New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
SPRING 2013
ENGED-GE 2911.002 Student Teaching Practicum in English/Language Arts
(Middle School and High School Placements)
An important message from the Dean regarding your rights:
Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to chronic
psychological, visual, mobility and/or learning disability, or who is deaf or
hard of hearing should register with the Moses Center for Students with
Disabilities at 212 998 4980, 240 Greene Street, www.nyu.edu/csd.
Meeting space:
Meeting time:
Instructor:
E-mail:
Office hours:
Office phone:
BOBST LL139
4:55 PM -6:35 PM
Maura Gouck
[email protected]
Tues and Wed 3-5, East Building 401E or by appointment
212.998.5203 Cell: 646 416 4385
Design of the Practicum
The Practicum in English Language Arts is guided by a Framework for Learning
to Teach ELA. You will work with an instructional team which includes an
instructor of English education, your assigned cooperating teacher, and your
assigned supervisor. You will also be supported by classmates who are exploring
pedagogy and practical approaches to mastery of teaching English Language
Arts. .
Mentored Student Teaching
Because you have already experienced the complexity of student teaching, you
undoubtedly appreciate the emphasis NYU places on reflection. You will continue
to submit journals to your supervisor according to your contract. You will also
keep a reflection log for your seminar. This will be written in class and returned
the following session. As was noted in your fall student teaching seminar, you
become your own coach as you take note of what’s around you in the classroom,
school, and the community in which the school is located and in which your
students live. You are charged with learning which of your students have special
needs, observing other teachers who work with your students and teachers of
ELA, as well as, attending team planning meetings and parent conferences.
Employ the assistance of your cooperating teacher in setting up these
opportunities.
You are working toward developing professional attitudes:



Openness to being mentored.
Eagerness to exploit all learning opportunities; this might include
teaching a lesson that your cooperating teacher or a team of teachers
planned, attending a team planning meeting, tutoring a struggling student,
grading a set of papers you did not assign, and handling attendance
records.
Willingness to practice reflecting on your development as a teacher
through regular correspondence with your supervisor and seminar
instructor.
Framework for Learning to Teach ELA
The Framework which guides learning in the practicum is based on DRSTOS-R,
a domain-based assessment of teaching that was developed by the NYU
Teacher Education Program as a tool for assessing its own effectiveness.
DRSTOS-R is based in turn on the Framework for Teaching developed by
Charlotte Danielson (2011, revised edition). This is now the most widely used
framework for teacher education and teacher evaluation in the United States.
Your supervisor will use DRSTOS-R as a summative assessment of your student
teaching, and will share the results with you. However, most of your work in the
practicum will focus more specifically on the Framework for Learning to Teach
ELA (Course Documents,).
The shading in the Framework this semester highlights the two domains which
were central to you presentation project for the fall semester. We will concentrate
on Planning and Preparation and Professional Responsibility.
Texts ???
You will read ONE of the following three books*.
Janet Alsup and Jonathan Bush. (2003). But Will It Work with REAL Students?.
Illinois. The National Council of Teachers of English.
John Gaughan. (2001). Reinventing English: Teaching in the Contact Zone. New
Hampshire. Heinemann (Boynton/Cook Publishers).
Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. (2008) “You Gotta BE the Book”: Teaching Engaged and
Reflective Reading with Adolescents. New York. Teachers College Press.
*Read Synopses posted on Course Documents
We will reference several of the texts you read last semester:
Jim Burke. The English teacher’s companion, 3rd edition (Heinemann)
Doug Lemov. Teach like a champion (Jossey-Bass)
Additional short readings are also required, and are downloadable at the
practicum NYU Classes site – Documents/Articles
When a reading is due, please bring the book or article copy, etc. to class with
you.
Grading Policy
Your grade will be jointly agreed upon by the seminar instructor, your supervisor,
and your cooperating teacher. The seminar leader and the supervisors meet
together monthly to consult on your progress, and they also stay in close touch
with your cooperating teacher.
Criteria for assessment are as follows:
Being There
(Notify your CT, supervisor
and seminar instructor of
any absence.)
Attendance at all seminar sessions and
student teaching. (Notification for Absence)
Avid participation in student teaching
Weekly online communication with
supervisor and seminar instructor
Completing assignments
successfully
Making progress in your
development as a teacher
This includes assignments for seminar,
supervision and student teaching.
As indicated by your supervisor’s reports
As indicated by your cooperating teacher’s
reports
As indicated by your self-reports-journals
and reflection logs
At mid-term you will receive one of two grades. Most will get UE which means
that it is too soon in the semester to assess a grade or C to signal that your
seminar instructor and/or your supervisor have concerns about your work for the
class and/or your student teaching placement.
Design of each session

You will keep an in-class reflection log. This will be used either at the
beginning of class to initiate our discussion of assigned readings or at the
end of class to note what was helpful, ask questions, or make
suggestions.



