New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
Methods & Student Teaching Practicum in English/Language Arts
For Master’s Degree Candidates
(English Student Teaching 1:
middle-school and high school placements)
(ENGED-GE 2041.001 and ENGED-GE 2922.001)
Spring 2013
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:
Tuesday: Silver (room 508)
Thursday: Meyer (room 261)
Meeting times:
Tuesdays, 4:55 PM -6:35 PM
Thursday: 4:55 PM - 6:35 PM (seminar days)
(generally) 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Rounds days)
Instructors:
Professors Keturah Kendrick and Joe McDonald, with
Student Teaching Supervisors and Cooperating Teachers
E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Office hours:
Kendrick: By appointment.
McDonald: Drop by, Wednesdays, 4-6, East Building 414, or
by appointment
Design of the Practicum
The Methods and Student Teaching Practicum in English Language Arts is a 6-7
credit integrated experience of ELA and general pedagogical methods
instruction, structured observation experiences, mentored student teaching, and
instructional rounds (protocol-guided visits to other classrooms beyond your
placement). All aspects are oriented in their learning goals to a Framework for
Learning to Teach ELA (available on the NYU Classes website). Each of the
practicum components is explained briefly below and more completely at the
website.
The overall instructional team includes an Adjunct Professor of English Education
who is also a tenured teacher of English at the Young Women’s Leadership
School of East Harlem and an alumna of the NYU MA in English Education and
Educational Theater program (Keturah Kendrick); a full Professor of Teaching &
Learning, and former middle- and high-school English teacher and high-school
principal (Joe McDonald); an advanced Masters in English Education student
who organizes Rounds (Candice Mays); your assigned cooperating teacher; and
your assigned supervisor
Required Texts
The main texts (with complete citations in the bibliography below) are as follows:
•
•
•
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Jim Burke, The English Teacher’s Companion, 4th edition
Doug Lemov, Teach Like a Champion
David West Brown, In Other Words: Lessons on Grammar, Codeswitching, and Academic Writing
Ann Raimes, Grammar Troublespots: A Guide for Student Writers
All four texts are available now at the NYU bookstore. The first three are
required, and will be read and used in nearly their entirety. The last is
recommended as a valuable resource for English teachers. Other recommended
books are also included in the bibliography below.
When a book is referenced in the syllabus, bring the book to seminar with you.
Grading Policy
A single grade will be awarded for this integrated 6-7 credit practicum. However,
it will appear twice on your transcript for 3 credits each for ENGED-GE 2042 and
ENGED-GE 2922 (or for 3 and 4 credits if you are an English-Ed-Theatre
student). The grade will be jointly agreed upon by the seminar instructors, your
supervisor, and your cooperating teacher. Note that one of the seminar leaders
(Joe) and all the supervisors meet together monthly to consult on your progress,
and they also stay in close touch with your cooperating teacher.
The table below describes how you will be graded, though additional information
(for example, major assignment rubrics) is also available on the NYU Classes
website.
Seminar
Assignments
Participation
Attendance
(40%)
Growth in Placement
as demonstrated in weekly written
communication with your
supervisor (copied to Keturah)
assessed in 3-4 supervisor’s
observations
assessed formatively and
summatively by your cooperating
teacher’s assessment
3 major assignments will be graded.
Other reading and activity assignments
also count.
Active engagement is required.
One hundred percent attendance is
expected, with prior notice for illness or
other unavoidable circumstance.
Completing explicitly assigned tasks
and also showing initiative are both
important.
Instructors and supervisors look for
progress, take cognizance of
unavoidable hindrances, and
understand that progress is incremental
and perfection elusive.
Assessment of your growth is grounded
in the NYU Framework for Learning to
Teach ELA.
(40%)
Rounds
timely attendance at TWO
active observation
active engagement during each
debriefing
(20%)
Two selections from five scheduled
“rounds” are required. These are
focused and guided visits to schools
other than your own. They will
supplement the experience you gain in
your placement.
Rounds are on Thursdays in lieu of
seminars. You will be excused from
student teaching on your rounds days,
but must give prior notice to your
cooperating teacher.
