VIRGINIA
POLYTECHNIC
INSTITUTE
AND
STATE
UNIVERSITY
School
of
Education
_________________________________________________________________________________
EDCI
5204:
Elementary
Education
Curriculum
Spring
2008
R
4:30–7:00
p.m.
GYM
Room
126
_________________________________________________________________________________
Instructor
Office
Phone
:
:
:
 Heidi
Anne
Mesmer,
Ph
D.
318
War
Memorial
540‐231‐8343
E‐Mail :
 hamesmer@vt.edu
Office
Hrs :
Mon.
1:30
to
4:30
&
by
appointment
_________________________________________________________________________________
Virginia
Tech
Core
Values: 
 Virginia
Tech
is
a
comprehensive
land
grant
university
that
serves
the
 state,
national,
and
international
communities
by
providing
its
students
with
exceptional
academic
 experiences.
As
such
Virginia
Tech
has
seven
core
values
which
will
serve
as
guiding
principles
in
 this
course:
•
Freedom
of
inquiry
• Mutual
respect
•
Lifelong
learning
• A
commitment
to
diverse
and
inclusive
communities
•
Ut
Prosim.
(That
I
May
Serve)
is
Virginia
Tech’s
motto
• Personal
and
institutional
integrity.
•
A
culture
of
continuous
improvement.
Catalog
Description: 

Graduate
Catalog
description
for
 EDCI
5204:
 This course is concerned with the development of the elementary school curriculum. It deals with the structure, characteristics, problems and practices of the elementary school curriculum, the children, the environment and the school setting. The course is also concerned with the process of curriculum improvement and its implementation in contemporary elementary schools.
Format:

 The
seminar
will
be
an
interactive,
participant‐driven
course
including
presentations,
discussions,
writing,
reading,
and
modeling.
Major
Assignments
1.
Participation
and
Online
Work:
 Each
week
students
will
come
to
class
having
read
 assigned
readings
and
completed
other
assignments.
Participation
will
be
graded
and
 indicated
by
the
following:
*

 Informed 
contributions
to
discussions.
*

Engagement
in
whole
class
and
small
group
discussions
*

Involvement
in
and
a
positive
attitude
towards
class
activities.

Mesmer EDCI 5204 Sp 2008 2
*

Directing
insightful
questions
or
comments
to
the
speaker.
 Students
will
be
responsible
for
reading
assigned
texts.
Although
time
may
not
 permit
for
all
material
to
be
covered
in
class,
students
will
be
held
responsible
for
 all 
 course
material.
 Students
will
turn
in
assignments
at
the
 beginning 
of
the
class
period
on
the
due
 date.
Absent
students
must
send
in
course
assignments.
 Late
assignments
 will
be
accepted
a
maximum
of
 1
week 
late
and
late
assignments
 will
have
point
deductions
commensurate
with
the
amount
of
time
that
they
are
 turned
in
late.
 A
student
 missing
a
class 
must
inform
the
instructor
 before 
the
class
meeting.

If
 these
requirements
are
met,
a
make‐up
assignment
will
be
arranged.
 All
assignments
must
be
completed
for
a
passing
grade
to
be
received .
 Blackboard.com
will
be
used
to
support
the
course.
Students
will
be
expected
to
post
to
 discussions,
survey
websites,
and
complete
assignments
using
this
tool.
In
addition,
 announcements,
relevant
forms,
and
additional
course
information
will
be
posted
to
the
Blackboard
website.
2.
Journals :
Each
student
will
keep
a
journal
chronicling
their
experiences
during
student
 teaching
and
reactions
to
that
experience.

Students
will
reflect
upon
how
to
improve
their
teaching.
Students
must
have
at
least
two
entries
per
week
addressing
the
following
 questions 1 :
What
have
you
noticed
this
week?
What
has
gone
well?
What
are
you
wondering
about?
What
would
you
like
more
information
and
help
on?
3.
In‐Class
Assignments :

A
series
of
assignments
will
be
completed
and
graded.

Students
who
 are
absent
will
be
required
to
obtain
the
assignments
from
their
peers
and
complete
them
 outside
of
class.
4.
5
P’s
Assignment:
 As
a
team,
the
students
in
each
building
will
complete
an
assignment
in
 which
they
give
an
overview
of
the
culture
and
demographics
of
their
school
building.
They
 will
collect
information
throughout
their
student
teaching,
meet
as
a
group
at
least
three
 times,
submit
a
paper,
and
give
a
presentation.
More
information
will
be
forthcoming
in
 class.
Grading
Standards,
Policies,
and
Procedures:
Grading
Standards:
Letter
Grade
A
Descriptive
Criteria
 excellent
work
that
Percentage
93%
1 Students who are not currently student teaching will consult with the instructor about the content of the journal entries.

