TEACHER
EDUCATION SEMINAR
- The Learning Community - North
Option
The Teacher Education Seminar is designed to
help you make connections among your professional courses, practica,
and personal experiences. It provides opportunities for you to
develop an understanding of the process of becoming a teacher, to
nurture personal identity within the teaching role, and to acquire
the skills and attitudes to be thoughtful practitioners. In these
respects, the Teacher Education Seminar enables you to build a
foundation for continuing professional growth in your career as
teachers.
Specific dimensions of effective teaching that
will be studied in the Teacher Education Seminar include:
- Program organization - eg. planning,
assessment and evaluation, and effective learning
environments
- Instructional Repertoire - eg. skills such
as framing questions, processes such as Cooperative Learning, use
of technology
- Classroom Management - eg. strategies for
preventing and responding to student misbehaviour
- Continuous professional learning - eg. the
habits and skills of action research
- 'Special Education' - eg. awareness of and
sensitivity to needs and abilities, knowledge of services,
terminology and processes relating to 'Special Education'
legislation and practice
- Issues 3 of diversity and equity -eg.
culture, ethnicity, race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion,
family status, age, sexual orientation, bias
- Aspects of professionalism - eg.
collaboration, collegiality, knowledge of educational law and
reform, professional organizations, employment preparation
skills
COURSE TOPICS AND EXPECTATIONS:
In addition to the graded assignments in our
program (see course evaluation and evaluation grid), the following
topics and expectations will be included:
1. Instructional Repertoire:
Topics will include:
- Grouping of students: large group, small
group and individual learning opportunities
- Instructional skills: designing lessons,
giving instructions, framing questions, pacing, handling
transitions, providing mental set and closure, motivating
students
- Instructional strategies: co-operative
learning, graphic organizers, advance organizers
Instructional Repertoire Expectations:
Candidates will:
- Employ appropriately in their planning and
teaching a variety of groupings and instructional skills, tactics
and strategies which will enhance student learning
2. Classroom Management:
Topics will include:
- Methods for building and sustaining a
positive, engaging learning environment (e.g., a repertoire of
instructional skills and strategies, opportunities for student
choice, humour....)
- Strategies for responding to student
misbehaviour
- School discipline policies and
procedures
Classroom Management Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Understand and utilize a variety of
appropriate methods to develop and sustain a positive, engaging
learning environment for all students
- Understand and utilize a variety of methods
to respond appropriately to student misbehaviour when it does
occur
- Understand how teaching methods,
appropriate curriculum and programming to meet the needs and
interests of students, team-building, respect, ownership, and
risk-taking, as well as knowledge and use of effective classroom
management strategies are important in creating a positive
classroom atmosphere
3. Program Organization:
Topics will include:
- Lesson planning, unit planning, long range
planning
- Assessment and Evaluation
- Report cards
- Knowledge about involving
parents
- Accessing and collecting
resources
- Classroom design and
organization
- Models of teaching
Program Organization Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Develop, implement and analyze
comprehensive lesson plans
- Develop and implement a unit plan that is
congruent with Ministry of Education curriculum
expectations
- Have an understanding of long range
planning and its importance to a coherent and cohesive
program
- Have an understanding of classroom set-up
and an effective classroom environment/milieu
Please note that you will required to submit
to your instructors a number of lesson and unit plans for feedback
throughout the year.
4. Assessment and Evaluation:
Topics will include:
- Assessment and evaluation (definitions and
goals)
- Assessment strategies (e.g., rubrics,
portfolios, self-evaluation)
- Connections between assessment and
evaluation, and program development and modification
- Communication with students, parents and
school administrators
- Methods of reporting
Assessment and Evaluation Expectations:
Candidates will:
- Demonstrate assessment and evaluation
literacy
- Utilize a variety of appropriate assessment
and evaluation strategies in a variety of subject
areas
- Interpret assessment information;
accordingly , provide appropriate modifications to the classroom
program and the programs of individual learners
5. Diversity and Equity:
Topics will include:
- Examination of personal biases
- Examination of topics such as: culture,
ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, gender, religion, family
status, levels of ability (physical and cognitive), age and sexual
orientation
Diversity and Equity Expectations:
Candidates will:
- Make planning and teaching decisions that
demonstrate awareness of and sensitivity to diversity and equity
issues within classroom and school contexts
6. Special Education:
Topics will include:
- Ministry of Education and school district
documents re: special education
- Program modifications in the regular
classroom
- Disability "labels" used in Ontario
- Issues re: labelling and placement of
students in special programs
- Identification Placement and Review Process
(IPRC)
- Individual Education Plan (IEP)
- Parental involvement
Special Education Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Develop an understanding of issues,
services, terminology and processes pertaining to "special
education"
- Recognize special education terminology
(IEP, IPRC, etc.)
