EE 340 Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School
Dr. Bob Sylvester - Spring 2003
Methodologies, Evaluation and Grading

Instructional Methods and Learning Activities:

The methods and activities for teaching and  learning will include:

Traditional experiences such as formal presentations, classroom discussions and workshops, including extensive writing workshop assignments and activities. Non-traditional experiences such as role-playing and cooperative problem-solving will also be scheduled.

Clinical experiences such as cooperative group work, student sharing, writing and editing of reflective statements, and debriefing sessions with classroom teachers and professors will be scheduled.

Field experiences such as classroom observations, facilitating learning needs assessment, constructing a writing process experience, evaluating and reflecting on practical classroom experiences as well as the construction and field-testing of a large-scale learning center will be scheduled.

Significant background reading materials on all themes examined will be assigned and general familiarity with such material will be tested in the midterm and final exam.

Methods of Assessment

Traditional assessment: 

Active and visible and constructive participation in group activities, content knowledge evidenced in regular quizzes, written summaries and reflection, final and midterm examinations, assigned projects, among other forms of traditional assessment will all be scheduled, among others.

Performance assessment:

Pre-practicum Teaching and Learning Portfolio, rubrics and activity resources for an interdisciplinary learning center and curriculum framework projects in Language Arts and History and Social Science will all form part of the scheduled performance assessment, among others. 

Evaluation and Graded Assignments:

The following experiences and assignments will form the focal graded requirements:

  Engage in a series of writing assignments and activities as part of a writing workshop.

    Candidates will contribute to the design a learning center to teach a series of  standards from the curriculum framework in both the Language Arts Frameworks and the History and Social Science Frameworks.  This center will be used to teach language arts skills to include reading, writing, listening, and speaking and will incorporate activities for all levels and address exceptional needs children.  A paper is required reflecting on the experience.  This paper will discuss three aspects (1) integration of Language Arts and History and Social Science, (2) observation of developmental levels of students and (3) field testing of the learning center with teachers, students and where possible, parents.

    Complete the prepracticum field experience in planning, organizing, delivering, and reflecting upon lessons which demonstrate knowledge of the necessary skills in literacy to actualize a service learning project with students.  The experience culminates in the writing process with published materials.  This project integrates reading, writing, listening, speaking and thinking in various content areas.  You will be engaging students in the writing process incorporating all the skills that promote written and oral communication that you assimilated in the course.  Engage in debriefing activities.  

    Content knowledge tests will be given focusing on meeting the needs of diversity in your classroom, the writing process, assessment of writing in a writing workshop environment as well as theories of language development.

    Other assignments will be given in keeping with the course objectives and outcomes and will be announced from time to time within the stated overall weighting of grades and assignments.    

Grading Scale

Each specific assignment is worth a designated number of points totaling 100.  

The College system for grading will be used accordingly for the final grade….

A   94-100		 A-  90-93		B+ 87-89 	B   83-86

B-  80-82		 C+ 78-80		C   73-76	C-  70-72

D+ 67-70		 D   63-66		D-  60-62	F    below 60