Program Description

We began our investigation of this question in the fall quarter by attending to students and their communities.  We operated under the premise that all students have valuable funds of knowledge, life experiences, and interests to which we can connect our instruction. We developed some strategies for learning about students’ backgrounds and prior knowledge.   This quarter we will return to the study of Funds of Knowledge by investigating strategies for integrating families and communities as resources and participants in the classroom.  You will also practice developing developmentally appropriate curriculum that is specifically relevant to current events and the community.

We studied some ways in which cultural, historical contexts of schooling as well as teacher expectations and practices are implicated in whether all students have access to learning in schools.  We worked to uncover some ways that power, privilege and oppression effect access to learning, and investigated how to develop equitable and accessible learning environments.  We will continue our investigation of TCSJ this quarter by examining ways a teacher needs to understand and address the dynamics of Socio Economic Status, Sexuality, and Gender.  Last quarter you began to develop practices for adapting instruction to the needs of English Language learners.  This quarter you will continue to learn about important aspects of differentiation and accommodation by beginning to investigate how to provide accommodations for students with special needs.   We will also begin to learn about the needs of children from military families.  The purpose of all of these investigations was, beyond developing an awareness and disposition to consider how the social, historical and political contexts affect the lives of your students as well as your perceptions and decision making as a teacher, to help you identify and develop practices that support the learning of all students.  In addition, you will begin to learn about some of your legal professional responsibilities as a teacher.

This quarter, you will continue to refine, synthesize and apply your understanding of the principles of learning, assessment, literacy, instructional methods, unit planning and teaching for critical social justice.    You identified and deconstructed standards for the purposes of developing relevant learning targets and appropriate assessments.  You will integrate your understandings in at least three contexts:  (i) instructional practices strand where you will learn how to structure discussions, concept attainment, and presentations for the purposes of eliciting, developing and refining student thinking; (ii) collaborating with colleagues to develop an interdisciplinary curriculum unit; and (iii) completing full on practice edTPA.   In this final quarter before student teaching, it is important for you to develop a routine and rhythm for writing complete lesson plans with clearly scripted procedures.  Come the fall you will be writing multiple lesson plans for each day that you teach.

Assignments will continue to entail a range of activities including reading, interviews, collaboration, classroom observations and practice with students.  They are specifically designed to help you to explore, reflect on, inform and ultimately demonstrate your understandings and skills. Throughout the quarter you will be expected to use opportunities to self-assess, set goals for and use opportunities to refine your understanding – in other words to engage in the practice of critical reflection and professional development.