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!

*****

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).