Syllabus for the Term

Department of Integrated Studies in Education

Fall Term 2011

david [dot] dillon [at] mcgill [dot] ca (David Dillon)
Faculty of Education
3700 McTavish St.
Montreal, QC H3A 1Y2
(514) 484-3309

Additional supervisors
patrick [dot] baker [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Patrick Baker) (Greendale, Thorndale, and Westmount Park)
michael [dot] bambek [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Michael Bambek) (Bancroft, Coronation, and Gerald McShane)
doris [dot] beck [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Doris Beck) (Honoré-Mercier. Leonardo da Vinci, and Sinclair Laird)
margaret [dot] kowal [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Margaret Conroy) (Childrens' World and Dorset)

Course Descriptions (from McGill calendar)
EDFE 303 - Third Field Experience (K/Elem)(8 credits) This first major field experience will consist of 35-40 days of student teaching under the tutelage of school personnel.
EDEE 353 - Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Classroom (3 credits) Theory-based strategies for setting up, managing and teaching in the elementary school classroom. Methods for integrating the individual subject areas in the elementary school curriculum, using the Quebec curriculum as the primary example.
EDEE 355 - Classroom-based Evaluation (3 credits) The role of evaluation within kindergarten/elementary programs. Topics include the kind of information needed, different techniques for collecting that information, and ways of interpreting it to make educational decisions. Principles and a variety of methods for evaluation are discussed and practiced.

Overview of Term
While on paper students are registered for three separate “pieces” of work (two courses and a field experience), in reality the term’s work is designed as one integrated, professional, school-based semester in one of several local participating schools.

The field experience is central in importance and place in the organization of the term. Students are placed in their schools full-time for the entire semester. They are to develop and to be evaluated on a framework of 12 professional competencies mandated by the Ministry of Education. The aim of this extended time in a field setting is to provide more extensive and advanced preparation of prospective teachers than is usually possible in a standard field experience. While the official McGill dates for the term are September 1 to December 6, students in this project are required to begin wth the start of the public school year in order to experience the very beginning of a school year. Those dates this year are August 24 for orientation for project students, August 25 for teachers in English Montreal School Board and August 26 for teachers in Lester B. Pearson School Board, and August 31 for pupils in both school boards. In addition, project students are usually quite welcome to extend their work in the schools beyond the last official date of student teaching on December 6 anytime up until the start of the Christmas holidays.

The course work is designed to support the field experience and the development of the targeted professional competencies in two ways. One is to provide helpful background information for possible application in students’ work (theory-to-practice learning). The other is to foster reflection on one’s experience as a means of constructing one’s own professional knowledge (practice-to-theory learning). Finally, attempts will be made to integrate these two kinds of learning into one organic whole. In order to have the course work achieve this goal, it will be “delivered” in an alternative manner designed to allow a good deal of independent work by students, to do course assignments as part of one’s practical work in the school, and to be as convenient and flexible for students as possible through the use of ICT and a series of in-school seminar sessions. The key components of the course “delivery” are:

• Independent readings providing background information on the professional competencies, available through one text and two course packs of readings.
• Tasks (1) aimed at developing the professional competencies, (2) all to be done in an applied way in students’ practical work in the school, (3) based on what students usually should be considering and doing in any case. These tasks formalize that process in order to help foster students’ learning as well as to provide evidence of that learning. They are all designed to become part of the professional teaching portfolio, the one major assignment for the term.
• On-line seminar for the entire section of students (http://groups.yahoo.com) and weekly in-school seminar sessions for groups of students on a regional basis (West Island, city core, and east end). The seminar (virtual or actual) is designed to explore emerging professional concerns, issues, and challenges that students encounter in their practice during the term.
• Several possible workshops for the entire group of students during the term, TBA depending on schedule of pedagogical days and availability of animators.

Readings
Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong. How to be an Effective Teacher: The First Days of School, is available at Paragraphe Books on McGill College Ave for approximately $40 (514-845-5811).

