College of Education Mission:

The mission of the Pacific University College of Education is to be a community of thoughtful and responsive leaders who
- inspire professionals to value and serve individuals within their unique personal, family, and community context;
- construct and disseminate new understandings through teaching and scholarship;
- advance critical evaluation of theory and practice;
- advocate for justice through outreach and service in reciprocal partnership with underserved communities; and
- cultivate learning in and through our inclusive and diverse communities.

Required Text:
Selected Text: Edwards, L. C. (2010). The Creative Arts: a process approach for teachers and children. (5th Ed.) Merrill.

Educational Philosophy:
I cannot simply teach you what you need to know about helping children express themselves artistically. In order for you to effectively learn about children's expression in school you must be willing to be an active participant in the learning process. My role will be a facilitator and coordinator. I will be available to provide you with a variety of resources that can assist you in learning, including outside artists. Your job will be to utilize these artists and these resources, ask questions, pursue your own learning and help me to know what you do and do not understand. I have set aside time for office hours so that I can help. You may also drop in unannounced any time I am in the office. Furthermore, I have included my email address in order to encourage your questions and comments. How much you learn in this course will be directly proportional to your personal motivation and level of involvement.

Course Description:
This student-centered process-focused methods course is designed to explore artistic expression in multiple subjects classrooms. It assists aspiring teachers to become knowledgeable about methods for teaching art, music, movement and other forms of creative expression in the classroom. Course content will include examples for appropriately integrating these expressive arts throughout the curriculum. The main emphasis of the course will be on cultivating an understanding of and appreciation for various modes of expression through an active set of engaging interactions with media, techniques, and theory that will serve as a catalyst for sparking the imaginations and hearts of teachers and students.

Tentative Course Goals and Objectives
As a result of participating in this course, prospective teachers will be able to:
1. Experience an increased sensitivity to and awareness of the need for the expressive arts in classrooms.
2. Design lessons that appropriately integrate expressive arts activities throughout the curriculum.
3. Analyze and discuss current issues in art, music, and physical activities.
4. Demonstrate professionalism in joining in and trying new expressive arts activities.
5. Recognize the difference between process-oriented, creative student-centered art projects, and product-oriented teacher-directed "craft" projects.
6. Display the ability to recognize a variety of art media, techniques and processes, and demonstrate an understanding of how to use them appropriately with children.
7. Demonstrate an increased feel for the aesthetics of art appreciation.
8. Understand the visual arts as they relate to the world's history and cultures.
9. Demonstrate an understanding of methods for fostering singing, movement, and playing musical instruments in their own classrooms.
10. Recognize the importance of early musical experiences as a means of fostering cognitive development.
11. Display developmentally appropriate methods for responding to music.
12. Recognize techniques for helping students create music.
14. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of physical exploration methods designed to foster gross and fine motoric development.
15. Recognize methods for fostering movement and fitness literacy.
16. Demonstrate methods for assessing students' physical developmental needs.
17. Recognize the importance of fun for learners of all ages

Course Requirements
This course will primarily be interactive and hands-on.  It is expected that you will come to class ready to explore new experiences, and to express yourself. The course will utilize a number of different types of assignments and learning experiences: class attendance, readings and contribution to class discussions, reflective journaling, and lesson outlines and plans.

Attendance. You are expected to attend and actively participate in every class. Because some materials presented in class will not be contained in the readings and we will engage in many expressive experiences, it is important that you attend every class. 

Reading Assignments. This is a student-centered course, which means that classes will revolve around your active participation in class. Therefore it is important that you come prepared to contribute to discussions, and prepared to express yourself in the workshops. Any supplemental readings will be in Google Drive. You are expected to read the assigned chapter in the textbooks and any other designated readings BEFORE each class period. This will give you time to formulate questions and ideas that you may have about the readings and allow you to more fully participate during that class period. I also strongly encourage you to explore other relevant resources and to share them with your peers.

