San José State University
College of Humanities and the Arts
Department of English and Comparative Literature
Fall 2009

Course Description:

A.  Traditional student teachers will work with one or two resident/master teachers at the middle or high school level and with a university supervisor, assuming full responsibility for two classes involving two preparations for 184YZ, or for one class for anyone taking only 184Y or 184Z.

The student teacher should try to assume her or his duties quickly. The exact schedule for the student teacher’s taking over the classes will be worked out with the resident/master teacher(s). Generally, the student teacher will observe for one week before assuming full responsibility for the first class, and by the end of the second week the student will assume full responsibility for the second class. As soon as possible, student teachers must have complete responsibility for creating unit and daily lesson plans, for handling classroom procedures, for managing classroom behavior issues, for assessing student work, and for completing grade documents, and so forth. Student teachers rely on the guidance of resident teachers. They need to debrief with resident teachers regularly to discuss observations and concerns. The student teacher should be recognized by “his/her” students as the teacher in charge at the earliest possible convenience.

Student teachers must be on campus one prep period for each class taught (normally a total of four periods per day). They will generally be teaching one ELD or ESL class or a sheltered English class as part of this assignment. According to state requirements, the traditional student teacher must teach full-time for two weeks of the Phase II/III semester. Thus, to accommodate this requirement, student teachers should start discussing and planning when and how they will assume three additional sections for a two-week period during the semester.

B.  Student teachers teaching under contract will take responsibility at once for their classes (one to five classes, depending on their contract). They will be evaluated by a university supervisor and by a designated on-site evaluator at the school site. Each candidate who is completing Phase II/III student teaching under contract will need to have an administrator at the school site complete the agreement form developed by the English Education Program for an employed Phase II/III candidate.

C.  Intern teachers will assume responsibility for their assigned classes for the entire school year. Interns will be supervised in both the fall and spring semesters by both a university supervisor and an on-site evaluator. Each semester interns will have mid-semester formative evaluations and summative evaluations.

Course Objectives:  The seminar sessions reinforce the objectives required of Credential candidates during their Phase II/III student teaching experience.  Candidates will be able to

• establish and sustain a level of student rapport and a classroom environment that promotes learning;
  
• prepare at least one unit plan and continuing daily lesson plans that include standards, objectives, procedures  (i.e. strategies, activities,
• materials, and assessment plans) that are defined and coordinated with each other;
  
• use strategies, activities and materials appropriate for diverse students;
  
• motivate student interest and appropriate conduct during a variety of activities;
  
• communicate effectively by presenting ideas and instructions clearly and meaningfully to students;
  
• evaluate students’ needs and achievements;
  
• promote development of cognitive abilities;
  
• demonstrate capacity to teach diverse students.

Program Mission: The purpose of the Single Subject Credential Program is to prepare scholar practitioners as critical thinkers and reflective decision-makers committed to educating youth for life-long learning in a technologically advanced, culturally-diverse democracy.

Course Requirements:

1. Attend and participate in each of the seven seminar meetings.
2. Complete the 5 Teaching Event Tasks required for the PACT--

I. Context for Learning Task– DUE September 10
A. Write a 3-5 page commentary that describes the following:
1. Type of school/program in which you teach, (e.g., middle/high school, themed school or program)
2. Kind of class you are teaching (e.g., ninth grade English – untracked, American Literature – College Prep) and the organization of the subject in the school (e.g., departmentalized, interdisciplinary teams)
3. Degree of ability grouping or tracking, if any

B. Describe your specific class with respect to the features listed below. Focus on key factors that influence your planning and teaching. Be sure to describe what your students can do as well as what they are still learning to do:
1. Academic development: Consider prior student knowledge, key skills, developmental levels, and other special educational needs.
2. Language development: Consider aspects of English language proficiency in conversational and academic language as well as in the students’ primary languages, if other than English.  Describe the language development of your entire class, not just your English learners.
3. Social development: Consider factors such as the students’ ability and experience in expressing themselves in constructive ways, negotiating and solving problems, and getting along with others
4. Socio-economic and cultural contexts: Consider key factors such as cultural context, knowledge acquired outside of school, and home/community resources

C. Describe any district, school, or resident teacher requirements or expectation that might impact your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

D. Complete the Context for Learning Form in your PACT packet
II. Planning Instruction & Assessment Task—– work on this task between September 24 and October 30
A. Follow the directions given on pp. 4-6 of your PACT packet
B. Complete Lesson Plans for 3-5 hrs. of Instruction
C. Complete the Planning Commentary
III. Instructing Students & Supporting Learning Task – work on this task between September 24 and October 30
A. Follow the directions given on pp. 7-9 of your PACT packet
B. Prepare your video clips
C. Complete the Instruction Commentary

IV. Assessing Student Learning Task—– work on this task between September 24 and October 30
A. Follow the directions given on pp. 9-11 of your PACT packet
B. Collect and analyze student work
C. Complete the Assessment Commentary

V. Reflecting on Teaching & Learning Task –– work on this task between September 24 and October 30
A. Follow the directions given on pp. 11-12 of your PACT packet
B. Include the daily reflections that were completed as part of Task 2
C. Complete the Reflection Commentary

The following requirements are to be fulfilled in your student teaching: 

6. Maintain a weekly Journal in which you

• reflect on goals set for that week or on a specific class from the week—it may be especially helpful to reflect on a class which is observed by your university supervisor, resident teacher, or on-site evaluator.
• set goals for the following week or discuss changes you’d like to make.

