Policies

Attendance & Participation

Weekly class activities are both active and collaborative. Real-time feedback from me and your peers is essential to your learning and makes it impossible for you to have the same learning experience if you are not present in class. Therefore, it is critical that you attend each class meeting and stay for its entirety. Because our class meets only once per week, missing one class session is equivalent to missing three classes for a typical course (roughly 8% of the total course). Any absence may negatively impact your overall course evaluation because missing key learning opportunities will make performing well on the major course project and exams difficult. Thus, if missing class is unavoidable (e.g., because of illness), you are responsible for finding a way to actively engage with the ideas you missed.

In general, I am not in the business of judging absences. You do not need to provide me with a reason when you are absent, but I ask that you let me know in advance that you will miss class. Policies that award or penalize attendance are often ableist. In other words, those struggling with physical and mental health issues should be penalized when they need to miss class.

During class sessions, you are expected to participate in active, reflective engagement. Failure to meet expectations for class participation will negatively impact your overall course evaluation. For more about what is involved in engaged, reflective participation visit Class Participation.

Policy on Children in Class

Currently, the university does not a formal policy on children in the classroom. The policy described here is a reflection of my own beliefs and commitments to student, staff, and faculty parents.

• All exclusively breastfeeding babies are welcome in class as often as necessary.
• For older children and babies, I understand that unforeseen disruptions in childcare often put parents in the position of having to miss class to stay home with a child. While this is not meant to be a long-term childcare solution, occasionally bringing a child to class in order to cover gaps in care is perfectly acceptable.
• I ask that all students work with me to create a welcoming environment that is respectful of all forms of diversity, including diversity in parenting status.
• In all cases when babies and children come to class, I ask that you sit close to the door so that if your little one needs special attention and is disrupting learning for other students, you may step outside until their needs has been met.
• Finally, I understand that often the largest barrier to completing your coursework once you become a parent is the tiredness many parents feel in the evening once children have finally gone to sleep. While I maintain the same high expectations for all students in my classes regardless of parenting status, I am happy to problem-solve with you in a way that makes you feel supported as you strive for school-parenting balance.

Assignments

Policies regarding due dates, submitting and formatting assignments, and revisions are found on the Assignments page. Late assignments and failure to make revisions when they are required will negatively impact your overall course evaluation.

Course Communications

There are two major ways to communicate with the instructor and your peers:

• post questions on the Google Classroom stream. You can post to the whole class, and others may know the answer or benefit from your question. For questions about specific assignments or feedback, you can post private comments to me for that assignment. All announcements will be posted on the Google Classroom stream. (PREFERRED)
• send a direct email. (FOR NON-TIMELY ISSUES ONLY. If you do not hear from me within a week, either post on Google Classroom or email again.)

For technical issues, contact the OIT HelpDesk via phone (865) 974-9900 or online at http://help.utk.edu/.

Name and Pronoun Accommodations

If you use a name and/or pronouns other than what is in the course roll, please email me with the name and/or pronouns that you would like me to use and I will be glad to accommodate this request.

Programmatic Standards

This course aligns with standards for preparing elementary teachers and teachers of mathematics as outlined by the following organizations and governing bodies. This table shows how programmatic standards align to the major learning objectives for the course.

• AMTE Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics: The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) developed a comprehensive, aspirational set of standards, which describe a national vision for the initial preparation of all teachers PreK-12 who teach mathematics. The standards include specific details for early childhood mathematics and upper elementary mathematics. You can read more about the AMTE standards here.
• InTASC Standards: The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) is a consortium of state education agencies and national educational organizations dedicated to the reform of the preparation, licensing, and on-going professional development of teachers. They have prepared a set of core teaching standards for PK-12 teachers. You can read more here.
• CAEP Standards: The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is the organization that oversees the accreditation of teacher preparation programs in the state of Tennessee. CAEP provides a set of K-6 Elementary Teacher Preparation Standards for initial licensure. You can read more here.
• TN Literacy Standards: The State of Tennessee requires that teacher preparation programs met a set of standards for preparing teacher candidates to teach literacy in elementary grade levels. Even though we focus on mathematics in this course, these standards relate to your understanding of literacy in the discipline of mathematics and the ways in which literacy practices can support or limit students' mathematics engagement. Read more here.
• UTK ProCADs: In the UTK teacher preparation program, teacher candidates must demonstrate acceptable Professional Competencies, Attitudes, and Dispositions (ProCADs) throughout their program. We expect that teacher candidates maintain performance above unsatisfactory on all indicators throughout the program, as assessed by faculty, instructors/supervisors, and/or mentor teachers. Any rating of unsatisfactory requires a deficiency report and implementation of a support plan. I encourage you to read more about ProCADS here.

University Policies