Members of the practicum will model an activity each session. This
might be a community-building activity, a design for teaching a poem
or story, or perhaps a suggestion for initiating a unit. You become the
teacher/facilitator for 20 minutes. In lieu of this activity, practicum
members may elect to present student work or unit work to the class
for engagement in a protocol.
Discussion of assigned readings
Discussion of how things are going at your placement
Practicum Assignments
All practicum members will complete a Portfolio for presentation at interviews.
All practicum members will complete all readings by their due dates, with
penalties for lateness. Assignments are posted in the syllabus on the day due. If
the assignment requires a posting on discussion board, that posting must be
made by 9:00 p.m. the evening prior to class.
All practicum members will communicate weekly with their assigned supervisor in
the format required by the supervisor. (This communication should be cc’d to
your practicum instructor.) The purpose of this communication is to practice
reflection on your development as a teacher, to ensure that the supervisor
can take account of this development in his or her coaching, and to air and
resolve any problems that arise in your placement.
Your midterm will be the presentation of designated elements of your portfolio
and a Draft of 2 elements of your FRAMEWORK.
These will receive feedback from other seminar participants and your instructor.
All practicum members will present a differentiated lesson which has been
designed or redesigned for the students in the class for which they are
responsible at their student teaching site.
All practicum members will present evidence of growth in three skills areas
represented in the shaded domains of the Framework. One must be a highchallenge area (as self-defined) and a low-challenge area (also self-defined).
Evidence may include video clips, sound clips, interview data (for example, of
students or cooperating teacher), student work samples or other growth data,
supervisor’s observation feedback, or still other forms of evidence that seem to
you appropriate. The evidence will be presented for a face-to-face peer and
expert review, and also submitted to the practicum instructors in a three to fivepage summary document with attachments as needed.
COURSE CALENDAR - FSPRING 2013 - ECHED-GE. 2922.002
Date
Presenters
1)
1/31
2)
2/7
3)
2/14
4)
2/21
5)
2/28
6)
3/7
7)
3/14
Topic
Introductions
Syllabus
Journal
Rotation for Activities
Classroom Stance
Self-Assessment
Classroom Activity
Reports from Field
Believe and Doubt Form
Log
Classroom Management
Cont’d
Reports from Field
Believe and Doubt Form
Log
Jim Burke Assessment
FRAMEWORK
Common Core
Classroom Activity
Log on Common Core
Reports from Field
Set up Portfolio
Guide for Mid-Trm Eval
Assess/Grading cont’d
Classroom Activity
Portfolio Items
Reports from Field
Portfolio Samples
DVD - Assessment
Differentiation
Classroom Activity
Reports from the Field
Select First level and
items for Framework
Differentiation Cont’d
Protocol for Feedback
on Diff Lesson
Reading Due
Writing Due
Two Articles
“Assuming the Best”
‘Teacher As Warm
Demander”
Highlight and note as
Believe or Doubt
Read Framework –
concentrate on Cols I and II
Job website – Resume, cover
letter (look at models)
Selection of Low,
Moderate and High
challenges from COLs I
and II of Framework
Design Resume and
Cover Letter
Selections from Jim Burke on Bb Course Docs
Revise Resume and
Cover Letter based on
Feedback
Outline a 10-min
presentation of your CC
chapter
Prepare first draft of
your Philosophy of Tch
Bring in sample of
assessment used in your
classroom – yours or
CT’s
Read your chapter from
Common Core VI
Read ppt of Assessment and
Grading
Tomlinson & McTighe
Finalize Philosophy
Look over chapters from
Portfolio
Guidelines for Differentiation Draft of first
framework level
Look for samples of Back
Planning you developed.
Mid-term self eval
Draft Differentiated
Lesson
Classroom Activity
8)
3/28
9)
4/4
10)
4/11
11)
4/18
12)
4/25
13)
5/2
Classroom Activity
Protocol – Looking at
student work
Articles
Classroom Activity
Protocol – Looking at
our own work or
presenting an issue
Articles
Draft of Tcher Portfolio
Classroom Activity
Draft of One Framework
for presentation
Classroom Activity
Interview Practice
Draft of Teacher
Portfilio
Presentation of your
Framework for
Teaching ELA
Guest Assessors
14
Classroom Activity
5/9
Celebration
Complete
Differentiated Lesson.
Provide Copies of
Lesson, Handouts and
Rationale
Continue work on
Portfolio
Draft next Framework
Level
Continue work on
Portfolio and
Framework
Prepare Portfolio for
viewing.
Interview Practice
Interview Practice
Complete Framework
Project for Presentation
Complete the online
evaluation for this
course by Wednesday
evening 12/12. Thank
you.
Finalize Portfolios
Picture this
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/teachlearn/job_strategies
Follow Assignments that are on the weekly Agenda – not the Syllabus.