Teaching as Principled Practice
Elementary Interdisciplinary Methods & Materials
EDU 385: Teaching and Learning Curriculum (TLC)
Spring 2008

Meeting room:
At Gustavus: Mattson Hall. Room 104.

During Practicum: South Elementary School, St. Peter, Le Center Elementary School, Le Center, MN and Bridges Community School, Mankato, MN.

Meeting info:
Here is a copy of the day to day calendar that overviews which instructor will be leading class on which days.

During practicum: 7:30 - 12:00 noon (see calendar schedule above).

Course Materials
Books:

Igoa, Cristina. (1995). The inner world of the immigrant child. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, publishers.

Kriete, R. (2002). The morning meeting book. Greenfield, MA: Northeast foundation for children.

Wood, Chip. (2007). Yardsticks: Children in the classroom (ages 4-14): A resource for parents and teachers..

Supplies:
Colored markers, 1 black or dark blue permanent marker (wide tip). glue stick, small bottle of glue, scissors and tape. Optional but strongly recommended: Flashdrive (Jumpdrive) with USB port.

Instructors:

Michele Koomen
Mattson Hall 121
933-6057
Mary O'Brien
Mattson Hall 113
933- 7440
Mattson Hall 119 
933-7454

If you have a learning need that requires an accommodation, please advise us immediately in order to facilitate our course planning and preparations.

Course Description:
This course is intended to help you build bridges from your education coursework at Gustavus to application of that knowledge as teachers in public school elementary classrooms. Included are Friday sessions at Gustavus that focus on key topics for you as a future teacher, a substantial practicum experience in an elementary classroom, and time for processing your experiences in schools.
 
Evaluation
The course is graded pass/fail. In order to pass the course, you will need to complete to a satisfactory level all of the course requirements and assignments, including:

Attendance in GAC sessions.
Attendance in practicum.
Completion of readings and assignments.
Participation in discussions and activities.

Pass:
Meets or exceeds the standard. Work is well organized and complete. Student applies what has been learned to classroom settings. Student shows professionalism as outlined in the Gustavus Teacher Education Statement of Professionalism.

No Credit:
Below the standard. Work is not complete. Attendance and/or professional development have been insufficient. Student demonstrates only surface understanding of concepts taught. Applications of knowledge to teaching settings are not apparent. Additional time and experiences are necessary for success in the field of teaching.

Attendance
Attendance is crucial.  Please be punctual and prepared.  Both are absolutely required in the world of teaching; now is a good time to be sure the habit is engrained.  This is particularly essential for practicum days.  You can expect us to be punctual and prepared as well.  Time is at a premium, and we all have a great deal to do if we hope to accomplish all that is necessary to prepare for a successful student teaching experience.

Unavoidable absences sometimes occur.  If possible, please notify us ahead of time.  For a GAC session, notify the instructor for that session.  For a practicum day, notify both the cooperating teacher, your practicum partner, and one of the three of us.  Due to the participatory nature of the course, it will not be possible to completely "catch up" what you have missed (and what the rest of us have missed because you were not able to contribute), but we will do our best to help.

Lesson Plan Format
Here is the model lesson plan format that we will ask you to follow for assignments in our classes. Each of us may modify it, but the basic structure will remain the same across elementary block and kindergarten methods. Mystery Box Lesson example.

Board of Teaching Standards of Effective Practice and EDU 385 (click here to see how they are embedded within this course).

Professional Resources:


Updated: Febraury 9, 2008