At mid-term, practicum members will receive one of three non-binding
grades. Most will get UE (unable to evaluate) which merely signals that crucial
parts of the student teaching lie still ahead, C to signal that something important
is amiss and a conference is called for, and F to signal that continuing in the
teacher certification pattern seems in doubt (for reasons that may range from the
candidate’s failure to engage, to a misfit between the candidate’s talents and the
demands of the teaching profession).
Practicum Assignments
Routine/Weekly Assignments:
1. All practicum members will complete all required readings by their due
dates.
2. All practicum members will communicate weekly with their assigned
supervisor in the format required by the supervisor. These
communications must be copied to seminar instructor, Keturah Kendrick,
though she will rarely participate in the messaging. The copying will,
however, help her stay informed on your development, and will also inform
a regular Tuesday seminar feature called “consultations.”
Major and COLLECTED Assignments (in deadline order):
1. All practicum members will participate in an Analysis of Student Writing
activity during a seminar class. After the activity, a copy of the student
work that was analyzed and a brief reflection (2-3 pages) about the
process will be due. DUE: TUES., FEB. 26
2. All practicum members will complete a Student Interview of a struggling
reader, present the interview data in a Student Interview Protocol, and
then submit both the data and a 2-3 page reflection on the process.
Presentation DUE THURS., MARCH 14.
3. All practicum members will present Evidence of Growth in Three Skills
Areas represented in the shaded domains of the NYU Framework for
Learning to Teach ELA. One must be a high-challenge area (as selfdefined) and another a low-challenge area (also self-defined). The third
may be any level of challenge. The evidence will be presented in a faceto-face peer and expert review, and submitted to the seminar instructors in
a 3-to-5-page summary document with attachments as needed. DUE:
THURS., MAY 2
Seminar and Rounds Sessions
Tuesday, January 29. SEMINAR
Welcome
Introductions
Overview of the Practicum
Thursday, January 31. SEMINAR
Read Burke, chapter 1, and do Pause & Reflect (P&R) 2 (Browse Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook), and P&R 3 (Browse
Partnership for 21st Century Skills). (Links can be found at NYU Classes). Also
bring your laptop or tablet computer (if you own one), and be prepared to share
its use with others.
What do we teach and why?
Introduction to the NYU Framework for Learning to Teach ELA
Introduction to the Common Core Learning Standards
Tuesday, Feb 5. SEMINAR
Read Burke, chapter 3; Lemov, chapter 5
The Need for Routines and Procedures
Thursday, Feb 7 SEMINAR
Read Burke, chapter 2. Browse Kathleen Cushman links (see NYU Classes).
Bring your laptop or tablet (if you own one).
Whom do we teach?
Video and teaching.
Tuesday, Feb 12. SEMINAR
Read Lemov, chapters 6 and 7.
The Culture of the Classroom
Thursday, Feb. 14. SEMINAR
Find or make two 1-minute video clips featuring (respectively) a teaching move
you admire, and one you do not.
More on Classroom Culture, and "The Deal"
Tuesday, Feb 19. SEMINAR
Read Burke, chapter 4.
Teaching Teens How to Write
Consultations
Thursday, Feb. 21. SEMINAR
Read Brown, Introduction; Burke, chapter 7.
Teaching writing on the "micro" level
Tuesday, Feb. 26. SEMINAR
Simulation of Student Writing Activity with Model of Student work
-Practice: "useful" feedback for the teen writer
Analysis of Student Writing Activity (written reflection due by the end of the
calendar week)
Consultations
Thursday, Feb. 28. SEMINAR
Read more Brown, as assigned.
Teaching and coaching writing on the "micro" level
Tuesday, March 5. SEMINAR
Read Burke, chapter 5; Lemov, chapter 12.
Identifying and (hopefully!) eradicating reading gaps
Consultations
Thursday, March 7. ROUNDS
The Young Women’s Leadership School, East Harlem.
Academic press
Tuesday, March 12. SEMINAR
Read Lemov, chapter 2
-Small group practice of unit and lesson planning
Planning: Before you walk into that room, PLEASE HAVE A PLAN.
Consultations
Thursday, March 14. SEMINAR
Read chapter 2 of Going Online with Protocols (downloadable at NYU Classes).
Prepare for Student Reading Interview Activity (written reflection due by March
17).
