WKU Course Syllabus
Course Title: Principles of Teaching (WKU EDU 250)
Instructor: Marilyn L. Edwards
Contact Information: marilyn.edwards@barren.kyschools.us 270-651-6315
Course Resources: WKU textbook, etc. Three Ring Binder and Journal.
Course Objective and/or Description:
This course provides opportunities for students with an interest in teaching to develop
skills, strategies, and techniques used for instruction at various grade levels. Instruction
addresses the principles and procedures for promoting the physical, emotional, social, and
intellectual development of children, adolescents and developmentally appropriate
practices in educational settings. Students will gain work experience in classrooms with
certified teachers as part of their course work. Other components include the
development of a four-year-post-secondary plan, salaries and benefits of a teachers, job
security, and future projections of the job market. Leadership experiences will be
provided thorough student organizations (e.g., co-curricular, extra-curricular).
Units of Study:
Unit 1 Teacher Preparation and Effectiveness
Preparation: Becoming a Teacher
Teacher Effectiveness
Observing Teachers in Action
Unit 2 Foundations of Education
Ethics standards and confidentiality Expectations
Development of School Education Past and Present
School Laws
Educational Philosophies
School Reform Issues
Unit 3 Curriculum and Assessment
What is taught in schools?
How is school curriculum developed?
What methods can be used to assess student learning?
How can teachers develop high quality classroom assessments?
How can teachers manage CTE student organizations and FEA
Organizations?
What forces shape curriculum development?
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course
Unit 4 Teaching Diverse Learners
Exploration of Diversity Definition and Issues
Styles of Learning
Socioeconomic Status
Cultural Influences
Multiple Intelligences
Incorporation of Multicultural Education
Environmental Intelligence
Exceptional Learners
Teaching Diverse Individuals
Achievement Gaps
Bias
Unit 5 Education Issues and Future Teaching Opportunities for Educators
Life in Schools: Culture
School Reform Issues
Organizational: Bureaucracy
No Child Left Behind
Kentucky Educational Reform Act
Accountability Issues
Career Opportunities
Take time to become acquainted with the course and the components of the course.
Course Policies
Students are responsible for all assigned readings and are expected to actively participate
in class discussions based on information from the readings and experiences in the
field.
Course announcements will be made via electronic mail. Students are required to have an
operational WKU email address and to check email frequently for information
pertaining to the class. Email accounts other than a WKU email address cannot be
used.
The course schedule, topics, and procedures are subject to change as deemed necessary
by the instructor or in the case of extenuating circumstances.
Policy on Late Assignments:
Late assignments will result in a reduction of 5 points per day late. This includes
weekends.
It is expected that all written assignments will conform to standards of documentation,
organization, mechanics, and spelling. Assignments not meeting these standards will
result in a lower grade.
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course
Course Requirements and Assignments
1. Read chapter assignments from textbooks and other assigned readings.
2. Reflect through discussion questions in class for each reading assignment.
3. 15 hours of observations
4. Participate in all classroom activities
5. Complete portfolio entries
6. Participate in the Unite to Read Program
7. Complete a class/work portfolio
8. Complete journal writing responses to quotes, topics and observations
****In order to pass this class, the observation assignment including observation
hours and the personal philosophy paper must be completed. A failing grade will be
given if students have not completed these assignments regardless of the point total
earned in class.*****
Field and Clinical Experiences:
Students must successfully complete a minimum of 15 hours of field experiences
and 2 critical performances. Failure to successfully complete these experiences will
result in class failure. This experience will include classroom observation/work at each
level of school: early childhood/primary, intermediate, middle and high school. You
must attend one site base council meeting. The student and teacher will decide together
the level for in-depth/observation/work.
Grading Policy:
The grading for this class will be on a point system. Your grade will be
determined by dividing the number of points you have by the total number of possible
points.
Scale:
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
59-below F
This period of time has been devoted to learning. Therefore, attendance grades may also
be adjusted, for not participating actively in the class discussions, or inconsideration
including but not limited to the following:
 Inappropriate behavior (such as reading non-class-related material;
talking or whispering while someone else is speaking of some other activity
is occurring, sleeping, etc.)
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course
 Working on assignments for any class (including ours) during class
 The instructor reserves the right to further lower a student’s grade,
beyond the participation points, if a student demonstrates disregard for the
stipulations outlined above.
Semester Test Policy: Students are required to take the semester exam which counts
as part of the semester grade.
Plagiarism / Academic Dishonesty Policy: Plagiarism and academic dishonesty
are serious offenses. The academic work of a student is expected to be his/her own effort.
Students must give the author(s) credit for any source material used. To represent ideas or
interpretations taken from a source without giving credit is a flagrant act. To present a
borrowed passage after having changed a few words, even if the source is cited, is also
plagiarism. Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing
grade in that portion of the course work. Acts of academic dishonesty will be reported to
the administration.
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course