EDCI 441
English Practicum
1 credit
,1C
ED
Instructor:
Office Hours:
Office Location:
Phone:
Email:
Off
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documented
ED
temporary or permanent disabilities. All accommodations must be approved through
Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Room 306 in
order to notify your instructor(s) as soon as possible regarding accommodation(s)
needed for the course.
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email at <dss@uidaho.edu>
website at <www.access.uidaho.edu>
College Vision
Idaho's Leader in Lifelong Learning and Healthy Lifestyles.
We seek teaching, learning, and living that transforms, invigorates, and nurtures. We
expand lasting knowledge centered in local and global communities.
College Mission
The University of Idaho’s College of Education is the state’s flagship and land-grant
research college focused on the preparation of professionals for schools, the movement
sciences, and workforce counselors and educators. From our commitment to develop
leaders in these fields emerges our responsibility to enhance the scientific, social,
economic, and cultural assets of the state and develop solutions for complex problems.
We deliver on our commitment through focused, interdisciplinary excellence in teaching,
research, outreach, and engagement in a collaborative environment at our residential
main campus and our regional centers. Consistent with the land-grant ideal, our outreach
activities serve the state and at the same time strengthen our teaching, scholarly, and
creative capacities.
Our teaching and learning include undergraduate, graduate and professional education
offered through both resident instruction and extended delivery. Our scholarly and
creative activities promote K-12 academic achievement, human development and
wellness, global awareness, and progress in professional practice.
Conceptual Framework
University of Idaho educators CARE. Together we develop as scholar practitioners who
value and professionally apply and advance:
Cultural Proficiency;
Assessment, Teaching, and Learning;
Reflective Scholarship & Practice; and,
Engagement in Community Building & Partnerships.
Purpose: The purpose of the practicum experience is to support students in linking practice to theory,
observing learners in classrooms, and gaining authentic experience in facilitating learning. It will
provide opportunities to observe, participate, teach a lesson, and reflect on these experiences. Students
will spend 30 hours in a classroom and participate in 15 hours of scheduled activities.
Requirements:
1) Attend all scheduled practicum times.
2)Be an active participant in the classroom and offer support when /where needed. Adhere
to the Expectations for UI students in Practicum Handbook.
3)Dress professionally for classroom setting (see Practicum Handbook)
Assignments:
1.Time Log
Complete and submit an Practicum Time Log (attached)
*the Time Log needs to show 30 completed hours.
2. Practicum Reflection Journal on BBLearn: Focused Observations, Analyses, and
Reflections on Classroom Practice
Reflect on and record your thoughts about the lessons/activities you observed for 6 journal
entries. Focus your reflection on the topics listed below. Describe what you observed during the
class regarding the topic and reflect on the strategies that you observed the teacher using. Find a
few minutes to ask the teacher to briefly discuss how he/she approaches each of these areas.
Each entry of your reflection journal should be titled with the focus topic of the reflection (if
applicable), and the date. Submit your journal entries on BBlearn by the end of each 2 week
period.
Journal Topics
1. Classroom Context for Learning: Week 1-2 –
A. About the school/class where you are teaching:
1. Where are you teaching? Describe the school and its student population.
2. List any specialized features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet,
classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher) that affects
teaching in this learning classroom.
3. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that
might impact instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific
instructional strategies, or standardized tests.
4. What are the represented socio-economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the
students? How might these influence planning, teaching and assessment?
5. What are the identified English language proficiency levels of the students? What do you
know about the students’ conversational and academic English? How do you know?
B. About the subject area/course you are observing.
1. Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your
class.
2. Identify any textbook or instructional program that is primarily used for Language
Arts/Speech instruction. If a textbook, please provide the name, publisher, and date
of publication.
3. List other resources (e.g., SmartBoard, manipulatives, on-line resources) used for
instruction in this class.
2. Instruction: Week 3-4 –
1. How does the teacher motivate and intellectually engage students in learning?
2. What does the teacher do to deepen student learning?
3. How is student thinking elicited? (List specific teacher questions or materials,
facilitated responses that supported students’ understanding of concepts.)
a. How does the teacher help students make connections between facts,
concepts, and reasoning/problem solving strategies to deepen learning?
4. What representations are used to support students’ understanding and use of
concepts?
5. Pay attention to common errors or misunderstandings for today’s topic. Note several
of these and discuss how a student might reasonably make such errors or hold such
misunderstandings.
3. Specific learning needs of students in the class: Week 5-6 –
Identify specific student learning needs within this classroom. Include high performing,
low performing students, those with behavioral issues, and students with language needs.
Talk with the teacher about specific students that you have noticed with specific learning
needs and about others that you may not have noticed. These may be formally documented
with an IEP or 504 plan, or may simply be needs that the teacher has noticed and tries to
address. During instruction, observe what the teacher does to support the learning needs
of these students. Ask the teacher to tell you about additional things he/she does that you may
not have noticed. Describe what you have observed or learned.
4. Differentiation and Support for Diverse Learning Needs: Week 6 - 7
Describe any instructional strategies used to support students with specific learning needs.
This will vary based on what you know about the students but may include students with
IEPs (individualized education programs), 504 plans, English language learners, or gifted
students needing greater support or challenge. You may need to talk with the teacher to learn
about supports that were not obvious as you observed.
5. Formative Assessment: Monitoring Student Learning: Week 8 - 9
Identify the informal and formal assessments of today’s lessons. Explain how the informal
and formal assessments provide evidence that could be used to monitor student progress
toward the standards/objectives. Consider how the assessments will provide evidence of
students’ conceptual understanding, fluency, and reasoning/problem solving skills.
Describe any modifications or accommodations to the planned assessment tools or
procedures that allow students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning. You may
need to talk with the teacher to fully understand the approach.
What feedback does the teacher provide to students about their learning and progress?
How are students encouraged to use the feedback to guide further learning?
6. Academic language: Week 9 – 10
For today’s lesson, Identify the key academic language demand and explain why it is
integral to the central focus for the segment and appropriate to students’ academic
language development.
Consider language functions and language forms, essential vocabulary, symbols, and/or
phrases for the concepts and skills being taught, and instructional language necessary for
students to understand or produce oral and/or written language within learning tasks and
activities.
Explain how planned instructional supports will assist students to understand academic
language related to the key language demand to express and develop their content
learning. Describe how planned supports vary for students at different levels of academic
language development.
3. Practicum Lesson Assignments For this assignment you will:
•Plan 3-5 Lessons (with your cooperating teacher ) that involve English instruction. The
lessons should be 30 to 60 minutes. Write up each lesson plan using the lesson plan
template provided in class. Share your plans with the teacher for critique at least a week
before teaching to allow for revision.
•Teach the lessons that you planned. (Schedule with your teacher.)
•Submit reflections on teaching the lesson.
Grade Structures
Time Log
Reflection Journal
Reflection on teaching lessons
Teacher Evaluation and Lesson Plan Evaluation
10%
25%
15%
50%
Attendance and Participation
Attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absences and chronic tardiness affect your class
participation. Two unexcused absences will result in removal from your practicum classroom
which will ultimately lead to failure of the class.