Upcoming Activities--Informative Posting (Last reading for today!)

According to the MSU Teacher Preparation Program you should be doing the following these next two weeks:

• Work on Professional Learning Plan goals
• Continue teaching lessons
• Continue working with small groups
• Continue co-teaching and co-planning
• Write a reflection on your work and progress toward your Professional Learning Goals
• Attend the end-of-semester 3-way conference

The following is due at our first JANUARY meeting: A curriculum map of units taught in every subject area during the spring semester.  Nothing fancy, just a map.

The next bit of information covers the assignments you'll be doing for TE 803: (Warning!  It's a long list but comprehensive.  Any preplanning you can do prior to beginning class next semester will only be helpful.)  Finally, Dr. Halvorsen is the course coordinator and she is AMAZING!

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The interns will be taking TE 803 in the spring which focuses on social studies education.
Course Description: TE803—Professional Role & Teaching Practice II -  This course, as part of the culminating semester of the teacher preparation program, is an advanced social studies methods course that also addresses special education. It targets six topics: 1) social studies teaching and learning; 2) integrated curriculum; 3) professional and ethical responsibilities as a teacher; 4) accommodation of special needs; 5) lesson study; and 6) reflective practices. All of these topics will be addressed in the context of the field placement and during the lead teaching period, so that interns will develop skills and content in authentic ways.

TE 803 Main Projects/Assignment and Due Dates:

• Integrated Unit Plan

Interns individually plan a unit of study (10-12 lessons) that integrates social studies with another subject (e.g., language arts, math, or science). They research the content, conduct a pre-assessment with one or more students, gather resources, plan the instructional sequence, and reflect upon the implementation. In consultation with the mentor teacher, they select the topic, dates of implementation, and when the unit is taught (in social studies instruction time or in the instructional time for the other subject being integrated with the unit). We request that the unit not be taught until at the earliest February so the interns have time to research the topic, gather resources, plan lessons thoughtfully, etc. We recognize that interns may not be able to teach the entire unit, but we hope they can teach a significant portion of it. Interns begin planning this in January.

• Special Education Factsheet

Working in pairs/groups of three, interns will select a disability or exceptionality and conduct background research on their area to become an “expert” on the topic. Interns are encouraged to select a disability or exceptionality of a student within their own classroom, so that they have first-hand knowledge of how it affects learning, social relations, emotional state, etc. They will create a “fact sheet” on the disability or exceptionality that will be distributed to the class and serve as a resource for others. We appreciate mentor teachers’ help offering any experiences/advice for accommodating students with disabilities. This factsheet is due in late March/early April.

• Lesson Study

Lesson Study is a professional development process that Japanese educators, and increasingly, educators in North America and Europe, engage in to systematically examine their practice. The goal of lesson study is to improve the effectiveness of the experiences that the teachers provide to their students. In groups of four or five, interns will plan one social studies lesson that two of them will teach in their classroom. First, one intern teaches the lesson, while the other interns observe/collect data. The interns will then debrief about what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved, and then another intern will re-teach the same lesson in his/her classroom later that day (or the following day). The interns should consult with you regarding the topic of the lesson, lesson procedures, and date of the lesson. Mentor teachers are welcome to plan, observe, and debrief with the interns. Lesson study will occur in April, after guided lead teaching (although for some sections, it may occur in January).

Resume & Portfolio Assignment (Activity #3)

I've seen your original resume, but it's time to update it to be a professional document. You are no longer applying for a "for sure" internship, but a position as a classroom teacher in a HIGHLY COMPETITIVE environment.

Ask your mentor teacher for a copy of her resume, if it's available. Ask other teachers in the building if they will share, especially if they are new teachers!

I will email you mine, as well as the resume of a 4th year teacher.

I've included links to the MSU Career Services office.

The MSU Career Services Office: http://careernetwork.msu.edu/resources-tools/index.html

Resume Specific: http://careernetwork.msu.edu/resources-tools/resumes/index.html (The tips here are excellent, take them seriously!)

We will be polishing your resume in January, so plan to have a solid rough draft for our first seminar in January. You do not need to do any specific work tonight, unless you choose to review the Career Services Office.

Your second activity here is to make time over the next few weeks to make some headway into your portfolio. http://education.msu.edu/te/elementary/pdf/Professional-Portfolio.pdf  You don't want this to creep up at the end!  I plan to discuss and "show off" what you've accomplished at our first January seminar.

Delayed Consequence Strategy (Activity #2)

Begin by viewing this video about Classroom Power Struggles (It's short, less than two minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDoojnnQM1o

Next, consider the Love and Logic strategy of, Delayed or Anticipated Consequence.  Read about it here: http://www.loveandlogic.com/t-Delayed-or-Anticipatory-Consequence.aspx

Handout: http://www.loveandlogic.com/documents/delayed-consequence.pdf

Write a posting comment (again with the good grammar...) about your current classroom, discussing opportunities where using this strategy might benefit your overall management plan.  For example, I often used this strategy when kids would come in from recess and say, "So and so pushed me/tripped me, etc.  Rather than taking up important instructional time problem solving I would tell the offender, "That makes me really sad, I'll have to think about a consequence or we'll discuss later," etc.  Consider in your response how this strategy could be used effectively along with the building color-coded external management system.

I would like for you to try out this strategy with your students before you go on Christmas break. Then, write about it here as a second posting comment, reflecting on HOW you used it, how the STUDENTS responded, and whether or not it was successful.

Enforceable Statements (#1 Activity)

First, please begin our session by writing a reflective paragraph (with good grammar) of your last few weeks using the Love and Logic Enforceable Statements. Begin by writing the three you have been using and discuss your successes and challenges with them.  End your paragraph by discussing whether or not you will you keep these three as is, revise them, or try three new statements?

For a review of popular Enforceable statements, go here: http://www.loveandlogic.com/documents/turn-your-word-into-gold-school.pdf

Please add your reflective paragraph as a comment to this posting!