EDUC_279

Mission and Goals of the Department of Education

Rooted in the Jesuit tradition at Santa Clara University, 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. Our core values of reflective practice, scholarship, diversity, ethical conduct, social justice, and collaboration guide both theory and practice.

Faculty, staff, and students in the Department of Education:

• • Make student learning our central focus

  • Engage continuously in reflective and scholarly practice

  • Value diversity

  • Become leaders who model ethical conduct and a commitment to social justice

  • Seek collaboration with others in reaching these goals

Course Description

This course introduces multiple subject and single subject teaching credential candidates to a range of strategies for learning about their students’ background knowledge, experiences, and interests and for identifying their academic, language, and social skill levels. Focused on the use of effective, inclusive teaching practices that enable all students to be successful, the course develops candidates’ ability to plan and implement flexible, standards-based instruction that will enable every student to learn every day. Enrollment in this course requires concurrent enrollment in a clinical practice field placement or employment as a Catholic school teacher.

Required Text(s) or Readings

1. All required readings will be available on our course’s Camino site or distributed in class.

2. Additional readings not listed on this syllabus may be added in order to support students in attaining the learning outcomes of this course.

MATTC Program Learning Goals (PLGs)

The PLGs represent our commitment to the individuals who earn their California preliminary MS/SS teaching credential in Santa Clara University’s MAT+Teaching Credential Program. (A fully elaborated version of the MS/SS PLGs can be found on pages 8-9 of the MATTC Candidate Handbook.) The MS/SS faculty focus on ensuring that each of you will begin your teaching career ready to

• 1. Maximize learning for every student.

  2. Teach for student understanding.

  3. Make evidence-based instructional decisions informed by student assessment data.

  4. Improve your practice through critical reflection and collaboration.

  5. Create productive, supportive learning environments.

  6. Apply ethical principles in your professional practices.

The PLGs guide our program. Therefore, all MATTC courses have objectives that are cross-referenced with the PLGs.

Course Objectives (COs)

(Objectives cross-reference the PLGs)

In this course you will have the opportunity to

1. Learn how to provide access to the core curriculum and to maximize academic achievement for students from all ethnic, racial, socio-economic, cultural, academic, linguistic and family backgrounds; students of all gender, gender identity, and sexual orientations; students with disabilities; students who are gifted/talented or advanced learners; students who demonstrate challenging behaviors, and students with a combination of special instructional needs. (PLG 1, 3, 4. 5, 6; TPE 5, 6, 8, 11, 12)

2. Examine principles of educational equity and identify strategies by which to implement these principles when developing curriculum, choosing instructional practices, and engaging in schoolwide initiatives. (PLG 1, 4, 5, 6; TPE 4, 5, 9, 11, 12)

3. Continue to develop the ability to identify, analyze, and minimize personal and institutional bias and to engage in personal/professional reflection and ongoing ethical consideration in order to create and maintain an equitable, inclusive classroom community. (PLG 4, 5, 6; TPE 12, 13)

4. Develop the professional vocabulary and confidence necessary to talk about diversity, difference, student achievement, student exceptionality, classroom community, and inclusive practices with other teaching professionals. (PLGs 1, 4, 6; TPE 12, 13)

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

(Outcomes cross-reference the PLGs)

As a result of participating fully in this course, teacher candidates will be able to

1. Implement a range of strategies for getting to know their students and use the information gathered to plan effective instruction (PLG 1, 3, 6)

2. Plan differentiated instruction intended to maximize the learning of every student (PLG 1, 6)

3. Establish and maintain an inclusive classroom learning environment (PLGs 5, 6)

4. Recognize evidence of personal bias in curricular and instructional decision-making and implement strategies to minimize that bias (PLG 1, 4, 6)

Course Requirements

(Course requirements cross-reference the COs and the SLOs)

Professional conduct

(CO #1-3, SLO #1-4, 20 points, 20% of course grade)

The professional conduct requirement includes the six dimensions described below.

1. Attendance.

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) for the course. Your ER permits you to miss class and incur only half the grade penalty (loss of 5 points instead of 10). To use your ER you must notify Lisa by email or phone BEFORE the class session you will be missing. I recommend you save your ER for medical issues, family demands, car trouble, etc.

Students will not be penalized for absences due to the observance of religious holidays that fall on our scheduled class day; please give me advance notice of these absences so I 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 my discretion.

3. Preparation.

The quality of our class sessions and the depth of your learning depend directly on your preparation. You must complete every reading and arrive in class ready to learn in order to be properly prepared. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. Teachers should not be unprepared for class.