Two course packages of readings, one for each course number, have been created and can be purchased at the McGill book store for a total of approximately $100 (514-398-8354 for textbook department). Although the course work has been conceptualized and developed as one integrated course, the readings are in two packs listed under the two course numbers for two reasons. One is the simple volume of material that would make one package impractical. The other is that, by using two course numbers, more material was able to be used from several sources than would have been possible within only one course pack because of copyright laws. (See following Tables of Contents for more detailed information.)

N.B. Readings are available for purchase during the summer.

(Note that you will need to refer to the Quebec Education Program on a regular basis during your work in the schools. You may use your own personal copy, copies in the schools, or the on-line version on the Ministry of Education web site.

Ministry of Education Professional Competencies for Teacher Education Programs
See the section on Professional Competencies for more detail.

Foundations
1. To act as a professional inheritor, critic, and interpreter of knowledge or culture when teaching students.
2. To communicate clearly in the language of instruction, both orally and in writing, using correct grammar, in various contexts related to teaching.
Teaching Act
3. To develop teaching/learning situations that are appropriate to the students concerned and the subject content with a view to developing the competencies targeted in the program of studies.
4. To pilot teaching/learning situations that are appropriate to the students concerned and to the subject content with a view to developing the competencies targeted in the program of studies.
5. To evaluate student progress in learning the subject content and mastering the related competencies.
6. To plan, organize, and supervise a class in such a way as to promote students’ learning and social development.
Social and Educational Context
7. To adapt his or her teaching to the needs and characteristics of students with learning disabilities, social maladjustments or handicaps.
8. To integrate ICT in the preparation and delivery of teaching/learning activities, and for instructional management and professional development purposes.
9. To cooperate with school staff, parents, partners in the community and students in pursuing the educational objectives of the school.
10. To cooperate with members of the teaching team in carrying out tasks involving the development and evaluation of the competencies targeted in the program of studies, taking into account the students concerned.
Professional Identity
11. To engage in professional development individually and with others.
12. To demonstrate ethical and responsible professional behaviour in the performance of his or her duties.

Required Tasks
Creating a professional teaching portfolio. N.B. Because this task is such a large one, it will be important to develop the portfolio throughout the entire term. The following sub-tasks are designed to lead to or create components of the teaching portfolio. See individual sub-task sheets for more detailed information on each task.

Sub-tasks for Teaching Portfolio

See Developmental Framework for Student Teaching for more detailed information on the envisioned three phases of student teaching and Sample Teaching Portfolios for several examples of recent portfolios created by students in the project.

Evaluation
Field Experience: The field experience is evaluated as a pass/fail grade based on successful completion of student teaching, as determined by the CT (with input from the instructors and supervisors as desirable or necessary) in her or his summative evaluation. The grade is submitted by the Office of Student Teaching at McGill.
Courses: The courses are evaluated with letter grades (i.e., A, B, etc.) submitted by the instructor.
Although there are two separate courses on paper, in reality the course work has been developed as one, integrated, 6-credit course oriented toward the key generic teaching abilities to be developed in the field experience. As such, one final grade for course work will be reported two times, once for each course (unless individual students would like to propose an alternative approach).
Evaluation will be done on a holistic basis, i.e., one’s emerging teaching portfolio will be assessed qualitatively as a body of work reflecting students’ emerging professional understanding and ability (along the lines of the following rubric). Evaluation will be shared equally between the instructor and each student minimally, with possible peer and/or CT evaluation if feasible.
While one summative judgment will be reached at the end of the term, formative evaluation will be conducted during school visits on a regular basis over the term, particularly at mid-term. In general, summative evaluation meetings between the instructor and students will be scheduled during the weeks of December 5 and December 12 (unless a student has the portfolio ready for final review earlier).

Required Components of McGill Course Outlines

McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures.

In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.