Longwood University
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science
MATH 482 (Directed Teaching in the Secondary School, Fall 2011)
Instructor:
Dr. Wendy Hageman Smith
Email: smithwh@longwood.edu
Office: 346 Ruffner; Phone 434-395-2992
Math Office: 395-2194
Class Time: M & W During Placement School times
OFFICE HOURS
Dr. Hageman Smith – OFFICE HOURS
Monday and Wednesday; 3:00-4:00
Tuesday &Thursday; 3:30-4:30
Friday: by appointment
Texts:
There is no assigned textbook for this course. The handbook provided to the student by the Office
of Professional Services during orientation for student teaching will become the guide for student
teaching activities and reporting schema for the class.
Course Dates & Times
The course corresponds with the student teaching placement dates (see listed timeline for specific
activity and assignment dates throughout semester). The student teacher meets classes during the
regularly scheduled class times and calendar dates of the placement school. Student teachers should
follow the school division calendar and must contact cooperating teacher(s), course supervisor, and/or
follow prescribed school procedures if absent for any reason.
You should be in contact with me, via email, within the first two days of your placement. Contact
and conversations with me should then ensue weekly via email.
Course Description:
This course is required of all students seeking Secondary Teaching Licensure in Mathematics. Each
student is assigned to work with a qualified cooperating teacher in a selected school setting. The student
teacher will follow the schedule of the cooperating teacher. 12 credits. SP Offered as needed. Fulfills
General Education Goal 15. Prerequisite: Completion of all methods courses, passing score on the
PraxisII test, and a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.
Course Objectives:
This course provides the framework for the secondary mathematics student teaching experience for
students who plan to pursue teacher licensure in secondary mathematics. Thus, a main goal of the
course is to aid student teachers in developing effective teaching practices through a reflective teacher
model. As a result of this course, students should:
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Develop good professional habits required for becoming an effective teacher
Gain experience in mathematics problem-solving, communication, & reasoning through the
perspective of a teacher of secondary mathematics
Refine pedagogical notions of teaching school mathematics through structured assignments
designed to engage critical thinking of teaching and learning school mathematics
Complete a Teacher Work Sample based on a planned unit for one placement class
Design lessons that use hands-on activities and multiple teaching strategies to meet the needs of all
learners in all placement classes
Communicate mathematical ideas orally and in writing
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Re-examine mathematical concepts from the perspective of a teacher that can help students learn
meanings of essential ideas for secondary school mathematics
Examine and analyze state and national standards for the teaching of mathematics as related to
teaching placements
In accordance with the requirements of OPS: The teacher candidate in a clinical experience (student
teaching) placement will be able to:
1. Know, understand, and use the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to
development of children and young adolescents to construct learning opportunities that support
individual students’ development, acquisition of knowledge, and motivation (NCATE Standards)
2. Demonstrate a high level of competence in use of English language arts and know, understand, and
use concepts from reading, language and child development to teach reading, writing, speaking,
viewing, listening, and thinking skills and help students successfully apply their developing skills
to many different situations, materials and ideas (NCATE Standards)
3. Know, understand, and use fundamental concepts of physical, life and earth/space sciences to
design and implement age-approprirate inquiry lessons to teach science, to build student
understanding for personal and social applications, and to convey the nature of science (NCATE
Standards)
4. Know, understand and use the major concepts and procedures that define number and operations,
algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis and probability so they consistently engage in
problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, connections, and representation (NCATE
Standards)
5. Know, understand, and use the major concepts and methods of inquiry from the social studies—the
integrated study of history, geography, the social sciences, and other related areas—to promote
elementary students’ abilities to make informed decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse
democratic society and interdependent world (NCATE Standards)
6. Know, understand, and use—as appropriate to their own understanding and skills—the content,
functions, and achievements of the performing arts (dance, music, theater) and the visual arts as
primary media for communication, inquiry, and engagement among elementary students (NCATE
Standards)
7. Know, understand, and use the major concepts in the subject matter of health education to create
opportunities for student development and practice of skills that contribute to good health (NCATE
Standards)
8. Know, understand, and use—as appropriate to their own understanding and skills—human
movement and physical activity as central elements to foster active, healthy lifestyles and enhanced
quality of life for elementary students (NCATE Standards)
9. Plan and implement instruction based on knowledge of students, learning theory, connections
across the curriculum, curricular goals, and community (NCATE Standards)
10. Understand how elementary students differ in their development and approaches to learning, and
create instructinoal opportunities that are adapted to diverse students (NCATE Standards)
11. Understand and use a variety of teaching strategies that encourage elementary students’
development of critical thinking and problem solving (NCATE Standards)
12. Use their knowledge and understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior among
students at the K-6 level to foster active engagement in learning, self motivation, and positive
social interaction and to create supportive learning environments (NCATE Standards)
13. Use their knowledge and understanding of effective verbal, nonverbal and media communication
techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the elementary
classroom (NCATE Standards)