Please give your up-to-date journal to your university supervisor each time he or she visits your classroom.

7. Maintain a 3-ring binder of all materials you have used/created during the semester for two classes. Your binder will include

• unit plans
• full daily lesson plans with standards, objectives, activities, and handouts
• student work (used for modeling and illustrating assessment strategies)
• quizzes
• tests
• overheads
• up-to-date grade documents
• seating charts
• sample graded student work
• observation reports and evaluations from university supervisor

Please give your up-to-date binder to your university supervisor each time he or she visits your classroom.

Please carry out the following in your school setting

1.  Meet with your resident teacher(s) or on-site evaluator(s) in your assigned school as soon as your placement has been confirmed. Discuss the school program and calendar. Ask if it is possible to be included in any departmental or school faculty orientations or meetings.
2. Observe your resident teachers’/coaches’ classes (if possible). Take notes during this time and familiarize yourself with classroom procedures and course content. Special attention should be given to classroom management skills, such as roll-taking, names of students, absences and tardies, referrals, and test make-ups.
3. At the beginning of the semester, give your university supervisor your vacation/holiday and bell schedule, including any alternate or special school day dates. Include a map of the campus marked with the location(s) of your classes.
4. Dress appropriately for your work environment. You are a professional educator on your campus while you are student teaching, and you want to project that persona. 
5. Observe time schedules for classes, meetings, and other conferences that are part of your workload.

Single Subject Credential Program - Student Learning Outcomes

• Candidates demonstrate a high level of professional responsibility for and involvement in their own professional development.
• Candidates explain a personal philosophy of teaching and learning that is grounded in theory and standards of professional practice.
• Candidates articulate conceptual frameworks relating to culture, power, and equity and how these influence teaching and learning.
• Candidates discuss legal issues and ethical choices that influence education.
• Candidates discuss interrelationships among family, community, student, learning, and success in school.
• Candidates discuss and critique various theories and practice of language acquisition and literacy development (e.g. reading, writing, speaking, listening) across content areas.
• Candidates design, critique, and utilize a variety of formal and informal standards-based assessment that inform teaching and provide feedback on student learning.
• Candidates demonstrate teaching methodologies that reflect and effective use of standards, objectives, and strategies including technology for working with a diverse student population.
• Candidates critically reflect upon the relationship between their own teaching and student learning.

Grading: Student teachers, interns, and contract teachers are graded in ENED 365 and 184Y/Z with CR (Credit) or NC (No Credit).  The candidate must fulfill all course requirements. The candidate must also provide evidence of good teaching and potential for continued growth to meet the criteria for the grade of “CR.” 

Your university supervisor and your on-site evaluator(s) will fill out Formative Evaluations by October 16. You will be advised about areas of your teaching that you will need to improve in order to receive credit for the course. You should have ample opportunity to improve in those areas before the end of the semester. Formative Evaluations from both the university supervisor and on-site evaluators must be on file in the English Credential Office.

By December 22, your university supervisor and on-site evaluator(s) will again submit written evaluations of your performance, using the Summative Evaluation Form. You are required to teach your classes until the end of the semester of the school in which you are student teaching. Credit will not be assigned if you do not complete the term at the school to which you have been assigned.
Evaluations University supervisors and resident teachers will submit

• Formative Evaluations no later than October 16.
• Summative Evaluations no later than December 22.

Incompletes for ENED 365 and 184YZ will be given only in extenuating circumstances.

Academic Integrity Policy: The University emphasizes responsible citizenship and an understanding of ethical choices inherent in human development.  Academic honesty and fairness foster ethical standards for all those who depend upon the integrity of the university, its courses, and its degrees.  This policy sets standards for such integrity.  The public is defrauded if faculty and/or students knowingly or unwittingly allow dishonest acts to be rewarded academically and the university’s degrees are compromised.

Plagiarism: At SJSU plagiarism is the act of representing the work of another as one’s own without giving appropriate credit, regardless of how that work was obtained, and/or submitting it to full academic requirements.  Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to

• the act of incorporating the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts of,

            and/or the specific substance of another’s work, without giving appropriate credit,
            and/or representing the product as one’s own work;

• representing another’s artistic/scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, paintings, drawing, sculptures, or similar works as one’s own.
  (Adapted from the SJSU Academic Senate Policy, S07-2; please check this web site for the full policy: http://www.sa.sjsu.edu/judicial_affairs/index.html)
  According to the SJSU policy, the minimum penalty for plagiarism is failure of the assignment/paper/exam.  It is your responsibility to become informed about the Academic Integrity Policy

Disability Resources: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment to see me as soon as possible. “Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with DRC to establish a record of their disability.” URL for Disability Resources: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/

Course Calendar

Advisers for the English Credential Program are Jonathan Lovell and Mary Warner. Call the English Department (924-4425) to make an appointment.