EDU 301: TEACHING METHODS
Jennifer Gonzalez, M.A., NBCT
jennifer.gonzalez@edu.edu
Cell: (800) 555-0000
Office Hours: by appointment
Fall 2016
Tuesday & Thursday
12:30 – 2:00pm
3 credits
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course emphasizes the demonstration of generic teaching strategies and
communication skills and the integration of content methodologies, including classroom management
practices, through interdisciplinary/cooperative planning. Field experiences in public schools are
required. Students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to designated or assigned
sites.
PREREQUISITES: EDU 101, EDU 201
OBJECTIVES: As a result of this course, you will be able to:

Identify, locate, and navigate through the required standards for your content area(s).

Explain the theory of backward design and use it when planning instruction.

Collaborate effectively with your colleagues to create a standards-based, interdisciplinary unit
for middle grades students using a conceptual framework.

Plan authentic lessons addressing the unique characteristics and needs of adolescent learners.

Describe at least 10 instructional strategies for use in the middle grades classroom, be able to
match them to appropriate learning scenarios, and explain the research that supports the
effectiveness of each one.

Describe at least 5 strategies for differentiating instruction to meet students’ individual needs.

Describe several effective tools for diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment in your
content area(s).

Create an effective rubric for evaluating student work.

Describe at least 10 fundamental principles of effective classroom management.

Analyze the instruction and classroom management of professionals in the field.
REQUIRED TEXTS:

Wiggins, G., and McTighe, J., Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd ed. (2005)

Tomlinson, C., How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms, 2nd ed. (2004)

Silver, H., Strong, R., Perini, M., The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based
Strategy for Every Lesson (2008)
Gonzalez, EDU 301
Fall 2016 Syllabus, Page 1 of 6
ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY: Since the development of professional behavior is one of the course
goals, attendance is essential. Each student is permitted two excused absences without penalty.
Absences, late arrivals, and early departures, for whatever reason, count as time taken from the course.
See the Professionalism grade under Course Requirements for more details.
COMMUNICATION: You are expected to check your student e-mail and our Blackboard site regularly for
grade postings and announcements regarding assignment and schedule changes. Because documents
will be distributed electronically, you must inform me immediately if there is a problem retrieving them.
Problems with due dates and exams must be discussed with me before the exam date or due date.
Student athletes and those who will not be in class due to a university activity need to turn in work prior
to leaving. The best way to reach me is through e-mail, which I check at least once a day. Leaving a voice
mail is the second-best option. If you have a concern or question you need to discuss at length, I am
available for phone or Skype appointments.
CELL PHONES, COMPUTERS, AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES: Once class has begun, use of all
electronic devices should be limited to class-related tasks such as note taking and the viewing of classrelated Internet sites. If special accommodations are necessary or special circumstances require you to
take a phone call or check text messages, please speak to me before class. Excessive use of devices for
purposes other than class work can negatively impact your Professionalism grade (see Course
Requirements for more details).
FOOD AND DRINK: Food and drinks are permitted in class as long as they do not distract others from
learning. Please clean up after yourself when you leave class.
ACCOMMODATIONS: A letter from the Office for Student Disability Services, located in Room 116 in the
Student Center, must accompany all requests for accommodations (academic adjustments, and/or
auxiliary aids or services) for this course. The OFSDS telephone number is (555) 888-0000. Testing for
disabilities may be done on campus. Please do not request accommodations directly from
professors/instructors without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.
[Reference your institution’s policy for accommodating individuals with disabilities.]
Gonzalez, EDU 301
Fall 2016 Syllabus, Page 2 of 6
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Deadlines for all assignments are listed in the course calendar at the end of this syllabus.
Reading Guides (RG) and Quizzes ........................................................................................ 250 points
This course will be reading intensive, especially in the first month. For each reading assignment, you will
either complete a reading guide (10 points), take a quiz on the day the assigned reading is due (10
points), or both. Quizzes cannot be made up due to absence, but you will be permitted to drop your
lowest quiz grade. Reading guides will be made available on Blackboard.
Lesson Plan (LP) ..................................................................................................................100 points
You will write a lesson plan using the standards for the subject and age level you plan to teach someday.
A detailed rubric and lesson plan template will be provided on Blackboard, and workshop time will be
built into our class schedule to help you do your best on this project.
Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit (IDU) ...................................................................................100 points
In a small group, you will create an integrated interdisciplinary thematic unit of study for your assigned
grade level and give a PowerPoint presentation about your unit. A rubric will be posted on Blackboard.
Fieldwork Analysis (FA) ......................................................................................................... 50 points
A 4-6 page written analysis of the instructional and management strategies you observe during your
field placements. You will receive a rubric describing the criteria for this assignment. You are required to
complete 15 hours of observation in a public school setting in order to complete this assignment AND
receive a grade for this course. See “Field Placements” on the following page for more details.
Professionalism .................................................................................................................... 50 points
The Professionalism grade will be determined based on a number of factors:

Attendance and Punctuality: 15 points. 2 absences will be excused. Every subsequent absence
will take 3 points off of this grade. 3 tardies will be counted as an absence.

Professional Behavior in Class and During Observations: 15 points. Inappropriate cell phone use,
excessive socializing, inappropriate dress during observations, and lack of attentiveness are
some examples of behaviors that can cause this score to drop.