14. Know, understand, and use formal and informal assessment strategies to plan, evaluate, and
strengthen instruction that will promote continuous intellectual, social, emotional, and physical
development of each elementary student (NCATE Standards)
15. Aware of and reflect on their practice in light of research on teaching, professional ethics, and
resources available for professional learning; will continually evaluate the effects of their
professional decisions and actions on students, families, and other professionals in the learning
community and actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally (NCATE Standards)
16. Know the importance of establishing and maintaining a positive collaborative relationship with
families, school colleagues, and agencies in the larger community to promote the intellectual,
social, emotional, physical growth and well-being of children (NCATE Standards)
17. Effectively use multiple representations and explanataions of disciplinary concepts that capture key
ideas and link them to students’ prior understandings (INTASC Principle 1a)
18. Evaluate teaching resources and curriculum materials for their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and
usefulness for representing particular ideas and concepts (INTASC Principle 1c)
19. Use teaching approaches that are sensitive to the multiple experiences of learners and that address
different learning and performance modes (INTASC Principle 3b)
20. Seek to understand students’ families, cultures, and communities, and use this information as a
basis for connecting instruction to students’ experiences (INTASC Principle 3e)
21. Carefully evaluate how to achieve learning goals, choose alternative teaching strategies and
materials to achieve different instructional purposes and to meet student needs (INTASC Principle
4a)
22. Monitor and adjust strategies in response to learner feedback (INTASC Principle 4c)
23. Maximize the amount of class time spent in learning by creating expectations and processes for
communication and behavior along with physical setting conducive to classroom goals (INTASC
Principle 5d)
24. Use a variety of formal and informal assessment techniques to enhance her or his knowledge of
learners, evaluate students’ progress and performances, and modify teaching and learning
strategies (INTASC Principle 8a)
25. Participate in collegial activities designed to make the entire school a productive learning
environment (INTASC Principle 10a)
26. Make links with the learners’ other environments on behalf of the students by consulting with
parents, counselors, teachers of other classes and activities within the schools, and professionals in
other community agencies (INTASC Principle 10b)
27. Talk with and listen to the student, investigate situations, and seek outside help as needed and
appropriate to remedy problems (INTASC Principle 10e)
28. Act as an advocate for students (INTASC Principle 10f)
UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR VISITS
Throughout the semester, you will be visited a minimum of eight times (additional visits
determined on an “as needed basis”) using the following general guide:
Observation 1: Informal observation
Scheduled within the first two weeks of the class.
This first observation needs to be coordinated by you and your cooperating teacher. The meeting
should include you, the principle, your cooperating teacher, and me so we can discuss everyone’s
responsibilities. I will give to your cooperating teacher a copy of the handbook for cooperating teachers
issued by Longwood’s OPS at that time.
Observation 2 – 8
Class/Lesson observation
Observation of a specific planned lesson
I would like you to contact me via email prior to each visit so we can decide which days in the week
and time(s) are suitable for me to come and observe your teaching.
For each observation we will review a copy of my observation notes and feedback through a brief
post-observation conference. Each Class/Lesson observation will be evaluated using the Longwood
University (OPS) evaluation form.
For the semester, each time I come to visit you in the classroom, I would like to walk away with a
copy of the lesson plan for that day. I will give you feedback on the lesson plan you give to me by the
end of that day. Lesson plans will be graded on a completion basis only. Be sure to use whatever
format for lesson plans are required at the school in which you are placed to teach.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENTS (Specific guidelines and scoring guides are attached
to specific templates.)
1) Teacher Work Sample (TWS – 80 points total) – a unit plan that includes a detailed analysis of
student demographics, instructional design and assessment, and self-evaluation; follow the
Secondary Math TWS guide to complete all needed parts of the TWS.
2) Portfolio (100 points total) – a portfolio will be compiled as a way to illustrate your student
teaching experience and provide artifacts that may be used during your job search. The portfolio
will be turned in to me two weeks prior to the end of the semester and should include all of the
following:
o Lesson Plans (30 points total)– Lesson plans should be completed as a regular part of effective
teaching. Individual lesson planning can be completed using the Longwood planning format
and/or any format used by the cooperating school district. Compile lesson plans in a
notebook/binder that is easily accessible.
o Reflective Journal Writings (15 points total) – weekly reflections of experiences, teaching, and
thinking about mathematics content partially based on weekly logs; a total of ten weekly
reflections will be submitted in your portfolio.
o Standards-based Resources (15 points total) – short summaries of five resources (chosen
throughout student teaching) that relate to specific portions of the NCTM Standards.
o Math Content Analyses (20 points total) – two written analyses (and a short summary) of your
professional growth related to the teaching and learning of a specific mathematics content idea
chosen from two different lessons that you teach; completed on-going throughout placement.
o Final Reflective Summary (20 points total) – a final reflective paper that addresses your overall
experience in terms of your own growth as a teacher and as a life-long learner of mathematics
Final Grade (Percentage out of a total of 100 points)
The ten-point grading scale will be applied for final grade percentages as follows:
A ≈ 90 – 100
B ≈ 80 – 89 C ≈ 70 – 79 D ≈ 60 – 69
F ≈ below 60
In general, the achievement of a student in a course indicates the following:
A: Superior work
B: Above average work
C: Average work
D: Below average
I’m sure you have all seen this scaling and description before, but what does it mean?