4. Participation.

This requirement includes but is not limited to (a) engaging actively in all discussions and activities (this includes making contributions, listening actively, and withholding contributions to leave space to allow other classmates to participate), (b) completing and submitting all in-class assignments and all CFU “exit ticket” assessments at the end of each class session (this might occasionally include posting and responding to postings in our Camino discussion forum).

5. Responsible use of technology.

While our class is in session, do not engage in any activity not directly related to what is taking place in our classroom. Laptops/cell phones and smart phones/iPads, etc. may be used during class, but only at appropriate times and for appropriate purposes. Please note that:

I reserve the right to ask you to close your laptop or put away some other form of technology at my discretion; when/if this occurs, please respond quickly and without protest to avoid further disruption of the class’s learning.

I reserve the right to ignore your inappropriate use of technology in class and simply deduct points from your final grade.

I strongly encourage all of you to assist each other in meeting these expectations for technology use. If someone sitting near you is using technology in an inappropriate manner during class, it is your responsibility to remind that classmate to stop.

If you would like more detailed clarification about the expectations regarding appropriate and inappropriate in-class technology use, please feel free to contact me for further information.

6. Communication.

Email 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 the course content, your classmates, and your instructors.

Your Professional Conduct grade will be determined by analysis of evidence gathered through my ongoing observation and documentation throughout each quarter. If I have reason to feel you are not meeting the expectations spelled out in this 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 these expectations. If I do not contact you with a concern, you can assume your performance is satisfying the course requirements. However, if you would like specific feedback on your professional conduct, you are welcome to contact me any time and I will be glad to share my assessment with you.

Assignment 1: Personal experience with diversity and inclusion

Due in class on August 10^th for MW section and August 11^th for TTh sections

(CO# 2, 3; SLO # 4. 40 points, 40% of course grade)

This assignment requires you to identify, examine, and reflect upon an aspect your personal identity that others have perceived as a “difference” or that may prevent you from fitting easily into typical social norms, expectations, or preferences. You will also to connect these reflections to your aspirations as a teacher. Assignment guidelines and rubric will be distributed and discussed in class on August 3^rd (MW section) and August 4^th (TTh section).

Assignment 2: Mid-course reflection

Due in class on August 17^th for MW section and August 18^th for TTh section

(CO#2, 3 ; SLO # 4. 20 points, 20% of course grade)

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to reflect on the first half of our course and set your own learning goals for the second half of the course. You will be asked to describe your major “a-ha!” moments, discuss the ideas or concepts you find confusing and/or that you can’t envision implementing in your own classroom practices, and raise questions that you haven’t had the chance to ask in class. Assignment guidelines and rubric will be distributed and discussed in class on August 10^th (MW) and August 11^th (TTh).

Assignment 3: Learning about a student

Due in class on August 31^nd (MW) and September 1^st (TTh)

(CO# 1, 3 ; SLO # 1, 2. 4. 20 points, 20% of course grade)

You will select a focus student from your placement classroom—ideally this student should be an English learner; if that is not possible, please choose a student who presents some type of instructional or behavioral challenge for your master teacher—and gather information from a variety of sources that would help you teach that student more effectively.

This assignment serves two purposes. In addition to providing an opportunity for you to implement a range of strategies for learning about students, the TPA-like format of the assignment will help prepare you for success on TPAs 2, 3, and 4. Assignment guidelines and rubric will be distributed and discussed in class on August 22^th and August 23^th.

Course policies and procedures

• All tasks and assignments must be completed and handed in/posted/ready for presentation in class by the due date and time specified. Unless specific arrangements have been made in advance, late work will carry a professional conduct penalty.

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

• Because the course content is learned through participation in class activities and discussions, it is not possible for you to “make up” a class session that you missed. However, there are ways you can engage with the content, join the conversation, and try to fill the knowledge gaps that are the result of your absence. If you must miss a class session, I recommend that you do the following things:

1. Do the reading(s) for the class session, if any

2. Download and review the powerpoint presentation and any handouts from class

3. Talk with your classmates to get their sense of the main “take-aways” of the session

• Academic honesty: Santa Clara University insists on honesty and integrity from all members of its community. See website for details:

http://www.scu.edu/studentlife/resources/academicintegrity/

• Disability accommodations procedure: To request academic accommodations for a disability, students must contact Disability Resources: phone numbers are (408) 554-4111; TTY (408) 554-5445; office is on the second floor of Benson. Students must register and provide documentation of a disability to Disabilities Resources prior to receiving academic accommodations.

Grading Criteria Grade Conversion

Standards-based Grading Guidelines