Participation in Class: 20 points. Asking questions that move class discussion forward, giving
your best effort to every activity, doing your part to contribute to group work, and speaking up
when you are confused are all important aspects of this score.
Final Exam...................................................................................................................................... 100 points
Total
Gonzalez, EDU 301
650 points
Fall 2016 Syllabus, Page 3 of 6
GRADING: To determine your final grade in the course, I will calculate your percentage by dividing your
total earned points by the total points possible. These will be converted to letter grades as follows:
93-100% = A
84-92% = B
75-83% = C
65-74% = D
< 65% = F
ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION: All assignments should be submitted via e-mail. When you submit, please
label each assignment using your last name and first initial, followed by a hyphen and the assignment
abbreviation (for example, JonesT-LP.doc for the Lesson Plan written by Tim Jones). Abbreviations can
be found on the previous page. For items like reading guides, which will have many different
submissions with the same abbreviation, each assignment will also get a number (such as RG4).
LATE WORK: Work must be submitted on or before the due date. Late work will be penalized 10% for
each weekday (or portion of a day) that it is late. Work that is submitted with a date stamp after the due
date will be considered one day late. No work will be accepted after one week past the due date.
Reading guides will not be accepted late.
RESUBMISSIONS: In some cases, you may be given the opportunity to resubmit certain assignments.
This is not offered to students who already received an A and wish to boost their score slightly, or to
students who did not attend class when assignments were being discussed. Inattention to rubrics is also
not an acceptable reason for a rewrite. There are cases, however, when a student may need further
instruction in order to fully understand an assignment, or when completing a rewrite would result in
improved understanding of concepts. In those cases, the opportunity will be given. Your score on any rewritten assignment will be averaged with its original score to determine the final point value.
PLAGIARISM/ACADEMIC OFFENSES: “Quote from university policy on plagiarism” (University Student
Handbook). Any student found cheating or copying from another student's work, or found to have
plagiarized from other material (or using any materials for an assignment not completed by that
student) will receive a grade of 0 for the assignment in question, and may face further disciplinary action
according to university policy.
FIELD PLACEMENTS:

Students will spend at least 15 hours observing and participating in a middle grades classroom.

Criminal background check, health screening, and TB test are required prior to any work in the
schools.

At the close of the semester, students will turn in a Field Experience Log that contains the
classroom teacher’s signature as proof of each visit. A minimum of three classroom visits is
expected. We will schedule three release days from class to help you schedule your visits.

The Fieldwork Analysis is the written work based on your observations; read this assignment
carefully before beginning your observations, so you know what to look for.

Failure to complete the field experience requirement will result in an Incomplete (X) for the final
grade (departmental policy).
Gonzalez, EDU 301
Fall 2016 Syllabus, Page 4 of 6
COURSE CALENDAR
These dates are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
Day
Date
Agenda/Topic
Due on this Date
Tue
08/30
 Introductions/Syllabus review
 Please have your syllabus printed out or with you
on a laptop or other device.
Thu
09/01
 Standards: identifying, locating, and
navigating
 Student Inventory (e-mail to instructor)
 Fieldwork Analysis Overview
 Have your Interdisciplinary Unit rubric printed out
(for reference)
 Interdisciplinary Unit Overview: Form
Groups
Tue
09/06
 Backward Design
 RG1: UBD Chapter 1: Backward Design
Thu
09/08
 IDU Group Work: Learning Goals
 RG2: UBD Chapter 3: Gaining Clarity on Our Goals
Tue
09/13
 IDU Group Work: Essential Questions
 RG3: UBD Chapter 5: Essential Questions
Thu
09/15
 IDU Group Work: Assessment
 RG4: UBD Chapter 7: Thinking Like an Assessor
Tue
09/20
 Classroom Management, Part 1
 TBA
Thu
09/22
Release Day #1: Class will not meet so you can fulfill observation hours.
Tue
09/27
 IDU Group Work: Assessment
 RG5: UBD Chapter 8: Criteria and Validity
Thu
09/29
 Classroom Management, Part 2
 TBA
Tue
10/04
 IDU Group Work
 RG6: UBD Ch. 9: Planning for Learning
Thu
10/06
 Lesson Planning: Basic Structure
 RG7: Strategic Teacher Introduction
Tue
10/11
 Lesson Planning
 RG8: Strategic Teacher Mastery Strategies
Thu
10/13
Release Day #2: Class will not meet so you can fulfill observation hours.
Gonzalez, EDU 301
Fall 2016 Syllabus, Page 5 of 6
Tue
10/18
 Lesson Planning
Thu
10/20
No Class: Fall Break
Tue
10/25
 Lesson Planning
 RG10: Strategic Teacher Self-Expressive Strategies
Thu
10/27
 Lesson Planning
 RG11: Strategic Teacher Interpersonal Strategies
Tue
11/01
 Lesson Planning: Differentiation
 RG12: Tomlinson Intro-Ch. 3
Thu
11/03
Release Day #3: Class will not meet so you can fulfill observation hours.
Tue
11/08
No Class: Election Day
Thu
11/10
 Peer review of Fieldwork Analysis
 Fieldwork Analysis Rough Draft (bring hard copy to
class; no online submission)
Tue
11/15
 IDU Group Work
 RG13: Tomlinson Ch. 4-7
Thu
11/17
 IDU Group Work
 Fieldwork Analysis (FA) due
Tue
11/22
 IDU Group Work
 RG14: Tomlinson Ch. 8-10
Thu
11/24
No Class: Thanksgiving Day
Tue
11/29
 IDU Group Work
 RG15: Tomlinson Ch. 11-14
Thu
12/01
 IDU Presentations
 Interdisciplinary Unit (IDU) due for groups who
present today
Tue
12/06
 IDU Presentations
 Interdisciplinary Unit (IDU) due for groups who
present today
Thu
12/08
 Final exam review
 Field Experience Log due (no grade; required for
course credit)
Thu
12/13
Final Exam: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Gonzalez, EDU 301
 RG9: Strategic Teacher Understanding Strategies
Fall 2016 Syllabus, Page 6 of 6