KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
BAGWELL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
FALL 2013
I.
COURSE TITLE: ECE 7900 – Competence in the Preparation and Presentation of
Language Materials
II.
INSTRUCTOR: Feland L. Meadows, Ph.D.
PHONE: 678-797-2161
FAX:
678-797-2199
OFFICE: 3391 Town Pointe Parkway, Suite #4120
fmeadows@kennesaw.edu
III.
CLASS MEETINGS: August - December, 2013; Mondays and Wednesdays 5:00-6:15
IV.
TEXTS:
Required Texts:
Fischer, Kurt W., Gernsteir, Jane Holmes & Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen, Eds. 2007. Mind, Brain,
and Education in Reading Disorders. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Spalding, Romalda B. 1990. The Writing Road to Reading, New York, N.Y.: Harper-Collins.
Feifer, Steven G. & De Fina, Philip A. 2000. The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders.
Middletown, MD: School Neuropsych Press, LLC.
Feifer, Steven G. & De Fina, Philip A. 2002. The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders.
Middletown, MD: School Neuropsych Press, LLC.
V.
PURPOSE/RATIONALE:
Most of the research based language materials that are presented in ECE 7730 are instructor made
materials that have been designed by language specialists for use in offering developmentally
appropriate language arts presentations to young children. The structured sequence of activities that
children can carry out with these language materials has proven to be outstandingly successful.
Children begin to use the sensorial and language and cultural vocabulary enrichment materials as
early as 2.5 years of age and go on to master phonemic awareness and sound/symbol association
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when they are 3. These skills lead to letter analysis and subsequently to the synthesis of reading. As
a result, many children, who have the opportunity to work with these materials, are well on their way
toward the mastery of writing and reading skills by the time they are 4 and 5 years of age. They will
also start using the math language materials by the time they are 4. Because these very effective
materials are not available from any other source, candidates learn to make them and invest a great
deal of time and effort in practicing effective ways to present them to young children. The materials
that candidates make in this course can then be used as models that can be duplicated for use with
several classes of children in the Centers or Schools where they are employed.
VI.
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Students will manufacture and practice presenting the many materials designed by language
specialists for use in offering developmentally appropriate language arts presentations to young
children. These materials are not available from Montessori suppliers so each teacher prepares them
for his/her own classroom. Students will practice with the materials to develop and refine the skills
they need to give language presentations to young children effectively. Students will create a
portfolio of selected examples of more than 70 language materials that can be duplicated for use in
the classrooms where they will be employed. This course includes an extensive field experience.
Verification of professional liability insurance is required prior to placement in the field.
(This course still appears as ECE 7731 in the Catalog but was changed to ECE 7900 because
ECE 7731 had been used previously for a different course.)
VII.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK SUMMARY:
Collaborative Development of Expertise in Teaching and Learning
The Professional Teacher Education Unit (PTEU) at Kennesaw State University is committed to
developing expertise among candidates in initial and advanced programs as teachers and leaders who
possess the capability, intent and expertise to facilitate high levels of learning in all of their students
through effective, research-based practices in classroom instruction, and who enhance the structures
that support all learning. To that end, the PTEU fosters the development of candidates as they
progress through stages of growth from novice to proficient to expert and leader. Within the PTEU
conceptual framework, expertise is viewed as a process of continued development, not an end-state.
To be effective, teachers and educational leaders must embrace the notion that teaching and learning
are entwined and that only through the implementation of validated practices can all students
construct meaning and reach high levels of learning. In that way, candidates are facilitators of the
teaching and learning process. Finally, the PTEU recognizes values and demonstrates collaborative
practices across the college and university and extends collaboration to the community-at-large.
Through this collaboration with professionals in the university, the public and private schools, parents
and other professional partners, the PTEU meets the ultimate goal of assisting Georgia schools in
bringing all students to high levels of learning.
Philosophy of Montessori Classroom Management
The Montessori classroom is a carefully Prepared Environment in which a rich array of graded,
structured materials that are related to both the curriculum areas and the children’s stages of
development are available for presentation one-on-one to each child by the teacher. Teachers
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prepare individualized education plans for every child based upon their observation of the child’s
interests and level of development. As a result, children are happy and are much more engaged in
their work than children in classrooms where there is only one lesson plan for the entire class and
some of the children misbehave because they are either bored or do not understand what is going on!
In a Montessori multiage classroom a great deal of positive peer modeling is taking place that
benefits the younger children. The older children, who have been in that class with that teacher for
one or two years, have a very positive influence upon the younger children in the class. Thus, the
younger children quickly learn to emulate the peaceful disposition and the orderly behavior of their
older peers. As a result, Montessori teachers do not have to resort to the “Positive Reinforcement”
and other kinds of teacher imposed “behavior management” strategies that teachers find it necessary
to use in other kinds of classrooms.
