COURSE OUTLINE
EDUC 394a
Fall Semester, 2001
EDUC 394A
Preschool Methods and Curriculum Seminar, Room 17, Skinner Hall
Mondays, 1:30-3:10pm, 2 credits
This course is required for all early childhood certification majors and is
taken in concurrently with Practicum EDUC 498A
Instructor: Dotty Meyer, Rm. 20, Skinner Hall, office # 545-2403,
email address: dotty@educ.umass.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
Graduate T.A.s:
Jane Broderick
Kate Strub-Richards
Jamie Broadhead
Alice Ward
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to be taken while working with children in a preschool
classroom. The seminar/workshop periods are planned to enable students to
apply current early childhood theory to classroom practice. Students work in
their practicum site 13.5 hours a week, and attend the weekly seminars to
receive a total of 7 credits. The practicum is graded on a pass/fail
basis, and the seminar is letter graded.
EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENT TEACHERS:
Students will develop skills which will help them work effectively with young
children. Students will gain insights on working with individual children
and their families within a pluralistic society.
In order to work towards meeting these goals, the following requirements have
been assigned......
Complete assigned
readings and participate/facilitate seminar discussions.
Submit written observations
to your T.A., which focus on four developmental areas for two to three
children. Developmental areas include social-emotional, language,
cognitive, and physical motor. Observations, or running records,
must include your analysis separate from the actual collected data.
Each running record, on each developmental area, should take place during a
minimum of ten minutes. There should be two, ten minute
observations/running records submitted for each developmental area (you¹ll need
a total of 8 running records for each child you observe). These will be
collected within one week of completing the role of "child observer"
in classroom # 5, or at least two times during the semester for those teachers
out in the community preschools. This is worth 20% of your grade.
Submit written preliminary plans and follow-up plans for Master Teaching one to
two weeks before you actually begin your teaching. We also ask that you
write and send a letter home to parents informing them of your plans (we hope
parents feel included and informed about your plans). Once your teaching
is completed, submit a written reflection paper which describes an in-depth
project (not just activities) you planned and coordinated with
children. You will be provided some questions which will enhance your
self analysis and reflection. Master Teaching is worth 50% of your
grade: 15%written plans, 25% implementation and attitude, 5% parent
letter, 5% written evaluation.
Create a ‘Documentation Panel,’ or photographic essay capturing children
learning. The panel should be created on standard-size, white poster
board. Please negotiate a due date with your TA as to when this panel will be
completed and ready to hang in your classroom. It is important that not
all the panels come in at the end of the semester. The panel should
contain teacher commentary, children¹s words, perhaps some children¹s artwork,
and several photographs. The panel should provide the viewer some
information about what a child or group of children are learning or
discovering. This is worth 10% of your grade.
Using the written observation/running record data collected throughout the
semester, complete a developmental outline on each of your children and
participate in a parent-teacher conference. (If you are placed in a community
preschool site, and are not able to sit a conference for the children you
observed in depth, please submit a summary of a conference you were able to sit
in on). This is worth 5% of your grade.
Keep a reflective
journal that contains 1 to 2 entries per week that describes your thoughts and
feelings about your teaching experiences. Also answer questions in your
journal as they are assigned to you in Seminar or by your Graduate T.A.
Please take the responsibility to hand in your journal every two weeks.
Lab School student teachers will complete ‘Check In’ sheets instead of keeping
a journal. This is worth 5% of your grade.
Attendance and punctuality are required at all times, as is turning written
work in on time. Absences from seminar class meetings and lateness in
submitting written work will affect your grade (you are permitted one absence
from your practicum, and one from seminar without having to make up
time) Seminar class attendance and participation in discussions are worth
10% of your grade.
Required Textbook:
Authentic Childhood; Applying Reggio Emilia in the Early Childhood Classroom
by Fraser & Gatwick. Delmar Publishers. Available at textbook
annex on campus.
Suggested
Textbooks:
First Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way, Joanne Hendrick, Editor,
Prentice Hall publishers, 1997.
The Hundred Languages of Children, 1st and 2nd editions, Edwards, Gandini,
&
Forman, editors, Ablex Publishers. 1997 & 1998
Bringing Reggio Emilia Home, Louise Boyd Cadwell, Teachers College Press,
1997
Dates to Remember:
No Class on Monday, Oct. 8, Mon.
schedule on Weds. Oct. 10
October 29, Mid Semester -"Two-way Conferencing" should be occurring.
No Class on Monday, Nov.12
Dec. 3, Final "Two-way Conferences" should be occurring this week
Dec.10, Last Day of Class