Dr

Office Kresge 209 Office Hours: By Appointment Meeting Time: 9:00-10:00 a.m., Mondays

Course Description: EDU 482 Senior Seminar. A course addressing the structure and organization of schools, the planning and delivery of instruction, and current issues in the field from the dual perspective of research literature and field observations in schools. One unit.

Covenant College Teacher Education Program Standards

Learning, Serving, Transforming

The purpose of the teacher education program at Covenant College is to prepare competent and compassionate teachers who practice their profession according to biblical guidelines in diverse educational settings. Candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become teachers who model life-long learning and faithful service to God as change-agents in society.

Teacher Standards

Shared Vision

1. Framework. Apply a biblical worldview to the nature and needs of learners, content and professional knowledge, and instructional competence.

2. Professional Growth. Be an ethical, reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others and who actively pursues opportunities to grow professionally.

3. Community. Foster relationships with colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support student learning and well being.

Nature and Needs of Learners

4. Student Development. Utilize knowledge of human learning and development to provide learning opportunities that support students’ physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual growth.

5. Diversity. Create instructional opportunities that are adapted to the needs of diverse learners, including learning differences related to culture, language, gender and ability.

Content and Professional Knowledge

6. Content. Demonstrate understanding of the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he/she teaches and create learning experiences that make these aspects of the subject matter meaningful for students.

7. Technology. Use appropriate technology in the teaching and learning process.

Instructional Competence

8. Planning. Plan instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, curriculum goals and standards, student differences, and the social and cultural characteristics of the community.

9. Management. Create and maintain a learning environment that encourages responsible care for others, collaborative inquiry, active engagement in learning, and self motivation.

10. Instructional Strategies. Use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem, solving, and performance skills.

11. Assessment. Understand and use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, emotional, and social development of the student.

12. Communication. Use effective communication to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

2.1. become familiar with resources from professional organizations such as the National Middle School Association

2.2. know about legislation and public policies affecting middle school personnel

2.3. become familiar with current issues facing both local and national middle grades

3.1. conceptualize their role as classroom teachers with reference to the larger school community (fellow teachers, administrators, parents, students, and staff)

4.1. apply what they learn about early adolescent learning and development to the task of defining a variety of appropriate instructional models that provide learning opportunities to support students’ physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual growth

5.1. apply what they have learned about diversity to the evaluation of the structure and procedures typical of middle schools

6.1. articulate state and national standards for the structure and organization of middle schools and relate those standards to actual practice in schools

6.2. demonstrate familiarity with the overall contours of the state-approved middle grades curriculum (Georgia Core Curriculum)

7.1. use on-line resources and other media to facilitate their learning about young adolescents, middle schools and middle school institutions

10.1. observe and evaluate the instructional strategies used by teachers in local classrooms

11.1. demonstrate familiarity with national and state-wide assessment instruments

12.1. Candidates will observe and evaluate ways in which teachers in local schools communicate with students in their classrooms

Pettetier, C. M. (2004) Strategies for successful student teaching: A comprehensive

This course is organized as a seminar and will draw heavily on the Tuesday and Thursday field experiences. Activities include student presentations, discussion, evaluation of instructional material of many kinds, collaborative learning activities, and a variety of other cooperative group activities.