VII. DIVERSITY:
A variety of materials and instructional strategies will be employed to meet the needs of the different
learning styles of diverse learners in class. Candidates will gain knowledge as well as an
understanding of differentiated strategies and curricula for providing effective instruction and
assessment within multicultural classrooms. One element of course work is raising candidate
awareness of critical multicultural issues. A second element is to cause candidates to explore how
multiple attributes of multicultural populations influence decisions in employing specific methods
and materials for every student. Among these attributes are age, disability, ethnicity, family
structure, gender, geographic region, giftedness, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and
socioeconomic status. An emphasis on cognitive style differences provides a background for the
consideration of cultural context.
Kennesaw State University provides program accessibility and accommodations for persons defined
as disabled under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990. A number of services are available to support candidates with disabilities within their
academic program. In order to make arrangements for special services, candidates must visit the
Office of Disabled Student Support Services (ext. 6443) and develop an individual assistance plan.
In some cases, certification of disability is required.
IX.
USE OF TECHNOLOGY:
Integrated Use of Technology: The Bagwell College of Education recognizes the importance of
preparing future educators and K-12 students to develop technology skills that enhance learning,
personal productivity, decision making, their daily activities in the 21st century. As a result, the
ISTE NETS*T Technology Standards for Teachers are integrated throughout the teacher preparation
program enabling teacher candidates to explore and apply best practices in technology enhanced
instructional strategies.
Specific technologies used within this course include exploration and use of instructional media,
especially microcomputers, to assist candidates in their acquisition and understanding of the
importance of movement in the education of young children. Candidates will also develop skills in
the use of productivity tools such as multimedia, local-net and Internet, and will feel confident to
design multimedia presentations, use and create www resources, and develop an electronic learning
portfolio.
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Uses of Technology in the Montessori Teacher Education Program
Students bring their notebook computers to class where they are given documents for 6 Student
Manuals which contain the essential information about every material and presentation that they will
learn to give over the two year period of study. Each of the presentation texts has a section in which
students can key in their description and understanding of each of the more than 1,250 presentations
that the Instructors will model for them in class.
Students are required to search internet sources for information related to certain themes that their
Instructors present in class. They also must search for picture resources with which to illustrate
certain aspects of their teachers’ manuals and to use in the manufacture of Sensorial, Language,
Mathematics and Science teaching/learning materials that they will use with the children.
X.
COURSE GOALS/OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, candidates will have:
1. carefully manufactured the assigned materials in class;
2.carefully manufactured the assigned materials on their own;
3. practiced all of the presentations with these materials;
4. participated in all required fieldwork experiences.
Candidates will also:
1. demonstrate their ability to design the learning environment by ordering and structuring the instructor made
language materials correctly on the classroom shelves;
2. demonstrate their ability to assess the developmental needs of children they observe;
3. correctly present the developmentally appropriate instructor made language materials in the correct
sequence to children in the classroom.
MACTE Competencies to be achieved in this course:
1. a, b;
2. b, c;
3. a, b, c, d, e.
XI.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Classroom attendance and participation is absolutely essential to success in this course. According to
KSU policy, every student is expected to attend all class sessions and related field experiences.
Furthermore, the accreditation of this program by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher
Education (MACTE) requires that candidates attend a minimum of 90% of all classes in every course
of the program. The Pan American Montessori Society (PAMS) requires the same attendance
minimum for International Certification.
The only excused absences are documented personal illness, military duty, or jury duty.
Any unexcused absence will result in the lowering of the student’s grade. A candidate that is absent
more than 10% of the time will be required to repeat the course in order to qualify for international
certification.
Professional conduct requires that each candidate show respect for others. This includes coming to
class on time, staying for the entire class period, and cooperating with colleagues in class. In the
event of an absence, the candidate is responsible for all material, assignments, and announcements
presented in class.
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XII.
REQUIREMENT/ASSIGNMENTS:
1) Class participation
Paying careful attention to modeling and presentation of strategies and techniques for the
manufacture of the instructor-made language materials in class is important, because we believe that
learning is an interactive endeavor which requires the presence and participation of all class members
to facilitate learning. All candidates are required to review related chapters of the textbooks that deal
with the preparation and presentation of the language materials before the class meetings.
2) The careful manufacture of a selection of the following materials during class time.
Key word alphabet cards, initial sound boards and pictures, object matching pictures, matching
pictures, 3 part matching cards, definition cards, science booklets for Language, Art, Music,
Geography, History and Science. Stand up cards, alphabet booklets, transitional alphabets, illustrated
labels, short vowel box cards and labels. Long vowel box cards, labels, word slips, word booklets,
and sentence slips. Diphthong box cards and labels. Murmuring diphthong box cards and labels.
