SEED 415
SPECIAL METHODS
Tu 4:00-5:50
MJ
101/Aberdeen Central Rm. B-210
CLASS SYLLABUS--Fall 2008
Welcome
to SEED 415, the most wonderful, the most exciting, and the most
interesting methods course mentioned in this particular
paragraph! The broad goal of this course is to help you to become
the best social sciences teacher you can be. By sharing with you
what we ourselves have learned about teaching over the years, we hope
we can improve your basic teaching skills, reinforce your enthusiasm
for the teaching profession, and increase both your love of learning
and love for students.
THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH:
The most exciting feature of this particular methods course is that it
is a collaborative effort between Northern and Aberdeen Central High
School. Northern has provided an overall plan for the course, but
the actual class sessions will be taught by Central High School
teachers, each of whom will work in the area of their greatest
experience and expertise.
TECHNOLOGICAL EMPHASIS
Portions of this course have been redesigned in order to better prepare
our prospective social science teachers to make full use of technology
in the classroom. Your suggestions on this aspect of the course
will be particularly appreciated.
This course syllabus and all other class materials are available
on-line. Go to www.northern.edu/marmorsa Click on "current
courses," and go to the SEED 415 link. Until this semester, the
“online” portion of the course was taught through WebCT. The course has
now “migrated” to Desire to Learn. I am not sure the migration
was completely successful. If there are problems, please let me
know ASAP.
TEXT:
I have prepared a brief textbook, Teaching Social Studies for Fun and
Profit (TSSFFAP), for use in the methods class. In addition to
chapters on teaching philosophy and technique, the text contains many
creative teaching ideas from students in previous methods
classes. In addition to the "hard-copy" text passed out in class,
you will also have access to an "on-line" edition of the text. I
would appreciate your corrections/suggestions for both the hard copy
and on-line editions.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Students will be allowed one absence only without penalty. Your
class grade will be lowered one full grade for each additional
absence. Coming to class late and/or leaving early are not
acceptable. You will be given only partial credit for attendance
if you miss any significant portion of a class session.
NSU DISABILITY POLICY:
Northern State University recognizes its responsibility for creating an
institutional climate in which students with disabilities can
thrive. If you have any type of disability for which you require
accommodations, please contact Karen Gerety at the NSU Office of
Disability Services (626-2371, Student Center 217) as soon as possible
to discuss your particular needs.
BOARD OF REGENTS ACADEMIC FREEDOM POLICY:
Under Board of Regents and University policy student academic
performance may be evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on
opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards.
Students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views
offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of
opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any
course of study for which they are enrolled. Students who believe that
an academic evaluation reflects prejudiced or capricious consideration
of student opinions or conduct unrelated to academic standards should
contact the academic dean administratively in charge of the class to
initiate a review of the evaluation.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES AND ASSIGNMENTS:
September 2 --INTRODUCTION--WHY TEACH SOCIAL STUDIES?
Class meets in MJ 101 with Art
Marmorstein for introductions and an overview of course. Heidi
Sackreiter will go over the electronic portfolio requirements
associated with the class. The class will then move to the computer
center for an introduction to the on-line portion of the course. During
class, you will create a personal social science blog. See
instructions below.
September 9--TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM I
Before class: Read Chapter 1 of
Teaching Social Studies for Fun and Profit(Everybody's
Favorite Subject) and do Desire2Learn quiz online.
Class
meets at the NSU computer center. Discussion of internet
resources available for the social sciences. Exploration of sites
particularly suited to social studies. Register for MERLOT
(www.merlot.org) and review one Merlot site. Continue to work on your
personal social science blog.
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
September 16--THEATER GAMES
Before Class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 6
(Classrooms Full of Stars: Theater Games in the Social Sciences) and do
on-line quiz.
Class meets in MJ 101 for theater games session.
After class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
September 23--RELATING TO STUDENTS--THE IDEAL SS TEACHER
Before class: Read Chapter 2 of
Teaching Social Studies for Fun and Profit (Who We Are/Who We Teach:
Building Effective Classroom Relationships) and do "on-line" quiz.
Class
will view and discuss Guy Doud video Molder of Dreams. Note: This class
(and all future classes) at Aberdeen Central High School B-210.
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
September 30--PLANNING AND ORGANIZING
Before class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 3
(Once Around the Race Course:
Developing
Effective Social Sciences Curriculum) and do on-line quiz.
Class
will discuss effective ways of planning the curriculum planning for a
typical secondary social studies course. Discussion to include the
evaluation of textbooks and of publisher-supplied supplementary
materials.