Journal. Throughout the course you are expected to keep a  virtual journal that will be a repository of the notes you take from your readings and post-class reflections.  After every class it is expected that you will reflect on the expressive activity you have participated in and connect it with the readings assigned for that day. It is expected that you will use a narrative form for writing rather than simply providing bullets. The link to this journal will be submitted along with your mid semester assessment as well as submitted as part of your final self assessment. Your submissions should be submitted using the google doc I have prepared for you. The link to your journal entries should be submitted in an email to me along with your self assessments.

Full Lesson Plan.
As a culminating project, at the end of the semester you are required to put together a lesson plan that synthesizes the content, concepts and experiences of the course. The purpose of this lesson will be for you to model expressive art curricula. This lesson plan must be written using the recommended lesson plan format and must involve a topic that reflects the traditions of the culture of your choice. You are expected to design a lesson that is culturally sensitive and that uses materials and techniques that are as culturally authentic as possible (keep in mind that Africa is not a country or culture, but a collection of different countries and cultures). This lesson plan must contain rationales describing the thinking and reasoning behind your choices for each element of the lesson. What was your pedagogical and educational psychological reasoning for the choices that you made? Your lesson plan is due on April 18th. On May 1st , you will be expected to give a presentation of your lesson in which you briefly describe the context for the lesson, show the expressive techniques that you developed for the lesson, and describe the basic flow of the activity, and engage us in the expressive arts activity. A rubric is available that will be used to evaluate your lesson plan.

Grades
Your grade in the course will be based on a final assessment on your work and participation throughout the fall term. Throughout this course you will be asked to try new experiences that may be outside of your comfort zone. I encourage you to embrace the power of being a mastery-based learner focused on learning goals rather than performance goals. Work hard to challenge yourself and let go of any ego involvement in grades. What is important is your level of learning and understanding in this course: the more the better. In this framework, grades are not the criteria by which you should evaluate your value as a student (in terms of self concept or self esteem), but simply a metric by which to mark your process in meeting the goals of becoming a professional educator. Disequilibria are the catalyst for new learning, embrace them and challenge yourself to do and learn great things. “Beware the A, it says that you have made it, that you are done...”  Because practicing teachers need to be skilled at reflecting on the quality of the lessons they design and teach, an important element element of this course will be the honing of that self-reflective competence. Criteria for self evaluation will include professionalism (attendance, participation, reflections), quality of lesson outline, reflective journal, quality of final lesson plan, and level of personal growth. If you would like to explore some of the reasons for using an alternative method of grading, please see Alfie Kohn's treatise on grading, or Amy Hasinoff's Webpage on trusting students.

Throughout the course, assessments will be based on rubrics that are developed and posted as part of this course. You must accompany each submitted assignment with a brief self-assessment based on that rubric including the proposing of a score for that assignment. A basic guideline for evaluation is as follows. 

A score of 5 will be given when the work is comprehensive, designed to foster high-level student learning and expressive creativity, contains culturally powerful content, and demonstrates intentionality in the use of specific pedagogical and expressive arts approaches.
A score of 4 will be given when the work is thorough, designed to foster student learning and expressive creativity, contains culturally relevant content, and demonstrates understanding of the use of specific pedagogical and expressive arts approaches.
A score of 3 will be given when the work is adequate, designed to support student learning and expression, and demonstrates a basic understanding in the use of pedagogical and expressive arts approaches.
A score of 2 will be given when the work is not quite adequate, fosters limited student learning or expressive creativity, and demonstrates a weak understanding of the uses and strengths of pedagogy or content.
A score of 1 will be given when the work is inadequate, demonstrates misunderstanding, and/or is lacking in effort or quality.

