Course Syllabus: RE 4620 SECTION 101

Reading in the Middle, Junior, and Senior High School

SPRING SEMESTER 2009

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this course is to extend your thinking about the concept of literacy, and to prepare you to critically analyze learning and literacy instruction in today's schools. The emphasis of the class is on developing conceptual tools that will enable you to use reading, writing and telecommunications technology as instructional tools in your classroom. Thus, the course will focus on the nature of literacy processes, and instruction that facilitates learning. The course uses a constructivist theoretical perspective.

This semester you will participate in a web-based course that is by design self pacing. A substantial part of the instruction will use telecommunication technology. All skills in this area that you will be expected to use will NOT be explicitly taught--this course assumes a certain level of expertise with computers. If you need help with technology, you need to find someone who can assist you. Patience and flexibility are required for success in this class.

 

TEXTS

Content Area Reading Web site: http://www.ltl.appstate.edu/carol/

Auxiliary Texts (listed on assignments page)

COURSE GOALS

Students will:

1. Understand literacy as a social phenomenon.
2. Explore various literacy materials.
3. Explore various literacy activities.
4. Develop increased skill in reading, writing, computers and telecommunications technology.
5. Use their understanding of literacy to conceptualize sound instructional practices.
6. Enjoy the course.

 

GRADING (tentative)

General assignments: 85% (Introduction: 20%; Materials: 25%; Literacy Teaching Strategies: 20%; Content Area Lessons and Reading Reactions: 20%)

Web participation and assignment completion in timely manner: 15% Timely means being complete with assignments before the due date; participation will be judged on your interaction on the class blog--I expect more responses than the minimum, and I expect thoughtful responses.

Plusses and minuses on final grades are at the discretion of the Instructor.

Each assignment will include detailed expectations.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND CALENDAR

This course will consist of four sections. Detailed assignment sheets, which specify content and assignments, will be available. Below is a general description of each section, along with tentative dates.

 

SECTION I: Introduction (January 13 - January 24, 2009)

The focus of this section is becoming familiar with the web tools that we will be using this semester. You will be asked to join a class blog, set up your own blog, read material, post responses on your blog, send e-mail and attachments, and so on.

To receive credit, all assignments must be completed and submitted by January 24, 2009.
Assignments that come in after January 24 will be late (50% of grade).
No assignments will be accepted after January 27, 2009.

 

SECTION II: Materials (January 22 – February 17, 2009)

In this section we will explore the concept of "text." I will argue that teachers in the new millennium must broaden their ideas of what is appropriate for classrooms in terms of the media students learn to use and use to learn. As part of this process, you will explore content area materials that you could use in your discipline, most of them coming from the Internet. I will ask you to first identify the core content of your discipline and locate key objectives from the standard course of study that you will be working with for these assignments. Then I will ask you to select topics in your discipline that you would have students research for information about your content. Then you will find "GOOD" resources on the Internet that your students could use for exploring these topics. These will be texts that your students will read or view. You will construct annotated reviews of these Web sites (7 minimum), and post your reviews on your blog. One of these "texts" must be visual--either video or photographs. For a video text, I will ask you to post the video in your blog.

To receive credit, all assignments must be completed and submitted by February 17, 2009. Assignments that come in after February 17 will be late (50% of grade).
No assignments will be accepted after February 20, 2009.

 

SECTION III: Literacy Strategies (February 12 – March 19, 2009)

During this section, we will explore literacy teaching strategies. You will find "GOOD" teaching strategies for literacy, and you will construct annotated reviews of these strategies (5 minimum), and post your reviews for the strategies on your blog.

To receive credit, all assignments must be completed and submitted by March 19, 2009.
Assignments that come in after March 19 will be late (50% of grade).
No assignments will be accepted after March 21, 2009.

 

SECTION IV: Lesson Plans (March 17 – April 9, 2009)

In this section you will read and respond to articles assigned and find a minimum of 2 lesson plans in your content area. You will summarize the lessons plans that you think you could use in your discipline and identify the standard course of study objectives that are addressed with the lesson. These summaries will be posted on your blog.

To receive credit, all assignments must be completed and submitted by April 9, 2009.
Assignments that come in after April 9 will be late (50% of grade).
No assignments will be accepted after April 16, 2009.

 

The course is complete on April 16, 2009. Grades will be submitted at the end of the semester.

COURSE PRACTICES

Instructional conversations: In harmony with the theoretical position that we hold, this course is based on an interactive, socially constructed model of teaching and learning. Therefore, your active participation in class is mandatory. You are expected to join in all Web-based discussions, and take part in all negotiations related to the content, methods, and assessment procedures related to this class. In short, you are expected to take responsibility for your own learning and the learning of your colleagues and professor.

Class attendance, assignments, and participation: Weekly attendance is mandatory. Attendance in a web-based course means showing up in discussion. You must develop a regular routine where you read e-mail and web blogs DAILY. Periodically the instructor will post questions to the class blog for scholarly discussion, please be prepared to comment on these items and to interact with fellow class members regarding their responses. In addition, you may pose a question to other members of the class requesting a response that would assist you with making a positive impact on classroom instruction now or in the future. You should always be prepared for discussion by completing assigned tasks such as readings and class activities in a timely manner. Preparation for class is demonstrated through your active participation in assignments and web blog discussions.

 

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updated 1/7/09