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
October 7--CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT/MANAGEMENT
Before Class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 4
(Shtick and Tricks, the Easy Road to Teaching Stardom--and to Creating
an Effective Classroom Environment) and do on-line quiz.
Class
will discuss different approaches to creating and maintaining a good
learning environment in their classroom.
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
October 14--GAMES AND ACTIVITIES I
Before class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 5
(Gluing Students to Their Seats and Other Fun Social Science Games and
Activities) and do on-line quiz. Also, look through the games on the
“Gluing Students to Their Seats” blog socialstudiesgames.blogspot.com.
Prepare a learning game/activity for presentation to the methods class.
Please make your game suitable for posting on the “Gluing Students to
Their Seats” blog.
Each
class member will present their learning games to the class.
After
class: Post your "learning game" to the class blog and include the game
in you electronic portfolio (see below).
October
21--GAMES AND ACTIVITIES II
Before
class: Prepare a second learning game/activity for presentation to the
methods class
Each
class member will present their second learning games to the class.
After
class: Post your learning game to the class blog and include the game
in your electronic portfolio.
October 28--EFFECTIVE LECTURES
Before class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 7
(Herodotus Had it Right: From Lecturer to Story Teller) and do online
quiz. Choose a social science/history topic suitable for a high school
lecture, and prepare a “rough draft” lesson plan for that
lecture. Make sure your plan indicates the general purpose of
your lecture, the logical structure of your lecture, and some ideas for
keeping students’ minds engaged. Include also any ideas you might
have for visual aids, an introductory “hook,” or any of the other
elements TSSFFAP says are important to a good lecture.
Class
will discuss and critique each of the lecture plans brought to class.
After
class: Revise your lecture plan and post it to your electronic
portfolio.
November 4--LEADING GOOD DISCUSSIONS
Before class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 8
(How to Get from Chicago to New York without Going through San
Francisco: Leading Good Discussions) and do the on-line quiz.
Choose a social science/history topic suitable for a high school
discussion, and prepare a rough draft lesson plan for that
discussion. Include a list of discussion questions you would ask.
Class
will discuss and critique the each of the discussion plans brought to
class, noting which questions seem likely to be particularly effective
in stimulating good student responses.
After
class: Revise your discussion plan and post it to your electronic
portfolio.
November 11—VETERANS DAY: NO CLASS
November 18—DAYS TO REMEMBER: CONSTITUTION DAY/HISTORY DAY
Before class: Glance through the
material on the Constitution Day and National History Day sites
(www.constitutionday.com, www.nationalhistoryday.org).
Class
will discuss ways of using Constitution Day and National History Day
ideas for enriching the curriculum and stimulating increased student
interest in history and government.
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
November 25—WHAT YOUR EDUCATION TEACHERS DIDN’T TELL YOU
Before class: Read TSSFFAP Chapters 9
and 10 and do on-line quizzes.
Some
of the newer Central teachers will share their experiences in the
classroom and comment on how their teacher education program did/did
not prepare them for the realities of the classroom.
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
December 2--NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION
Before class: Read TSSFFAP Chapter 11
(A Madness in Their Methods: New Trends in Education) and do on-line
quiz. Glance over the South Dakota social studies standards
handout.
Some
of the more experienced Central teachers will discuss how educational
fads (outcome-based education, mastery learning, etc. affect social
studies teaching. Special emphasis on “No Child Left Behind” and the
push for “accountability.”
After
class: Add your reflections to the class blog.
December 9--EVALUATION AND WRITTEN FINAL EXAM
Before class: Read the remainder of
TSSFFAP (including the appendix) and do Final TSSFFAP quizzes. Prepare
for final exam.
*** Final exam: 4:00p.m, Tuesday, December 11, MJ 101 ***
December 16-- ONLINE FINAL EXAM
This is the “regularly scheduled” date
for Tuesday evening finals. Please be sure your online final is
completed by this date.
GRADING:
Your grade for this course will be
based primarily on the assignments below. In addition, we will
take into account attendance and participation in figuring your final
grade.
Note
that a primary goal of this class is to figure out a way to make social
sciences seem interesting and important to junior/senior high students.
The more you contribute toward this goal, the higher your grade will
be.
ASSIGNMENT #1 ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO ADDITIONS (100 points possible):
Students are to add all their work
(the lecture plan, the discussion plan, the social studies game, etc.)
to their electronic portfolios. See the Electronic Portfolio Phase II
(B) information on the School of Education Web site.
