
1.
Actively participate in all class segments (here and in the public
school). Come to class mentally and physically prepared. Be ready to begin class
when class begins. It is not
acceptable to just walking into class at the starting time. Think of this like a
faculty meeting. You are expected to be ready to begin when the meeting begins.
Bring blank paper, a pen or pencil, the assigned readings for the day, your
learning log from practicum visits, a pack of white 3 x 5 cards, this
course outline, and any written assignments. Expect to complete a 3 x 5 comment
card at the end of each class describing what you have learned in the class,
your general reaction to the class, or your general reaction to the day’s
activities.
You
are expected to be present for all classes, and all practicum sessions.
Attendance will be noted each day. A small portion of credit will be devoted to
attendance. Here is an incentive system for our classroom time:
0
absence
add three points to your final average
1
absence (excused or unexcused)
add zero points to your final average
2
absences (excused or unexcused)
subtract three points from your average
3
absences (excused or unexcused)
subtract six points from your final average
More
than 3 absences
No possibility to pass
Class
participation will also be noted. Education is your major area of study. Your
responsibility in all of your education classes is to learn as much as you can
about education and your role as a teacher. If something doesn’t
make sense, ask questions. Be ready to discuss the readings, your practicum
experiences, or your current thinking about the field of education. Pay
attention, participate in discussions, and contribute to your own and your
peers’ learning. When you teach you will be expected to be an active
participant not a passive receiver. Begin to develop those abilities in this
course.
A.
The required texts
are available at Kraftees on Rt.
104 and in the College Store on campus
Also
on reserve in the library:
Rethinking Our Classrooms.
Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.
Rothenberg,
Paula S. (1998) Race, Class
& Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study, Fourth
Edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ($30)
B.
Select one of
the following books to read:
Buchwald,
Fletcher, Roth (Eds.) (1993) Transforming a Rape Culture. Minneapolis: Mllkweek Editions.
Kotlowitz
(1991) There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two
Boys Growing Up in the Other America. NY:
Anchor Books.
LaDuke
(1999) All Our Relations Native Struggles for Land and Life.
Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Purcell-Gates
(1995). Other People’s
Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy. Cambridge,
MA:
Sadker, Myra
& Sadker, David (1995) Failing at Fairness: How America’s
Schools Cheat Girls. New York:
Scribner’s Sons.
C.
Consider purchasing the following highly recommended book:
Curwin, R.L. and Mendler A.N.(1988) Discipline
With Dignity. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
3.
Submit other written assignments on time. This will include
“home work” assignments and in-class assignments.
5.
Submit a book review (3-5 pages) of one of the books of choice.
This review will reflect your experiences in this course, as well as at least
two other reviewers’ comments about the book. It will focus on the
relationship between course themes, ideas in your book, and how they relate to
schooling today. You will be provided class time and occasional class
assignments for discussing the book with other classmates.
6.
Subscribe to and participate in a class internet literacy project.
This includes several tasks. Activate your SUNY Oswego computer account and use
it to send the professor two messages (one initiated by you and the second in
response to the professor’s note to you). You will also check out a list of
“listservs” given to you in class.
You will subscribe to two of them, if they are still working.
If all of the “listservs” assigned to your, are no longer working,
then find two others, with my approval, and subscribe to these two “listservs.”
You will be expected to participate in the EDU 301 listserv, and develop a
reaction paper relating to your reading on the “listservs” over the
semester.
8.
Keep a learning log of all of your in class, reading, internet, and practicum
experiences. This log will contain both descriptions of what you observe and
participate in as well as analytical reactions to your experiences.
9.
Complete a final exam. You will take the exam in a group of 3-5 people.
The exam will focus on the relationship between the history of schooling and
social structures in our society.
10.
Operate with the utmost integrity and honesty in all class activities
and on all assignments. This course is part of your professional career and
your personal future. Treat your position in the course with the respect it
deserves by doing your best work, and helping and encouraging others to do their
best work. There should be no question in your mind about what it means to act
in an honest way. If there is, please do not hesitate to ask questions of your
fellow students, or your professor. Also be sure to review the sections in the
college catalog that relate to this issue.