Mesmer EDCI 5204 Sp 2008 3
B
C
D
F
surpasses
typical
 expectations













 good
work
that
clearly
 meets
expectations
 satisfactory
work
that
 usually
meets
expectations
 unsatisfactory
work
that
 does
not
meet
expectations
 unsatisfactory
work
that
is
 incomplete,
does
not
meet
 expectations,
or
reflects
 little
thought
or
care
85%
77%
69%
65%
or
lower
Weight
Participation
20%
Journal
20%
5
P’s
Project
30%
In‐Class
Assignments
30%
Policies:
University
policies
It
will
be
the
practice
of
the
instructor
to
conform
to
university
policies
in
the
following
 areas:
Religious
and
Ethnic
Holidays
If
you
will
need
to
miss
class
due
to
a
religious
or
ethnic
holiday,
please
inform
the
 instructor.
A
Listing
of
2008
dates
as
maintained
by
our
office
may
be
found,
http://www.registrar.vt.edu/dates/religious_ethnic_holidays.php
Honor
Code
The
policies
and
procedures
regarding
the
Virginia
Tech
honor
code
can
be
found
at
 http://www.honorsystem.vt.edu/ .
All
student
work
must
be
pledged
with
the
following
statement:
"I
have
neither
given
nor
received
unauthorized
assistance
on
this
 assignment."
Students
with
Disabilities
Any
student
with
special
needs
or
circumstances
should
inform
the
instructor
as
soon
as
 possible.
The
policies
regarding
students
with
disabilities
can
be
found
at
http://www.ssd.vt.edu/index.htm
.

Mesmer EDCI 5204 Sp 2008 4
Responding
to
Disruptive
or
Threatening
Behavior :
Procedures
for
dealing
with
disruptive
or
threatening
student
behavior
will
be
in
 accordance
with
A
Faculty
Guide
to
Responding
to
Disruptive
or
Threatening
Behavior,
 found
at
 http://www.dos.vt.edu/images/FacultyGuide%20fall%2006.pdf
Assisting
Distressed
Student:
Faculty
guidelines
as
prepared
by
Cook
Counseling
Center
may
be
found
on
their
 website,
 http://www.ucc.vt.edu/referringstudents.htm
Policies
on
Assignments
Incomplete:
 A
grade
of
Incomplete
is
given
for
extenuating
circumstances
only.
Please
inform
the
instructor
as
soon
as
possible
if
you
have
such
a
circumstance.

Do
not
 wait
until
the
end
of
the
semester
or
until
after
you
have
failed
to
turn
in
several
 assignments
to
ask
for
an
Incomplete.
Assignment
Formatting:
 All
assignments
should
be
typed,
using
standard
12‐point
font.
Assignments
should
reflect
Standard
English
punctuation,
usage,
grammar,
and
spelling.
Assignments
with
3
or
more
spelling
errors
will
be
penalized.
Students
with
extreme
difficulties
in
these
areas
will
be
asked
to
seek
writing
support.

 Proofread
your
work
by
 having
someone
read
it
or
by
reading
it
out
loud.
Policy
on
Attendance:
Attendance:

Consistent
 attendance
is
a
minimal
requirement
for
this
course.
Students
will
 attend
all
classes
on
time
and
remain
in
class
for
the
entire
instructional
time.

Students
will
 be
required
to
sign
themselves
into
class
on
the
daily
attendance
sheet.

Not
signing
the
 sheet
may
constitute
an
absence.

Students
may
sign
 only 
themselves
into
the
class.
Once
a
 student
has
 missed
3
classes
the
final
grade
may
be
affected.

 All
absences
cause
students
 to
miss
essential
instruction.
Please
take
into
account
unforeseen
events
(e.g.
illness,
family
emergencies,
etc.)
in
planning
your
attendance.
Inclement
Weather: 
If
the
weather
should
make
driving
potentially
hazardous,
the
course
 may 
not
meet.
Students
will
be
informed
via
e‐mail
or
may
call
the
instructor’s
voicemail
after
2
pm
to
hear
a
recorded
message.
Text
Materials:
 
The
reading
materials
listed
below
will
provide
a
focus
for
the
course
and
 information
useful
for
class
discussions,
activities
and
projects.
Wong,
H.
K.
&
Wong,
R.
T.
(2004).

 The
First
Days
of
School:
How
to
be
an
effective
teacher.
Mountain
View,
CA:
Harry
Wong
Publications.
Readings
and
articles
posted
to
Blackboard