ASSIGNMENT #2 ON-LINE QUIZZES (100 points possible):
In order to make sure that students
are keeping up with the reading, I have incorporated on-line quizzes
for TSSFFAP. These quizzes are often very short and they are
intended to be easy. But please do each of the quizzes on time!
When
you have finished reading the textbook, take the final on-line
quiz. That quiz is a review of all 11 chapters and the appendix.
ASSIGNMENT #3 INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL SCIENCES BLOG (100 points possible):
For this assignment, I’d like you to
create a blog devoted to one or another social sciences topic. Go
to www.blogger.com. Create for yourself a Google account, sign in, and
begin creating your blog.
ASSIGNMENT #4 CLASS BLOG (100 points possible):
After each class session, log on to
the class blog and respond to the prompt there. Please read the
comments of any earlier posters and respond to their thoughts as well.
ASSIGNMENT #5 SOCIAL STUDIES GAMES/ACTIVITITES (100 points each):
Prepare a learning game/activity for
both on-line and in-class presentation. You may use any of the
suggested activities in TSSFFAP Chapter 5 as your model, but try to add
creative touches of your own. You will be graded both on how effective
the game/activity is in maintaining student interest and on how
effective the activity is in teaching/reinforcing important social
science information and ideas. See the "On-line Games" link on my Web
page for additional examples. Be sure to check out my “Gluing Students
to Their Seats” blog (socialstudiesgames.blogspot.com). If you have a
question/answer type game, BE SURE to include a databank of questions
in a particular social studies area.
Post your learning game in the
appropriate place on the class blog.
ASSIGNMENT #6 FINAL EXAM (200 points):
Be prepared for an
exam on the material presented in the class sessions and in
TSSFFAP. Bring a blue book and a pen to the exam session.
It is extremely important for all class members to be present for the
final session. Make-ups WILL NOT be possible except in extremely
unusual circumstances.
You will be asked to write essays in response to three (3) of the
questions below. In evaluating your exams, I will be looking
primarily for evidence that you are familiar with the material
presented in class and that you are likely to be able to apply that
material when you are actually in the classroom.
POTENTIAL EXAM QUESTIONS:
1. What are the keys to a good
lecture? What kind of things can a teacher do to make sure that
students pay attention to the lecture, enjoy the lecture, and learn
something from it? Include in your answer reference to the
lecture you gave at Central High. Note both what you did right,
and what you would do differently next time.
2.
What are the keys to an effective discussion? What kind of things
can a teacher do to make sure students participate in discussion, enjoy
discussion, and learn something from it? Include in your answer
reference to the discussion you led at Central High. Note both
what you did right, and what you would do differently next time.
3.
What are some of the things a teacher can/must do to create and
maintain an effective learning environment in the classroom? What
can be done to make students want to do their best work? What can
be done to avoid/correct discipline problems?
4.
What methods/activities other than lecture and discussion would you use
in the classroom? Note the advantages/disadvantages of each
method you mention.
5.
Suppose a prospective employer asks you why you want to be a social
studies teacher and why you think social studies is important.
How would you respond?
6.
What are some of the most important "new trends" in education? In
what ways might some of these "new trends" improve classroom education?
In what ways are these new trends dangerous?
GRADING STANDARDS FOR PRESENTATIONS/ASSIGNMENTS:
In this class, you are preparing
yourself, not just as an instructor, but as a model for students.
One thing you will see very quickly is that students do model your
behavior.
The
problem here is that this amplifies mistakes. Your errors,
whether errors about historical facts or errors in spelling and
grammar, will be absorbed by at least some of your students.
As
a result, it is important to strive for perfection. Your work
should be thorough, interesting, correct, and complete. Written
work and should be as polished as possible. Actual teaching
sessions will be evaluated according to the following
standards:
90-100 Exceptionally good teaching. Teacher
not only does a good job with all the essentials of a good lesson
(clear objectives, well organized material, etc.) but adds to this
extra enthusiasm and energy. Students are not only attentive but
enjoying the lesson.
80-89 Above average
teaching. Material well organized and clearly presented.
Student interest level remains high throughout presentation.
Lesson has clear objectives, and those objectives are achieved.
70-79 Meets basic requirements.
Covers the appropriate material, but does not show any special
creativity or effort.
60-69 Presentation falls short of basic
requirements in some way. Possible problems include low student
interest and involvement, unclear objectives, and lack of solid content.
Below 60 Presentation needs much improvement, fails
to meet several of the above standards.