Course Assignments
Criteria for Written Work
Throughout the course, I may give you feedback on your writing. Please keep in mind the following standards of high-quality writing.
Accuracy: Is what you say correct and supported by evidence? Have you made it clear when you are drawing from personal experience versus when you are citing another person? Accuracy refers to your summary of main points, your use of concepts introduced in class, use of evidence from readings and other sources, appropriate credit towards others, choice of words, and precision in quoting.
Analysis: Are you leveraging major course themes? Have you considered multiple perspectives? Do you identify the main ideas in the arguments you analyze? Is the logic of your position coherent and internally consistent? Is the evidence used to support a particular position examined for strengths and weaknesses?
Clarity & Coherence: Is your writing clear? Is your writing organized to help the reader move easily from the beginning to the end of the assignment? Are the arguments coherent to the reader? Has the assignment been proofread carefully? Did you carefully edit your writing, with attention to spelling, grammar, tense, capitalization, and diction?
In-Class Writing Assignments
On the first day of class, I will provide each of you with a notebook and pen of your choosing. We will begin most classes with a 15-20 minute free write that builds on the readings. We will end most classes with a 5-10 minute reflection during which you revisit your written thoughts from the beginning of class. Before you leave class, you can choose to turn in your notebook, take a photo of your writing and email it to me, or rip out the pages that you wrote on and turn them into me. I will read through your in-class writing assignment and give you written feedback in return. My feedback will not be evaluative. Rather, I will use this as an opportunity to learn more about you, how you’re understanding the course material, and to ask probing questions that I hope will push your thinking and writing. I hope you consider these "learning journals" as a space for "academic play" or trying on new ideas as you synthesize and learn new information.
I recognize that this exchange of handwritten work may feel "old school" and I challenge you to lean into any discomfort you may feel. There is research on the cognitive benefits of writing by hand, especially for your memory when learning new things. Given that this is an education course and some of you may to convince your future students of the benefits of handwriting amidst growing technological booms, here is a kid-friendly article that summarizes key cognitive research.
Final Paper / Project
Topic Selection Due: Wednesday, October 11
Draft of Final Due for Peer Feedback: Monday, November 13
Note: BRING TWO PRINTED COPIES OF YOUR DRAFT TO CLASS!
Final Project / Paper Due: Monday, December 11
There are many different ways to engage with the U.S. educational system. This final assignment is designed to provide you with structured choice, which is a research-based pedagogical strategy.
My hope is that this assignment will be useful for you beyond this course. I have tried to connect project ideas with various professional opportunities that you have access to as a Vassar student. If you would like to pursue an opportunity that I listed (e.g., join VAST; get published in The Poughkeepsie Journal), please let me know so I can support you.
Choose ONE of the following as a final paper / project assignment:
Do you want to become a teacher, social worker, or counselor?
Prepare a resume (1 page, professionally-formatted), cover letter (1 page, single-spaced), and teaching statement (3 pages, double-spaced).
Vassar has opportunities for you to jumpstart your teaching career by gaining direct experience with students that may help you choose a content area or grade-level that you may like to teach in the future. Read about the Vassar Education Collaboration and Education, Policy, and Equity opportunities through the Office of Community Engaged Learning. Select an opportunity that seems interesting to you.
In your resume, make sure you highlight prior experiences and skills that you think would be useful for you as a future teacher (e.g., language proficiencies, administrative skills, experience as a camp counselor).
In your cover letter, state why you are interested in this particular opportunity. Be as detailed and specific as possible with regards to how your professional interests and/or prior experience are well suited for the specific opportunity that you are pursuing.
In your teaching statement, draw from the course readings to describe what you want your future classroom to be like and why. Why do you want to teach? What subject/grades do you want to teach? What do you think the purpose of education is? How might you design your classroom to reflect your ideals? Who are some researchers or theorists who inspire you? How might you bring their ideas into your classroom? What does effective teaching mean to you? What are your most important learning goals? What types of outcomes do you want for your students? How do you hope to develop and maintain positive relationships with students? How will I create a supportive learning environment?
Teaching Statement Tips:
Take the "Teaching Goals Inventory" to learn what learning goals matter to you.
Read through these tips. (This is geared towards aspiring higher education faculty but can be modified if you are interested in writing your statement about PK-12.)
Sample teaching statements (aka teaching philosophies)
Do you want to be a journalist, policymaker, advocate, or activist?
Write two op-eds or opinion pieces geared towards your chosen outlets.
Choose two education-related topics that you are passionate about. One topic should be something we covered in class; the other topic should be something you have thought about from your own experiences as a student but that we did not cover thoroughly in class.
Choose two online media sources or print newspapers where you want to get published. Some ideas: The Miscellany News, The Poughkeepsie Journal, Chalkbeat, EducationWeek, EdSurge, Inside Higher Ed.
Try to keep each op-ed between 700 and 1,400 words. While op-eds may differ depending on the outlets, their basic structure tends to be uniform. Try your best to have a catchy hook that relates to something personal and/or a buzzy news story. When building your argument, remember to use strong empirical evidence to support each claim and no more than three main points.
Do you want to be a curriculum writer or edutech designer?
Create a unit plan or build a digital tool.
Think about a pedagogical problem that needs to be solved or a topic that you are particularly interested in. Create a unit plan that includes 3 unique lessons that address your chosen problem or topic. Or, if you want to stretch your programming skills, build a digital tool for the classroom that addresses your chosen problem or topic.
Explore online curricular resources, such as lesson plans from the American Federation of Teachers, Black Lives Matter, Woke Kindergarten, Welcoming Schools, Indigenous STEAM, Conscious Kid, and Peace First.
Include a 2 page narrative that explains your unit plan or digital tool design. In this narrative, draw from the course readings to answer the following questions about your unit plan or digital tool: What subject/grades is this for? What do you think the purpose of education is? How might your design reflect your ideals? Who are some researchers or theorists who inspire you? How did you bring their ideas into your design?
Do you want to do research or work in academia?
Write an annotated bibliography.
While this class provides a broad overview of some key ideas, there are many education-related topics we could not get to given the semester's time constraints. Choose a topic to explore that we did not cover. Some ideas are: play-based learning; technology in schools; religion and schools; the role of parents in policymaking; climate change; early childhood education.
Conduct a systematic search of empirical papers using ERIC, JSTOR, Elicit, Google Scholar, and/or Vassar's Library Database.
Select 7-10 empirical papers and read them carefully. (Empirical means the researchers did an actual study. Exclude any conceptual, methodological, and theoretical articles. Let me know if you have any questions about this criteria.)
For each article of your 7-10 chosen articles, you will write an annotation that is about half a page. In your annotation, discuss the context underlying the study, how the data is analyzed, any important insights, and any critiques or questions that you have after reading the study.
After you have completed your 7-10 annotations, write a 1-2 page narrative that summarizes key insights synthesized from the literature you reviewed.
See here for an example of an annotated bibliography. Please note that this example is longer than the annotated bibliography that you are expected to complete for this course.
Undecided or none of the above?
No worries! Let's chat. Stop by my office hours or set-up a time for us to discuss your ideas.