CLEAR_EDUC_332

Santa Clara University

School of Education and Counseling Psychology Department of Education, Clear MS/SS Teaching Credential Program

EDUC 332- Integrating Theory and Practice in Classrooms C (3 units) Spring 2016

Mission and Goals of the Department of Education

The mission of the Department of Education is to prepare professionals of competence, conscience, and compassion, who will promote the common good as they transform lives, schools, and communities. Rooted in the Jesuit tradition at Santa Clara University, core values of reflective practice, scholarship, diversity, ethical conduct, social justice, and collaboration guide both theory and practice.

Department of Education goals:

• 1. To prepare professionals who will work competently with individuals who have a variety of strengths; experiences and challenges, those with diverse backgrounds, and those in greatest need;

  2. To develop positive habits of mind, identify and apply best practices in the field, and engage in critical reflection on practice;

  3. To demonstrate mastery-level knowledge and skills in teaching and learning; and

  4. To become leaders sensitive to the ethical and social consequences of their

     1. decisions.

     2. Course Description

EDUC 332 is the third in the Integrating Theory and Practice in Classrooms (ITP) sequence. This three-course sequence is required for all candidates for the general education clear teaching credential. The course meets for three hours when scheduled.

My goals for this course are to support your growth in the university classroom by facilitating the work of your Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and teaching curriculum modules and to support your work in your own K-12 classroom and by observing you teaching one lesson per quarter and providing you with targeted support and feedback.

This course is driven by the following three value statements:

• • 1) All students can learn

  • 2) Teachers are in charge of instruction and research-based strategies guide our

    • teaching practice

1

Instructor: Harold Jules Hoyle, Ph.D.

Email: hhoyle@scu.edu

Office & Contact Information: Guadalupe 241 Office Hours: 3-4:30 Tuesday

3) Assessment is learning

This course has three strands that stretch across the academic year: all three strands present new knowledge and skills that will extend your professional capabilities and strengthen your ability to provide all learners with equitable access to the

curriculum. Each class session will include attention to all three strands. The strands are:

1. Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions

Each week you will participate in weekly in-class working or virtual working sessions with your Professional Learning Community. These sessions require hands-on engagement in lesson study and other activities designed to focus your professional attention on improving learning outcomes for all students.

2. Curriculum modules

The topics of these short curriculum modules are determined by state requirements, by the substance of the CSTP, by the informed judgment of your faculty coaches, and by requests made by candidates. There will be online and in class activities that introduce you to best practices in teaching.

3. Learning activities linked to curriculum module content

I have developed learning activities designed to assist you in creating connections between the content of the curriculum modules and your experiences with your

students.

Like the clear credential program, this course is framed by the 2009 California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP):

1. Engaging and supporting all students in learning

2. Creating and maintaining effective learning environments

3. Understanding and organizing subject matter for student learning

4. Planning instruction and designing learning experiences for all students 5. Assessing student learning

6. Developing as professional educators

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) established these professional standards to serve and support professional educators in fulfilling their professional roles and responsibilities from pre-service teacher to experienced practitioner. Your performance in this class and in your classroom will be assessed according to the criteria specified in the CSTP using a suite of CSTP-driven assessment tools. These will be discussed during the first class session.

2

Required Readings for ALL CLEAR CANDIDATES

1. The Clear credential program is framed by the 2009 California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). Visit the CTC website (http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator- prep/standards/CSTP-2009.pdf) and download and print a copy of the full CSTP document. You will refer to this document frequently this year.

2. Short readings will be assigned throughout the year. These will be posted in pdf format on our course’s Camino web site. You must make sure that you are able to use your SCU email address and to access the Camino learning management system. If you need assistance with this process, your first stop is the Student Help Desk on the first floor of the library. You can also call the Help Desk at 408-554-5050.

Required Readings for single subject teachers

Go to the California Department of Education website (http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/); download and print a copy of the California State Content Standards for (a) your academic content area; and (b) English Language Development.

Required Readings

for multiple subject teachers

Go to the California Department of Education website (http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/);

download and print a copy of the California State Content Standards for the grade level you currently teach in the following content areas: English Language Arts, English Language Development, Health Education, History-Social Science, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science, Visual and Performing Arts. You should also print a copy of the K-12 standards in the content area that is the focus of your Yearly Professional Goals.

