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EDU 381/581: Schools and Urban Society/Culturally Relevant Teaching
Summer 2004 (May June)
Dr.R. Deborah Davis
Office: 103 Poucher
Office hours: M 4:00-6:00; T12:30-2:30 (and by appointment)
E-mail: rddavis@oswego.edu
Telephone: 312-2652
The Oswego State University School of Education Conceptual Framework guides this course. As a class, we will work to weave in the strands of Reflection, Knowledge, Practice, and Collaboration and Leadership that promote Authentic Learning and Social Justice.
Course Overview
Through a combination of reading, class activities, and a two-week immersion field placement in a Syracuse City school, you will gain an understanding of cultural, personal, and pedagogical issues related to teaching in an urban school. For many years, we in teacher education have thought that the curriculum and pedagogy we studied would be appropriate for children regardless of their social-cultural context. Since so many pre-teachers and professors at Oswego are from rural, small town, or suburban settings, and are influenced by media representations of urban schools and settings, our curriculum and pedagogy matched the expectations of school communities in those mostly White, middle-classes, non-urban areas. Many of us believed that the curriculum and pedagogy we studied were universally appropriate. Since we do have a commitment to effectively teach all students (SOCIAL JUSTICE), this course is designed to modify and interrogate those misreadings. In addition, this course will provide you with an opportunity to learn about teaching in an urban setting (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE), to have an urban education experience in a supportive, not threatening environment (AUTHENTIC LEARNING), to work closely with your peers and other teachers as you develop an understanding of your experience (COLLABORATION), to reflect on these experiences and obtain feedback about your ideas (REFLECTION). Whether you eventually teach in an urban setting or in a rural, suburban, or small town setting, the experiences you have in this course will help you deal with all of your students in a culturally relevant way (SOCIAL JUSTICE). As a result of participating in this course you will:
� Identify and describe social, cultural, political and economic factor which influence the schooling of urban students; (KNOWLEDGE, SOCIAL JUSTICE)
� Compare and contrast your lived experience and college course experience with your observations and participation at the Syracuse school and analyze how these differences would play out if/when you work as a teacher in an urban school;
� Compare and contrast urban schooling as it appears in the literature with your observations in an urban school setting; (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE)
� Describe the factors involved in evaluating the effectiveness of teaching strategies used in an urban setting; (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE)
This course satisfies the NCATE and NYSED expectations for pre-teachers to have an extensive experience in an urban setting. It also serves as a step toward the commitment of the School of Education and Curriculum & Instruction Department to address the projected urban teacher shortage, by developing teachers who are willing to and capable of successfully teaching in the state�s urban schools.
Organizing Questions
What effect does the surrounding community have on the schools that are located within it?
How do teaching and assessment strategies reflect the surrounding community?
What are some of the social, cultural, political and economic factors that influence urban schooling?
What are some factors in evaluating the effectiveness of certain teaching strategies used in an urban setting?
What are some the interrelationships among the schools structures, urban culture and teacher role and responsibility?
How can we frame a re-reading, and re-write narratives of urban culture and schooling?
How can we dislodge a totalized racial self through this re-reading and re-writing?
Class Structure:
In Class On campus, we will meet for three three- hour class sessions before the end of the semester. These meetings will be arranged by class members at an organizational meeting prior to the first class meeting. We will also meet for two three- hour class sessions following the two week field placement. In- class activities will include small and large group discussion, presentations and individual work.
Field Placement In between these class sessions, you will spend two weeks at Huntington school in Syracuse. You are expected to attend an orientation meeting at the school and to attend school during regular school hours, meet with teachers, administrators and your classmates after school hours. During the school day, you will be assigned to work with one teacher, but you will have the opportunity to visit other groups of students/teachers throughout the day.
Outside of Class: You are expected to spend a significant amount of time reading, writing, meeting with classmates, preparing assignments and developing a final project.
Responsibilities:
� Participate in on campus classes and on-site practicum placement. 20%
� Keep a learning journal and media watch log. This will serve as one of the primary documents for use in your ongoing self-assessment. You should collect and respond to the language used in the newspaper and television or other visual media reports of urban schools. Your responses might contain:* questions/ puzzles about the readings or what happens in class *applications to your own life--academic or personal *objections or counter-examples to the discussion or reading *attempts to work through the readings in your own words *a quote you particularly liked or disliked *ideas or topics for further study and writing *responses to what is happening in class or in the media. 20%
� Develop a reaction paper that synthesizes concepts from course readings, class activities, and practicum (on-site) activities. 20%
� Participate in a project that either
� develops a set of appropriate learning activities (tutoring, workshop, learning center, etc.), OR
� performs community service (volunteering at a local agency, local library, community/housing project initiatives, etc.) OR
� supports the work of future course participants (in terms of researching community-cultural-curricular' resources, or generally helping to negotiate life in an urban setting). 20%
� Develop a final paper, an autobiographical piece that incorporates a variety of texts (poems, essays, songs, and visual media) to reflect a critical relationship between schools and society in urban settings and the role of classroom teachers. 20%
Required Course Texts
TBD
Additional Readings: TBD
Suggested Resources:
Academic Intervention Services http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/part100/pages/topics
Early Literacy http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ela/early.pdf
Assessments http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/assess.html
Urban Education:
http://www.oswego.edu/~beyerbac/representations_of_teachers_in_6.html
hthttp://www.oswego.edu/~beyerbac/urban_education_reference_list.
htmtp://www.oswego.edu/~beyerbac/urban_education_websites.htm
IF YOU HAVE A DISABLING CONDITION THAT MAY INTERFERE WITH YOUR ABILITY TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THIS COURSE, PLEASE CONTACT THE DISABLED STUDENT SERVICES OFFICE (210 Swetman Hall 312-3358). | 