I will award a grade of A only to a student who meets every standard of learning in the course, and who
in addition consistently exhibits excellence in their work. Absent consistent excellence, I award a B to
the student who meets every standard. I award a C to the student who has met most of the standards of
learning, but continues to struggle in acquiring some key skills or concepts. I award a grade of D to a
student who is capable but appears, based on their performance and effort, unable to commit themselves
to achieving a minimum acceptable standard. I reserve a failing grade only for those students who do
not meet minimum standards of learning, and who seem unable to do so at the level of the course. This
indicates that the student must, if he or she is to continue to pursue the same educational goals, be
prepared to repeat coursework and – most critical – thoughtfully reexamine their goals and priorities
with an eye towards reinventing themselves as a student.
Other Reminders
 Please contact me in any situation for which you feel that you need assistance in working with the
school and/or cooperating teacher(s). This usually is a great experience, but can be stressful in
some situations. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR ANY REASON THAT REQUIRES MY
ASSISTANCE. [540.818.5458]
 You are required to complete and submit online (through OPS) three reports: Teacher Candidate
Survey, Clinical Experience Diversity Report, and Impact on Student Learning Report (from TWS
data)
 Don’t forget that teacher licensure is granted by the Virginia Department of Education through
Longwood upon completion of all Longwood requirements AND other Department of Education
requirements (Praxis tests, payment of fees, etc..)
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
It is imperative that teacher candidates follow the schedule of the assigned cooperating teacher(s).
If the teacher candidate has an unexpected emergency or illness, s/he must follow the established protocol
to report the absence to the cooperating teacher(s), school, and Longwood representative(s) as far in
advance as possible so other arrangements can be made. The teacher candidate is responsible for making
up any missed time and should coordinate those plans with the cooperating teacher and Longwood
representative(s).
HONOR CODE STATEMENT:
The Longwood University Honor Code prohibits lying, cheating, stealing, and plagiarism. Students
are expected to abide by this code at all times. All written work submitted in this course must be pledged,
meaning that students are to do their own independent work unless an assignment is clearly designated as
collaborative.
Schedule Outline
Note: This schedule is tentative, small changes may be made to this schedule through the semester,
according to how the class progresses, and will be announced before any changes to the syllabus are
initiated.
Week
ACTIVITY
ASSIGNMENTS
August 22
Start “work” as student teacher
Finding and reading school
information & making contact with
cooperating teacher(s)
Meet with cooperating teacher,
supervisor, and school principle.
Observe in all assigned classes &
make informal connections with
students; work with coop. teacher to
“get to know” classes. Begin
planning lessons with coop. teacher
and perform “daily class duties” (take
roll, aid teacher with class activities,
grade papers, …).
Continue planning lessons with
coop. teacher and perform “daily
class duties” (take roll, aid teacher
with class activities, grade papers,
…)
Read through syllabus,
assignment information, &
clinical experience handbook;
contact instructor with questions
Begin to set-up portfolio; Work
on “class assignments” Choose
first class(es) to teach (choose
class to be used for TWS) and
begin to collect contextual factors
data & ideas for unit plan
Aug 29
September 5
Sept 12
BEGIN TO TEACH 1 – 2 CLASSES
as recommended by cooperating
teacher. Continue planning lessons
with coop. teacher and teaching
classes; can begin TWS unit this
week or next
Sept 19
Follow TWS rubric for all parts
needed for completion)
Teaching & Planning Classes
Sept 26
Begin weekly reflection journals.
Work on “class assignments” and
continue work on planning and
writing for TWS (learning goals
should be completed); Begin
compiling lesson plans in
portfolio when you start to
teach
Continue work on planning and
writing for TWS (assessment plan
and large part of unit plan design
should be completed); Preassessment for TWS can be
administered any time before you
start teaching the class (see TWS
guidelines)
October 3
Teaching & Planning Classes
Oct 10
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Oct 17
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Oct 24
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Continue work on TWS data
collection
Continue work on TWS data
collection & analysis; suggested
completion of TWS by March 6
Begin compiling Standards-based
resources & think about Math
Content Analyses for portfolio
PORTFOLIO CHECK (informal
check for portfolio contents)
Continue compiling portfolio
Oct 31
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Continue compiling portfolio
November 7
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Continue compiling portfolio
Nov 14
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Nov 21
Teaching & Planning Classes.
Nov 28
BEGIN TO FINISH TEACHING at
convenience of coop. teacher
Complete all required forms for
Evaluation through OPS
Complete all required forms for
Evaluation through OPS
December 5
Final Meetings @
Longwood
Begin thinking about final
requirements for course & OPS
(Teacher Ed) submissions
Portfolio Due