Required Readings for all teachers

Book of your choice or your membership in a professional teaching organization.

Course Objectives/Expectations/Learning Outcomes

In this course you will:

1. Engage in collaborative professional conversations and lesson study sessions designed to extend your professional capabilities and strengthen your ability to provide all learners with equitable access to the curriculum. (DG 1-4; CSTP 1-6)

2. Learn, practice, and apply new knowledge and skills that will increase your instructional effectiveness and refine your teaching. (DG 1-4; CSTP 1-6)

3

3. Examine and participate in the plan-teach-reflect-apply cycle and document its contribution to your practice. (DG 1-4; CSTP 1-6)

Course Requirements/Assignments Professionalism

(20% of course grade. Linked to Course Objectives 1-3.)

The professionalism requirement includes the six dimensions described below.

1. Attendance. Regular attendance at all class meetings is a requirement of this course. For each class session you miss, 10 points will be deducted from your final grade for the course. Each of you will be granted one Emergency Release (ER). Your ER excuses you from one class session with half the grade penalty (loss of 5 points instead of 10). To use your ER you must notify your faculty coach by email or phone BEFORE class. Save your ER for medical issues, family demands, car trouble, etc.

Candidates will not be penalized for absences due to the observance of religious holidays that fall on our scheduled class day; please give your faculty coach advance notice of these absences so s/he can make the necessary accommodations. All other absences are unexcused and will affect your grade.

2. Punctuality. Coming to class on time and ready to learn is another course requirement. Your first lateness will be excused; your second lateness will cause 1 point to be deducted from your final course grade; your third lateness will cause an additional 4 points to be deducted. More than three late arrivals indicates a serious problem; this situation will be dealt with at the discretion of the faculty coaches

3. Communication. Email and our Camino website will be our primary means of communication outside of class. You must check your SCU email and our course’s Camino site every day to ensure you maintain a connection with your peers and coaches.

4. Preparation. You are expected to prepare for each class session by doing all of the required readings, completing the assignments, and coming to class with all the necessary materials.

5. Participation. Expectations for participation include engaging actively in all discussions and activities; demonstrating a commitment to your own professional development; supporting the growth of the other teachers in your Professional Learning Community (PLC); and maintaining your commitment to maximizing the learning of the students you teach.

6. Responsible use of technology. During class time, laptops/blackberries/cell phones/iPods, etc. must be used only at appropriate times and in appropriate ways. While our class is in session, you should not engage in any activity not directly related to what is taking place in our classroom. We reserve the right to ask you to close your laptop or

4

put away some other form of technology; when/if this occurs, please respond quickly and without protest to avoid further disruption of the class’s learning. If you would like more detailed clarification about the expectations regarding appropriate and inappropriate in- class technology use, please feel free to contact us for further information.

We take these professionalism requirements very seriously, and we expect you to take them seriously also.

Ongoing formative assessment of your practice

(30% of course grade. Linked to Course Objectives 1-3.)

You will spend the quarter improving your practice through participation in two different types of learning experiences: (1) Lesson Study with your PLCs and (2) in-class activities linked to the knowledge and skills taught in the curriculum modules. Your participation in these learning experiences provides your instructor with the chance to see your work, to listen to your ideas, to consider your questions, and then to give you customized, detailed formative feedback. Your participation in these learning experiences is also an opportunity for you to learn from your classmates, every one of whom is an experienced teacher.

You will receive a lot of feedback—from your instructor, and from members of your PLC—all of which is intended to help you strengthen your practice and improve your students’ learning. The keys to success when receiving ongoing formative assessment of your practice are to remain engaged in the learning process, to demonstrate effort to integrate the feedback into your work, and to maintain an optimistic attitude about your own professional development.

1. Active engagement in lesson study in your Professional Learning Community (PLC). Each of you belongs to a PLC facilitated by your SCU this instructor. You and your PLC will spend a great deal of time doing Lesson Study: engaging collaboratively in the plan- teach-reflect-apply cycle with the intent of improving your practices and serving your students more effectively. Lesson study also establishes and reinforces professional norms of inquiry, innovation, and critical reflection that lead to continual professional improvement.