- Become familiar with the process of
developing IEPs.
- Make planning and teaching decisions that
demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the special needs
of learners
7. Computer Technology Links:
Topics will include:
- Professional use of computer technology
(e.g., web sites, listservs, e-mail, the Ontario Ministry of
Education Curriculum Planner, library resources, report cards and
Individual Education Plans)
- Integration of computer technology into the
curriculum
- Become familiar with computer-related
resources to enhance the classroom program
- Make planning and teaching decisions which
encourage students to use computers for a variety of purposes and
in an integrated way throughout the classroom program
Computer Technology Links Expectations:
Candidates will:
- Integrate computer technology into the
classroom curriculum
- Become familiar with computer-related
resources which can enhance the classroom program and student
learning
- Make planning and teaching decisions which
encourage students to use computers for a variety of learning
purposes throughout the classroom program
- Utilize the Internet and other
computer-related resources for Action Research and other
professional learning
- Use e-mail to collaborate with colleagues
and educational agencies
- Become familiar with the process of
computerized reporting and planning (eg. the Ministry report card,
Ontario Curriculum Planner)
8. Action
Research:
Topics will include:
The Action Research Process which
involves:
- Observation
- Interviewing
- Developing a research question
- Data collection, analysis and
interpretation
- Relation of the research findings to
teaching practices
- Report writing
- Presenting findings at the OISE/UT Annual
Action Research Conference
Action Research Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Use Action Research to enhance teaching
practice and classroom learning
- Understand Action Research as a model for
ongoing professional development
- Develop qualitative research
skills
- Use the Internet (web sites, listservs),
on-line library resources and e-mail for professional
work
- Develop, implement and share the findings
of an Action Research project
Please note that there is a requirement that
you will present and participate in the Action Research Conference on
Tuesday, April 17, 2001. An outline of this project will be presented
in class.
9. Internship Program:
Topics will include:
- Orientation to and preparation for the
Internship Program
(Refer to the OISE/UT Internship Information Booklet.)
Internship Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Complete the expectations of the Internship
Program as described in the Internship Information
Booklet.
10. Debriefing (STEP, Practica and
Internship Program):
Topics (will vary according to student
experiences) and will include:
- Observation of the classroom, school,
community, students, environment/milieu, classroom procedures,
practices, routines, etc.
- Dialogue and ongoing reflection re:
practical experiences and course work
Debriefing Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Make sense of their school-based
experiences
- Link practice to theory and theory to
practice in an ongoing cyclical fashion
11. Educational Law:
Details will be provided by John McNaughton,
Law Instructor.
Please note that there will be a
pass/fail participation evaluation for 'Educational Law' on the basis
of a cooperative learning strategy called 'The Team Game Tournament'.
12. Teacher Development:
Topics will include:
- Professionalism and professional
ethics
- Ontario College of Teachers Standards of
Practice
- Collaboration and Collegiality
- Educational law
- The personal in the professional: issues of
teacher identity
- Professional growth as a life-long
endeavour
- Additional qualifications; graduate work in
education
- Teachers Federations
- Resume and interview
preparation
- Educational reform
Teacher Development Expectations: Candidates
will:
- Use the Ontario College of Teachers
Standards of Practice to understand and describe their practice
and plan for future professional development
- Develop an awareness of the basic
principles of educational law in The Education Act
- Recognize and value the instrumental role
of personal identity in ongoing teacher development
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of
professional ethics and attitudes
- Work collaboratively with
candidate-colleagues, OISE/UT instructors, and school
personnel
Course Evaluation
Three of your major assignments and your mark
for Professionalism contributes to your grad in this course as
follows:
Portfolio 40 %
Mini-Seminars 20 %
Action Research 20 %
Professionalism 20 %
Required Texts:
Bennett, Barrie & Smilanich, P. (1994).
Classroom Management: A Thinking and Caring Approach.
Bookation, Ajax, Ontario.
Bennett, Barrie, Rolheiser, Carol, &
Stevahn, Laurie (1991). Cooperative Learning: Where Heart Meets
Mind. Educational Connections, Toronto, Ontario.
Gibbes, Jeanne (1995). Tribes: A New Way of
Learning and Being Together. Center Source, California.
McNaughton, John (2000). The Law Primer.
(available at the Bob Miller Book Store)
Sagor, R. (1992). How to Conduct
Collaborative Action Research. Alexandria, VA. Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development. ISBN 0-7120-201-8