Word family lists, compound word lists, puzzle word lists and scrolls, useful words lists and labels,
rhyming words objects and matching cards and labels. Homonym and homograph lists, objects and
matching cards. Classified vocabulary lists of animals, vegetables and minerals. Home environment
classified nomenclature with objects and labels. School environment classified vocabulary labels.
Blends and digraphs with objects and labels. Double consonant lists and special spelling words
lists/control cards. Poetry booklets and classified reading boards.
3) The careful manufacture of a selection of the following materials on your own.
Animals and their voices, habitats, groups and young boards with cards; gender and number boards
and cards; verb boards; noun family chart; verb family chart; parts of speech chart; definitions of
parts of speech chart; family board; word/picture boards; who lives in this house; who am I booklets;
picture/letter cards; missing letter alphabets; objects and their uses cards and labels; phonetic object
cabinet with materials; illustrated cards for moveable alphabet sentence writing; cut sentence cards;
botanical control cards; botanical matching cards; geographical control charts; land and water forms
and cards; continent cards; continent folders; peace curriculum materials.
4) The careful manufacture of all of the Sensorial Language Materials, all of the Math
Materials and five of the Cultural Language Materials.
5) Conduct a research project leading to the design and manufacture of a creative, new
Practical Life material to be presented for review and evaluation by the class members.
6) Practice all of the presentations with these materials
a) Conduct an analysis of movement related to each presentation.
b) Practice, practice, practice with the materials daily.
c) Attend the three hour supervised practice session every week.
d) Present materials and teaching strategies to classmates.
e) Have your classmates serve as your control of error.
f) Be prepared to demonstrate your acquired skills in presenting materials with children.
7) Participate in all required fieldwork experiences
a) Develop your ability to observe child behavior with understanding in the light of the knowledge
and insights you have gained in this course.
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b) Observe one child and prepare an observation which includes his/her attitude in the class, the
selection of activities, work or failure to work, competence in the work selected, and demeanor
after completing the work, plus other aspects of the situation that you have observed as pertinent to
the situation.
Assignments: All of the materials that you will manufacture should represent your best efforts to
produce high quality, graduate level work. Use the Meadows Font to make your materials.
1. Place your name and the date on the back of all of your materials.
2. Late Work: Assignments are considered late if not turned in during class on the due date.
There will be a 10% deduction of total possible points for each day that work is late.
Assignments are always accepted early.
Tests: All tests must be taken on the day and time they are scheduled. No rescheduling of
tests/quizzes will occur.
XIII.
EVALUATION AND GRADING:
1) Class participation
2) Manufacture of materials in class
3) Manufacture of materials on your own
4) Practice with Materials
5) Field Work Reports
10
35
35
10
10
Total 100
Grades will be assigned as follows:
91-100
81-90
71-80
61- 70
0 - 60
A
B
C
D
F
XIV. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as
published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct
addresses the University’s policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism
and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of
University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library
materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student
identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the
established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal”
resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which
may subject a student to the Code of Conduct’s minimum one semester suspension requirement.
XV. DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR:
The University has a stringent policy and procedure for dealing with behavior that disrupts the
learning environment. Consistent with the belief that your behavior can interrupt the learning of
others, behavior fitting the University’s definition of disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Refer
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to the Kennesaw State University Undergraduate Catalog, 2003-2004, pages 314-315 for further
details.
Other General Policies and Regulations of Student Life have been developed by Kennesaw State
University. These policies (Handling Student Code of Conduct Violations at KSU) include:
1Academic Misconduct, 2) Disruptive Behavior, 3) Sexual Assault, are found on pages 240-244 of
the 2003-2004 Kennesaw State University Undergraduate Catalog.
It is expected, in this class, that no professional should need reminding of any of these policies but
the policies are there for your consideration. The activities of this class will be conducted in both the
spirit and the letter of these policies.
XVI. COURSE OUTLINES:
Weeks 1 and 2 - Make a selection of 70 Language materials that you will manufacture.
Weeks 3, 4, 5 and 6 – Manufacture all of the Language Materials to be made in class. Practice
presentations with these Language Materials.
Weeks 7, 8 and 9 – Manufacture all of the Language Materials to be made on your own. Practice
with your Language Materials.
Weeks 10 and 11 – Manufacture eight of the Sensorial Language Materials and practice with them.
Weeks 12 and 13 – Manufacture eight of the Math Materials and practice with them.
Weeks 14 and 15 – Manufacture five of the Cultural Language Materials and practice with them.
Week 16 – Present your completed materials for faculty evaluation.
XVII. REQUIRED READINGS:
Required readings will be assigned in texts listed above.
XVIII. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH REFERENCES:
No additional references are required.
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