On or before March 21st you will submit a mid-semester personal assessment indicating how you are progressing in meeting course goals. This should be two to three paragraphs long,  noting attendance, reading, journaling, your lesson outline and class participation. Submit this assessment through email with the title - "Expressive Arts Eval"

On or before Monday May 5th, you will submit a final assessment of your progress. This should be approximately a page long, noting professionalism (attendance, participation, collaboration), preparation by completing class readings, depth of reflective journal entries and insights, quality of class contributions (discussions, collaboration), quality of lesson outline, quality of final lesson plan, and level of personal growth and the feedback you have received. Your final assessment must include a proposed final grade for yourself. Where in most cases this will be the final grade you will receive, I reserve the right to submit an alternative final grade if I believe there is a lack of veridical connection between the work completed and your self-evaluation. Submit this assessment through email with the title - "Expressive Arts Final Eval"

Required Assignments with their final grade weighting:

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Assessment Elements:

1. Attendance, preparation for class, and quality of contributions (weighted x3) 30%
2. Reflective Journal (weighted x2) 20%
3. Lesson outline (weighted x2) 20%
4. Final Lesson plan (weighted x3) 30%

This is a means of converting the assessment per assignment into a number score as the total number of points in the course is equal to 100. Please don't focus on your grade, but on the quality of the work you are doing, and the quality of the project you submit. That is what matters.

Final grades will be roughly indexed to the following scale:

Special Needs:
It is our intent to fully include persons with special needs in this course. Please let us know if you need any special accommodations in the curriculum, instruction, or assessment to enable you to participate fully. We will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of any information you share with us.

University and College of Education Policies
Be aware of the Pacific University Code of Academic Conduct and the College of Education policies for professional behavior and the competent and ethical performance of educators. In this course students are expected to demonstrate behavior consistent with the Professional and Academic Standards in the College of Education. Pacific University Professional Programs Course Catalog.

Students With Disabilities
In general, the University will work with students to improve conditions that may hinder their learning. The university requires appropriate documentation of a disability in order to enable students to meet academic standards. It is the responsibility of each student to inform the Director of Learning Support Services of his or her disability. Students are encouraged to work with faculty proactively in developing strategies for accommodation. This policy is described at Pacific University Professional Programs Course Catalog.

Incompletes
Instructors may issue a grade of incomplete only when the major portion of a course has been completed satisfactorily, but health or other emergency reasons prevent the student from finishing all the requirements in the course. The instructor and the student should agree upon a deadline by which all work will be completed, with the following guidelines:

1. Incompletes given for Fall and or Winter III terms must be completed by the following April 15.

2. Incompletes given for Spring semester must be completed by the following November 15.

Instructors will issue the grade the student would have earned by not completing the course, preceded by an "I". This grade is determined by including a failing grade for the missing assignment(s) in the calculation of the final grade. If the agreed upon course work is not completed in the period allotted and an extension has not been granted, the grade issued will be permanent. The contingency grade will be used in the computation of the GPA until such time as a new grade is recorded. See the Pacific University Professional Programs Course Catalog.

Grade Changes
Once a grade is submitted to the Registrar it shall not be changed except in the case of recording errors. Grade changes will be approved by the appropriate Dean. See the Pacific University Professional Programs Course Catalog.

Safe Environment Policy
Pacific University's Rights and Responsibilities policy seeks to maintain conditions favorable to learning. Students have the right to pursue an education free from discrimination based on gender, religion, marital status, age, sexual orientation or handicap. Students have the responsibility to conduct themselves, both individually and in groups, in a manner which promotes an atmosphere conducive to teaching, studying and learning. This policy is described in detail in Pacific University Professional Programs Course Catalog.

Academic Integrity
Honesty and integrity are expected of all students in class preparation, examinations, assignments, practicums and other academic work. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to cheating; plagiarism; forgery; fabrication; theft of instructional materials or tests; unauthorized access or manipulation of laboratory or clinic equipment or computer programs; alteration of grade books, clinical records, files or computer grades; misuse of research data in reporting results; use of personal relationships to gain grades or favors or other attempts to obtain grades or credit through fraudulent means; unprofessional conduct related to student care; threats to University personnel and conduct inconsistent with academic integrity. The complete policy, definitions and appeal procedures are described Pacific University Professional Programs Course Catalog.