Introduction to Protocol Pedagogy: Save the Last Word for Me
Student Reading Interview Protocols
Tuesday, March 19. NO SEMINAR (NYU spring recess)
Thursday, March 21. NO SEMINAR OR ROUNDS (NYU spring recess)
Tuesday, March 26. SEMINAR
Teaching English language learners.
Guest: ELL teacher Margarita Leonard, The Young Women’s Leadership School
Consultations
Thursday, March 28. NO SEMINAR OR ROUNDS (NYCDOE spring recess)
Tuesday, April 2. SEMINAR
Read Lemov, chapters 3, 4, 8.
Teaching a 45-minute class
Consultations
Thursday, April 4. ROUNDS
Dual Language High School, Lower East Side
Teaching English language learners
Tuesday, April 9. SEMINAR
Read Burke, chapter 8; and Lemov, chapter 1.
Rigorous Curriculum and How It Can Be Assessed
Consultations
Thursday, April 11. ROUNDS
Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, Forest Hills
Adventurous teaching and learning.
Tuesday, April 16. SEMINAR
Bring to seminar a standard homework assignment that you gave to your
students or that your CT normally gives. Note that this should not be an
extended writing or other assignment, but rather one that yields work to be turned
in the next day.
How NOT to Drown in Grading
Consultations
Thursday, April 18. ROUNDS
North Star Academy, Newark
No-excuses teaching
Tuesday, April 23. SEMINAR
Bring in specific questions/anecdotes about communicating with your students'
parents. Questions can come from actual problems you've encountered with
working with parents or can be generated from the "perceived" problems you
might envision when you have your own classroom.
Working with Parents
Consultations
Thursday, April 25. ROUNDS
iSchool, Soho
Technology in teaching and learning
Tuesday, April 30. SEMINAR
Read: Burke, chapter 6 and Lemov, chapter 9
Building Better Discussions and Thinking
Consultations
Thursday, May 2. SEMINAR
Reading as assigned. See NYU Classes.
Simulation of Grading the ELA Regents
Tuesday, May 7. SEMINAR
Peer and expert review of your Framework evidence.
Five-page summary (with attachments as needed) of your framework evidence
due by Sunday, May 11.
Thursday, May 9. SEMINAR
Read documents assigned at NYU classes.
Jobs Panel
Concluding ceremony
References/Recommended Reading
Beers, K. (2003). When kids can’t read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Brookhart, S. M. (2010). How to assess higher-order thinking skills in your
classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Brown, D. W. (2009). In other words: Lessons on grammar, code-switching, and
academic writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Burke, J. (2008). The English teacher’s companion, 4th edition. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
City, E. A., Elmore, R. F., Fiarman, S. E. & Teitel, L. (2009). Instructional rounds
in education: A network approach to improving teaching and learning.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Cushman, K. (2010). Fires in the Mind: What kids can tell us about motivation
and mastery. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Danielson, C. (2011). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching,
revised ed. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. See
http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachersleaders/practicerubrics/Docs/Teachscape_Rubric.pdf
Lawrence- Lightfoot, S. (2003). The essential conversation: What parents and
teachers can learn from each other. NY: Random House.
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on
the path to college. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
McDonald, J.P., Mohr, N., Dichter, A. & McDonald, E. C. (2007). The power of
protocols: An educator’s guide to better practice, 2nd edition New York:
Teachers College Press.
McDonald, J. P., Zydney, J., Dichter, A., & McDonald, E. C. (2012). Going online
with protocols: New tools for teaching & learning. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Raimes, A. (2004). Grammar Troublespots: A Guide for Student Writers, 3rd
edition. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Schoenbach, R., Greenleaf, C., Cziko, C., and Hurwitz, L. (1999). Reading for
understanding: A guide to improving reading in middle and high school
classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Smagorinsky, P. (2008). Teaching English by design: How to create and carry
out instructional units. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Smith, R. (2004). Conscious classroom management. Fairfax, CA: Conscious
Teaching Publications..
Tomlinson, C. A. and McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction
and understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tovani, C. (2004). Do I really have to teach reading? Portland, ME: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Wong, H. K., and Wong, R. T. (2005). The first days of school. Mountain View,
CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.