Syllabus+Spring+2011

Word Doc version of Syllabus (as of 1.26.11)

New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development Department of Teaching and Learning Childhood Undergraduate Program

Spring 2011 – Syllabus Integrated Curricula in Children’s Literature, the Arts, and Technology in Childhood Ed E.25.1144 - Sections 001 & 002* Wednesdays 4:55 - 7:25 Sec. 001 – East 420 Sec. 002 – East 540

(Whole Group Meeting Locations TBA)
 * Check syllabus for room as some days we meet all together

Office hours by appointment || 646-331-6102 Office hours by appointment ||
 * Edwin Mayorga || Cynthia Copeland ||
 * emayorga@nyu.edu || ccopelandster@gmail.com, crc1@nyu.edu ||
 * 917-400-6255
 * Mailboxes in 239 Greene Street, 2nd Floor ||

**Overview of Courses in the Undergraduate Childhood Program**

Your journey to becoming an elementary school teacher continues during the spring semester of your junior and senior year. As in the fall, the methods courses you are now taking in the Childhood/ Childhood Special Education Program are all connected. The coursework and assignments are designed to help you deepen your thinking about: yourself in your evolving role as a teacher; the students you will teach; and, the content to be taught to them. You have been learning about the pedagogy of teaching by engaging in a variety of assignments and class activities. You will continue to do individual as well as small group work and show evidence of mastery of that work through such measures as writing reflection papers, conducting case or child studies, participating in class discussions and presentations, conducting interviews with teachers and children, posting Blackboard responses, developing lesson plans, adapting and designing curricula, taking final exams or pop quizzes and/or creating brochures or PowerPoint presentations that explain concepts you have learned. Instructors will continue to make every effort to coordinate the assignments and their due dates. In the junior year, a theme across your courses continues to be the role of assessment in teaching and learning. While your Integrating Seminar will help you to make connections between your course work and field experience, in each of your other spring courses – Math, Literacy, Special Education, Science and Health – you will explore the theme of assessment from varied perspectives. In the senior year, themes across your courses remain (a) an ongoing process of reflection on personal philosophy and commitment to equitable education in addition to (b) the integration and adaptability of the content taught in the elementary school to meet the needs of diverse learners. Time will be spent developing the tools that bring learning to life for children. In each of your other spring courses – Language and Reading, Special Education and Integrated Curricula in Children’s Literature, the Arts and Technology – you will explore those themes from varied perspectives. Development of your professional teaching portfolio bridges your junior and senior years. This spring, you will have an opportunity to continue developing your portfolio using the materials you have been collecting since first semester of your junior year. In your Senior Integrating Seminar, you will have additional opportunities that further prepare you for your job search experience. By integrating educational theory and classroom practice, your coursework in our Program will enable you to develop critical skills and understandings necessary to becoming an effective teacher.

**Purpose/Description of the Course**

E.25.1144 will provide students an opportunity to further explore the integration of different academic disciplines into the elementary-level social studies curricula. Specifically we will consider the integration of the arts, digital technologies, and children’s literature.

**Goal//s//**//Through this course students will://

● develop an understanding and awareness of various technologies to integrate into the classroom/curriculum;

● continue to examine and implement social justice approaches to teaching;

● explore, identify, integrate appropriate children’s literature that include/address themes of multicultural education and social change;

● develop an ability to approach and use art in the classroom as a vehicle for learning, expression and social change.

**Structure** Building on the social justice-multicultural framework that was introduced in the fall, we will go through a series of experiences that expose students to various skills and materials through thematically organized content. This semester our primary thematic focus is //Brooklyn: Past, Present & Future//. With Brooklyn as our focus we will experience different arts (e.g., portraiture, collage, theater, spoken word), digital technologies (e.g., digital storytelling, using classroom web pages, and digital public service announcement [PSAs] making), and forms of children’s literature (non-fiction, poetry, historical fiction). Course sessions will involve a mixture of lecture, class discussion, guest speakers, and workshops focused on different art forms, digital tools, and literature. The course will culminate with a final curricular project that will be presented at a curriculum fair at the end of the semester.

**Materials** ● For articles, go to http://definingculture-at-nyu.wikispaces.com/ ● Books ○ almustafa, k. //Growing Up Hip-hop, Collected Poems 1992 – 2007//. ○ Seefeldt, C. et al. //Social Studies for the Preschool/Primary Child// (8th Edition). ○ Tillage, L. //Leon’s Story// ○ Additional pieces of children’s literature will be selected through literature groups later in the semester.
 * Recommended
 * Boal, Augusto. Theater of the Oppressed
 * Freire, Paolo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed
 *  Perlstein D.H. Justice, justice: school politics and the eclipse of liberalism
 * Podair, J. The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis
 * Snyder-Grenier, Ellen. Brooklyn! An Illustrated History

Note: During the semester, some additional readings and handouts will be provided as PDFs that will be available through the class wiki. Students will be notified in this instance.

**Field Requirement** The course does not have any assignments specifically connected to your field placements. Please note that there will be some class sessions that will be field trips, one of which, Weeksville, may occur during hours that are different from our scheduled course times. More information regarding our field trips will follow.

**Course Requirements** The requirements germane to successful completion of this course are discussed below.

○ If you miss more than 2 classes for any reason, your grade will be lowered by no less than one grade level. || 7.5 ||
 * ● Attendance: Each session includes collaborative building of concepts and knowledge. It is crucial that you attend all sessions. In the event that an unavoidable absence occurs, you must inform your course instructor in advance. For any class missed, you must speak with three class members and write a summary of what happened in your absence on the class wiki. You must also email any assignments to your instructor on their correct due date- not the day you return to class.
 * ● Class Participation: Our work this semester will continue to require an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding. Students should be able and willing to answer questions, contribute positively to class discussions, and listen openly to the experiences and ideas of others (see Class Norms). Successful participants make an honest effort to understand issues and viewpoints of others. Some assignments will be group projects and your accountability to the group is essential. || 7.5 ||
 * ● Weekly Discussion Board: Each week you are expected to participate in a discussion on our wiki page. Discussions will be based on a prompt that follows up on readings, activities, and/or class discussions. Each week you are responsible for posting your own response to the prompt, and then you are to make comments/engage in discussion with at least two other colleagues. Postings and discussions for each week **must be completed by noon** one week after the discussion prompt is assigned. || 20 ||
 * ● Literature Circles Group Work: Following literature circle work you experienced in your junior year, we will go through three cycles of literature circles group work. Roles will be identified once groups are selected and then group members will allocate roles and responsibilities amongst themselves. During round one, we will be looking at a piece of non-fiction. In round two, we will look a short fiction text, and in round three, we will be selecting a children’s novel (chapter book). || 10 ||
 * ● Mid-term Research Paper: A 3-5 page research paper that discusses a theme related to Brooklyn. It can be used to do background work for your final project. || 20 ||
 * ● Digital Story: Revisiting our Racial-Cultural Autobiography. One of the digital media tools we will be exploring this semester is the Digital Story. To conclude this learning experience you will revisit and re-present your autobiography from the fall through digital story. || 10 ||
 * ● Final Curriculum Project: In groups, you will design a multicultural social studies curricular project that is focused on our Brooklyn theme, and integrates the arts, digital technologies and children’s literature. More details about this will be shared in a few weeks. || 25 ||
 * Total || 100 ||

**Grading Policy / Grading Rubrics** Each assignment will be assessed using a rubric created by the two instructors. Rubrics will be posted in the weeks prior to the due date of different assignments.

**Statement for Students with Special Needs** Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual, mobility and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980, 240 Greene Street,@http://www.nyu.edu/csd