EDU 425/525: The Secondary School (Undergraduate and Graduate)
Meets Monday 4-6:45 pm in Goddard 102
Dr. Jeanelle Day, Instructor
Office Hours: M 1-3 ; W 2-3, Th 11-12:30 pm and by appointment
Contact Information: Office phone 860.465.4532; Fax 860.465.5099;
Home phone 860.872.6689; Email dayj@easternct.edu
Course Description: Examination of the modern secondary school, its organization and curriculum.
Trends and issues that influence how instruction is implemented and addressed are discussed. Adaptations
for a range of learners and environments are considered.
Course Textbooks:
Cooper, J.M. (Series Ed.). (2004). Educator’s Guide Series. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. (10 small
paperback books – don’t buy if you don’t have them.)
Marzano, R.J. (2006). Classroom assessment and grading that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Marzano, R.J. (2003). Classroom management that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will
need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact the Office of AccessAbility Services at
(860) 465-5573. To avoid any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should contact the Office of
AccessAbility Services as soon as possible. Please understand that I cannot provide accommodations based upon
disability until I have received an accommodation letter from the Office of AccessAbility Services. Your
cooperation is appreciated.
Course Objectives: Students will  Understand the legal and ethical responsibilities of a professional educator (CF 6.1)
 Develop lessons that are relevant, conceptually accurate, and address diverse experiences of their
students (CF 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1)
 Discuss and practice classroom teaching strategies and assessments adaptive to all student
abilities (CF 2.4, 5.1)
 Identify effective and humane teaching practices (CF 2.2)
 Show knowledge of organization, administration, and governance of schools
 Record and reflect upon teaching practice in CT CCT
Course Evaluation:
 Attendance & Participation (25 points). Due to the nature of student teaching and the number of
questions that arise while learning to teach, you are expected to attend the seminar each week. As you
begin teaching, please post questions each week by Sunday evening and they will be addressed in class
the next meeting. Please attempt to be on time as we will have some visitors joining the class at 4:00 pm.
Also remember that your first priority is student teaching and doing all of the things your cooperating
teacher is expected to do. If you have a student meeting, faculty meeting, IEP meeting or other function
to attend at school, please let me know you’ll be late via email.
 Electronic Journal Entries (15 points). Each week, we will be having discussions related to various
elements of student teaching in the course Vista site. If you have questions that you want addressed in
class, please email those to Dr. Day by Sunday evening (midnight). You will also be expected to keep an
electronic journal in the Vista site. These will be set up where only you and Dr. Day will have access.
Each entry should reflect the following: 1) What you have been doing in student teaching during the
prior week regarding the question of the week, 2) Why you did what you did, and 3) How it turned out as
well as changes you would make in the future. To the extent possible, the journal discussions should
address topics listed by date in your syllabus. Since only one per week is required, you should be
thorough and truly reflective in your journal entries. Your journal will be read intermittently and you will
not be expected to share these entries with the class. Please just put the date at the beginning of each
entry and continue with your entries as a discussion thread.
 BEST Portfolio (60 points). Each student will be responsible for the development of a reflective
portfolio. A detailed assignment description will be placed on the Vista course site and discussed during
the second week of the course. The portfolio documents will be reviewed by Dr. Day and your content
area faculty in the Education Department. The video tape will be shared in class during the last few
weeks of the semester.
Date
8/31/09
9/14/09
Topics
Due
Intro to course, lesson planning.
Assign Classroom Profile.
CCT/BEST portfolio assignment and
Classroom Profile.
Journal entries due weekly.
9/21/09
Teacher-Student Relationships.
9/28/09
The Student’s
management
10/5/09
NCATE
responsibility
for
10/12/09 Bullying and Conflict Resolution
10/19/09
Training.
Assessment at your school. Designing
Classroom Assessments I
10/26/09 Designing Classroom Assessments II
11/2/09
Standards
Online focus: list management concerns in your
placement and identify specific rules and procedures
in your placement classroom. Also, what specific
techniques have you observed that your classroom
teacher uses to acknowledge and reinforce
acceptable behavior and provide negative
consequences for unacceptable behavior? Complete
Classroom Profile and submit online. Read chapters
1-3 in Classroom Management book.
Online focus: Reflect on your cooperating teacher’s
(and your) management type (dominance &
cooperation levels and try not to be too harsh!). Try
to determine the severe problems that might be
facing some of your students (please do not use
names!). Read chapters 4-5 in Classroom
Management book.
Online focus:
Looking back at last week’s
reflection about issues that might be facing some of
your students, employ one strategy with one student
and reflect on your “withitness”. Also: What
procedures enhance student responsibility in your
classroom? Have you implemented any strategies
yourself and how effective have they been? Read
chapters 6-7 in Classroom Management book.
Online focus: Review Conceptual Framework for
Education Department.
Online focus: See Vista
Online focus: What type of assessments are most
typical in your classroom? How do the students
respond? Post one of your assessments on the
course website for critique. Bring to class (1 copy).
Review your specific content standards (state or
district). Read chapters 1-3 in Classroom
Assessment book.
Looking at your assessments and those of your
teacher, what is the assessment type that is used
most often? Develop 5 new Type III assessment
items for your assessment that you brought to class
last week (bring back this week). Read chapter 4 in
Classroom Assessment book.
Online focus:
Review your specific content
standards (state or district). How are the dimensions
11/9/09
Tracking
Student
Progress
Formative Assessments
&
11/16/09 Applying for jobs* – resume building,
11/30/09
12/7/09
setting up placement files (Eastern Job
Center). Certification.
Interviewing and Job Market* (mock
interviews).
within the standards unpacked? Is the scope
overwhelming to the teachers? How do they deal
with the issue? Describe the evaluation system at
your school.
Online focus: How is learning tracked in your
district? How is formative assessment used? How
are final scores used (are you allowed to fail
students?)? What are some of your major issues
with the assessment system at your placement
school? Read chapter 5-7 in Classroom Assessment
book.
BEST project DUE.
Bring resume, cover letter, references to class.
Reflection: How have your classroom management
strategies improved during the semester?
Portfolio returned and wrap-up.
*Guests will be available for the first half of the class.
NOTE: A portion of each class will be reserved for open discussions, questions, and concerns. The
questions you raise should be noted in your journal. This is an important part of the class, and as a service
to your fellow students, you should carefully consider your questions prior to arriving at class. Be prepared
to lead the discussion based on your questions.