Points
Class participation (#1, #2, #3
and #10 above)
30
Reaction papers (#4 and #10 above)
90
Book review (# 5 and #10 above)
45
Internet literacy project (#6 and #10 above)
30
Practicum paper (#7 and #10 above)
45
Learning log (#8 and #10 above)
30
Final Exam (#9 and #10 above)
30
Total Number of Points
300
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN
THIS COURSE AND THE REST OF YOUR EDUCATION MAJOR:
1.
Come to class prepared and on time. Raise questions and comments about
the readings or the class activities. Challenge
the professor, your classmates, and yourself
2.
Get involved in the class activities.
3.
Keep a log of each day’s activities; think about them as a whole.
4.
Keep class materials organized.
5.
Keep a brief
summary of each reading.
6.
Relate this class to other education courses.
7.
Use your visits to schools to ask questions about course content, and as
a source of information to understand course themes.
8.
Find out which journals teachers read regularly and subscribe.
9.
Watch TV shows and films that deal with schooling and/or issues of
racism, class-cism sexism, ableism, heterosexism, and schooling.
10.
Talk to people about what you are learning in your education courses.
11.
Join a study group that meets regularly to make sense of this course
and/or all of your education courses.
12.
Operate with integrity and honesty and expect the same of others. Education is
your major. Take it seriously.
GOALS
OF THE COURSE:
As
a result of participating in this course, you will be able to do a number of
things. Each of these weaves the School of Education’s goals for developing
educators who weave the KNOWLEDGE OF CONTENT, TECHNOLOGICAL EXPERTISE, EFFECTIVE
PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE, ON-GOING REFLECTION, AND COLLABORATION AND LEADERSHIP TO
BUILD A CURRICULUM BASED in AUTHENTIC LEARNING AND AIMED TOWARD SOCIAL JUSTICE.
1.
describe how the meaning we make of schools is affected by several
factors including: the every day conditions of society, prevalent ideologies,
current pedagogical ideas, key social issues, and the participants of schools
(KNOWLEDGE).
2.
explain the history of schooling in this country in terms of the
relationship between material conditions, ideologies, teaching conditions, and
pedagogy (KNOWLEDGE).
3.
explain how you can use this broad framework of the discourse of
education to address issues that they will face as teachers (KNOWLEDGE,
REFLECTION, AUTHENTIC LEARNING).
4.
make a commitment to be active participants in constructing a meaning of
schools that benefits all children (KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION, SOCIAL JUSTICE).
5. identify
strategies you can use to work against obstacles that inhibit all citizens from
being actively involved in this democracy (KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION, SOCIAL
JUSTICE, COLLABORATION).
6.
explain how concepts of pedagogy, professionalism, ideology,
discrimination, oppression, and multi-culturalism relate to today’s education
(KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION).
7.
predict where you will fit into the future of public school teachers that has
grown from the legacy of teaching (KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION, LEADERSHIP, PRACTICE).
8.
explain how meaning is socially constructed, especially as it relates to
the social construction of race, gender, class, disability, sexuality,
schooling, and teaching (KNOWLEDGE).
9.
provide examples of how the meaning we make of a concept determines how we act
in relation to that concept, whether it is schooling, the role of teachers,
multi-culturalism, and so on; and how our actions continue an on-going meaning
making process (AUTHENTIC LEARNING)
10.
use the internet to communicate with educators about current educational
issues
Part 100 vs. Part 200 of the Commissioner's Regulations
The Compact for Learning
Integrated Learning
Inclusion
Elements of Effective Teaching
Bloom's Taxonomy
Cooperative Learning
Learning Styles
Conflict Resolution
NY Charter Schools
NYS Standards/Benchmarks and Core Curriculum
NYS School Report Cards
Learner-Centered Schools
Multiage/Looping