KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY
KUTZTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
COE COURSE SYLLABUS
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION: 4-8 Program
ELU 212 Teaching Diverse Learners at the Middle Level
I.
Course Description: ELU 212 Teaching Diverse Learners at the Middle Level
A.
This course is designed to provide pre-service teachers with a variety of experiences that will
develop dispositions expected of professional educators as delineated in professional, state, and
institutional standards. Pre-service teachers will gain knowledge and foster values about cultural and
community diversity to use as a basis for connecting instruction to students’ experiences. Students
who can demonstrate appropriate dispositions toward diverse populations and knowledge of effective
and appropriate strategies will be encouraged to continue through the program. 3 c.h. 3 s.h.
II.
Course Rationale: The purpose of this course is to provide pre-service teachers with experiences
that foster “values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors toward students,
families, colleagues, and communities and affect student learning, motivation, and development as
well as the educator’s own professional growth” (NCATE, 2002). It is designed to encourage preservice teachers to act as a catalyst for social justice, advocate for children and for the teaching
profession. The education of children depends directly upon the quality and dispositions of teachers
in our schools. Therefore, it is crucial that pre-service teachers possess dispositions and employ
appropriate strategies to foster growth and learning for all students.
III.
Course Objectives/ Student Learning Outcomes
Candidates will be able to:
1. Define dispositions as they are related to personal values.
2. Recognize and make reflective judgments about personal values and interests related to their
own dispositions.
3. Recognize and make reflective judgments about personal values and interests related to
teaching.
4. Critique and reflect on their own knowledge within the context of student learning.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of cultural and community diversity.
6. Demonstrate knowledge of cultural influences on learning.
7. Examine the role of the teacher in a community context.
8. Examine the role of the teacher in a professional context.
9. Demonstrate dispositions of effective teachers.
10. Demonstrate knowledge of the process of language acquisition for ELLs
11. Recognize language/linguistic differences and difficulties specific to ELLs.
12. Recognize, design, and apply appropriate and effective differentiated instructional strategies
for ELLs.
13. Recognize, design, and apply appropriate differentiated assessment strategies for ELLs.
14. Apply professional skills toward the success of ELLs in their classroom.
A.
Relationship to Standards
Objectives PDE
(HE)
1-9
I. G
SPA
(ACEI)
2.4
INTASC
2-6
ISTE
1-6
3, 8
5,7
10
11
12
13
14
IV.
II.D
III. C
III. D
I. A
15-17
IB
1-6
II A
1-3
II B
1-3
II C
1-4
3.2, 3.5
5.1, 5.2
5.3, 5.4
2.1
3.1-3.5
2.1
3.1-3.5
2.1
3.1-3.5
4.0
2-7
9
10
1,6
5.1
9-10
2-3
4-7
8
Assessment
A.
Core Assignment
Will be added when faculty teach the course
B.
Other Assessments/Assignments:
May include but not limited to: reflective writing, group projects, class discussion, simple research,
class participation, demonstrated disposition toward learning, tests, text analysis, presentations,
portfolios, reflective observation reports, case studies, content-based assessment with accommodations
for ELLs, lesson plans, analysis of assessment results with instructional recommendations.
V.
Course Outline
A.
I. Dispositions and teaching
A. Defining dispositions
B. Dispositions toward effective teaching
II. Culture and Schooling
A. Nature of Culture
1. Defining culture
2. Mainstream culture
a. African-American
b. Native-American
c. Asian-American
d. Hispanic
e. Middle Eastern
3. Teacher dispositions for culturally diverse classrooms
a. Perceptions and behavior
b. Use of student life experiences in teaching
c. “Reading” culturally different behavior
d. Language and literacy
e. Communication with parents and community
f. Location of diverse community resources
B. Poverty and schools
1. Crisis of poverty
2. Dispositions of behaviors
a. Poor children in poor schools
b. Class and poverty
c. Myths/Misconceptions
d. Discrimination and stereotypes
C. Lifestyles
1. Sexual Orientation
2. Dispositions and behaviors
3. School responses to lifestyles
D. Gender
1. How society and schools shortchange girls and boys
2. Dispositions and behaviors
3. Developing an awareness of teachers’ actions and language
4. Developing an awareness of literature and portrayal of girls and boys
E. Special needs students
1. Defining special needs
2. Dispositions and behaviors
3. Federal and state laws
4. Individualized educational program
5. Current Research
6. Equity in extra curricular activities
III. Community
A. Defining community
B. Community services
1. Public and private agencies
2. Health care
IV. Families and education
A. Defining social justice
B. Dispositions and behaviors
C. Responsibility for America’s children
D. Advocacy
V. Strategies for diverse learners
A. Reading
B. Writing
C. Oral communication
D. Mathematics
E. Social studies
F. Science
VI. Strategies for teaching english language learners
A. Language as a skill
1. Academic
2. Social
B. Modifying the:
1. Content of instruction
2. Language of oral instruction
3. Language of written instruction
a. textbooks
b. assignments
4. Techniques of instruction
5. Techniques of assessment
C. The SIOP method
D. Sheltered English instruction
C.
VI.
Other Policies
Instructional Resources
Required Texts
(open to the discretion of the faculty member)
Contributing Texts
Boyd-Batstone, P. (2005). Differentiated early literacy for english language learners. New York:
Pearson Publishing.
Byrnes, D. A. & Kiger, G. (2005). Common Bonds: Anti-Bias Teaching in a Diverse Society. Olney,
MD: ACEI.
Cole, R. (1995). Educating everybody’s children. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Cole, R. (2001). More strategies for educating everybody’s children. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Cowdery, J. R., Ingling, L., Morrow, L. E., & Wilson, V. A. (2007). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children. New York: The New Press.
Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). Anti-bias curriculum for empowering young children. Washington, DC:
NAEYC.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2007). Fifty strategies for working and communicating with diverse families.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Herrell, A. L. (2007). Fifty strategies for teaching English language learners. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Merrill.
Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.
Payne, R. (1996). A framework for understanding poverty. Highlands, TX: Aha! Process, Inc.
Peregoy, S. F., Boyle, O. F. & Boyle, O. (2004). Reading, writing, and learning in ESL: A resource
book for K-12 teachers. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Ramsey, P. G. (2004). Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World. New York: Teacher’s College
Press.
Reiss, J. (2001). ESOL strategies for teaching content: Facilitating instruction for English language
learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Schiendewind, N. & Davidson, E. (2006). Open minds to equality. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking
Schools.
Spradlin, L. K. & Parsons, R. D. (2008). Diversity matters: Understanding diversity in schools.
Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Vacca, J. L. (2006). Meeting the needs of diverse learners. New York: Pearson Publishing.
Vogt, M. E. & Echevarria, J. (2007). 99 ideas and activities for teaching english learners (SIOP).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
York, S. (2003). Roots and wings: Affirming culture in early childhood classrooms. St. Paul, MN:
Redleaf Press.
Contributing Articles
Freeman, D. & Freeman, Y. (1988). Sheltered english instruction. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED 301070)
National Council for Teachers of English, (). English language learners: A policy research brief.
Retrieved Sept. 11, 2008, from
http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Publications/Newspaper/Chron0308PolicyBrief.pdf
Tellez, K. & Waxman, H. C. (2005). Quality teachers for english language learners: A review of the
research. Philadelphia, PA: The Laboratory for Student Success.
Tompkins, G. (). Scaffolding english language learners. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.
ED 301070).