Engagement in the work of your PLC requires dedication to improving your own teaching and student learning outcomes; a commitment to supporting the efforts of the other members of your PLC; and a willingness to receive constructive feedback from the professionals in your PLC.

Engagement also involves doing your PLC homework each week. Because PLCs are focused on improving classroom practices, the homework typically will require that you bring copies of your lesson plans, examples of student work or assessment data, curricular materials, brief written reflections on your practice, etc. You must do your PLC homework—coming to PLC unprepared will jeopardize your learning opportunities and those of your peers.

5

PLC assignments and due dates are provided in the course schedule at the end of this syllabus. Faculty coaches will be making adjustments to this schedule as needed to maximize your learning.

2. Performance assessment during in-class learning activities.

In each class session, you will learn new knowledge and skills via lessons in our curriculum modules. After each lesson, you will engage in a learning activity—like a performance task, for example—that requires you to make connections between the content of the curriculum module and your experiences with your students. While you work on the activity and practice your new skills/apply your new knowledge, the instructor will circulate around the room to provide you with immediate formative feedback on your performance. This feedback is designed to help you hone and sharpen your understanding of the new content.

The curriculum modules for Spring quarter are listed in the course schedule.

Signature Assignment A: Plan-Design-Apply-Reflect-Portfolio (PDARsS)

(50% of course grade. Linked to Course Objectives 1-3.)

The signature assignment requires you to document your engagement in the plan-teach- reflect-apply cycle for the lesson observed by your SCU faculty coach. You will complete this signature assignment three times during the clear credential program: once each quarter. Signature assignments A, B, C stand alone as evidence of your capabilities at three transition points in the credential program; when assessed together, the signature assignments chart your growth and improvement over time. Because the lessons your faculty coach observes are in the content area targeted in your Yearly Professional Goals, thoughtful re-examination of your trio of signature assessments at the end of spring quarter will be helpful in shaping your plans for your capstone project.

This quarters PTRAP assignment focuses on the instructional dynamic of using technology to increase student learning.

As I did last quarter, I will offer you formative feedback on a preliminary draft your signature assignment upon request.

6

Course Calendar

A more detailed course calendar is available on the Canvas course site.

7

Assessment of Candidate Learning

• I will determine both your professionalism grade and your in-class activity grade by analyzing evidence of your in-class and online performance gathered throughout the quarter. If I have reason to believe you are not meeting the expectations spelled out on the syllabus, I will contact you privately to discuss the issue, to clarify the expectations as needed, and to offer my support in helping you reach those expectations. If I do not contact you with a concern, you can assume you are fully satisfying these course

requirements. However, if you would like specific feedback on your professional conduct, you are welcome to contact me and I will be glad to share our assessment with you.

• I have a suite of CSTP-driven tools that will be used throughout the year to assess your work. The tools will be distributed and discussed in detail in class. The numerical ratings/evaluative categories on the CSTP assessment forms are aligned with the ratings/categories on the Diocese of San Jose’s Teacher Performance Appraisal.

The ratings on our CSTP instruments also correspond roughly to letter grades:

8

Grading Criteria

• All tasks, projects, and assignments must be completed and handed in (or brought to class or posted on Camino) by the due date and time specified unless arrangements have been made in advance. Late work may be penalized.

• Points lost due to poor attendance and/or lack of punctuality are deducted from your final grade. A candidate with excellent grades on assignments and other aspects of professional conduct can earn a poor course grade as a result of excessive absence or chronic lateness.

Disability Accommodations

Candidates needing accommodation for a disability should contact Disabilities Resources at 408-554-4109 (voice) or 408-554-5445 (TDD) (ECPPM Graduate Bulletin, 2008- 2009).

Academic Integrity

The University is committed to academic excellence and integrity. Credential candidates are expected to do their own work and to cite any sources they use. A candidate who is guilty of dishonest acts in an examination, paper, or other required work for a course, or who assists others in such acts, will receive a grade of F for the course. In addition, a candidate guilty of dishonest acts will be immediately dismissed from the University. Candidates that violate copyright laws, including those covering the copying of software programs, or who knowingly alter official academic records from this or any other institution, are subject to disciplinary action (ECPPM Graduate Bulletin, 2008-2009).