College of Education
Learn. Lead. Inspire. Transform.
EDE 6458: REFLECTIONS AND DECISION MAKING II
Contact Person for the Course:
Dr. Marie Byrd-Blake
Email: mbyrdblake@sar.usf.edu
Course Purpose
The purpose of this course is to provide students with opportunities to further their growth as
professional educators. This course will also allow students to bridge theory with practice as they
visit several public elementary schools throughout Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Students will
be required to critically compare learning from courses to what will be observed in practice. This
will allow for further development of personal philosophy statements, further understanding of the
art of teaching in theory and in practice and the bridging of prior knowledge with new knowledge.






Course Objectives
To provide you with opportunities to become familiar with current teaching practices
and to begin developing a philosophy of education based upon these existing
practices.
To provide you with opportunities to become aware of your own cultural and
individual perceptions and how these perceptions may impact on the culturally
diverse pupils in today’s schools.
To provide opportunities for small group discussions and an exchange of views
related to content of coursework in the current semester.
To help integrate learning associated with the various courses you are taking.
To enhance the development of the cohort as a learning community.
To build habits of professional reflection and colleague collaboration.
TaskStream: TaskStream is a web-based electronic portfolio required of all students in the College of Education
(COE) programs. It provides a way to submit documents, called Critical Tasks to instructors for feedback and
assessment. The COE uses these assessments to evaluate candidate progress toward meeting standards set by the
Florida Department of Education, the faculty and professional organizations. Further, the COE analyzes data from the
assessments and uses the data for program planning in order to ensure continuous improvement. Assignments
designated as Critical Tasks must be uploaded to your electronic portfolio on TaskStream and be rated with a
mean score of 3 or higher in order for you to pass the course. Remember, failure to upload the Critical Task may
result in a failing grade.
In this course the critical tasks are:
1
Essential Assignments: These are assignments that have been aligned with one or more FLDOE curriculum
requirements, i.e., ESOL standards, Reading Competencies, or Florida Teacher Competencies/Skills.
USFSM Policies
A. Web Portal Information: Every newly enrolled USF student receives an official USF e-mail
account. Students receive official USF correspondence and Blackboard course information via that
address.
B. Academic Dishonesty: The University considers any form of plagiarism or cheating on exams,
projects, or papers to be unacceptable behavior. Please be sure to review the university’s policy in the
catalog, USFSM Undergraduate Catalog or USFSM Graduate Catalog and the USF Student Code of
Conduct.
Detection of Plagiarism
http://www.cte.usf.edu/plagiarism/plag.html The University of South Florida has an account with an
automated plagiarism detection service which allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked
for plagiarism. I reserve the right to 1) request that assignments be submitted to me as electronic files and 2)
electronically submit assignments to SafeAssignment. Assignments are compared automatically with a huge
database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report
showing exactly how a student's paper was plagiarized. For more information, go to
http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0304/adadap.htm#plagiarism.
C. Academic Disruption: The University does not tolerate behavior that disrupts the learning process.
The policy for addressing academic disruption is included with Academic Dishonesty in the catalog:
USFSM Undergraduate Catalog or USFSM Graduate Catalog and the USF Student Code of Conduct.
D. Contingency Plans: In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USFSM to suspend normal
operations. During this time, USFSM may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that
include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate
schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course
specific communication, and the main USFSM and College websites, emails, and MoBull messages for
important general information. The USF hotline at 1 (800) 992-4231 is updated with pre-recorded
information during an emergency. See the Safety Preparedness Website for further information.
E. Disabilities Accommodation: Students are responsible for registering with the Office of Students
with Disabilities Services (SDS) in order to receive academic accommodations. Reasonable notice
must be given to the SDS office (typically 5 working days) for accommodations to be arranged. It is
the responsibility of the student to provide each instructor with a copy of the official Memo of
Accommodation. Contact Information: Pat Lakey, Coordinator, 941-359-4714, plakey@sar.usf.edu,
www.sarasota.usf.edu/Students/Disability/
F. Fire Alarm Instructions: At the beginning of each semester please note the emergency exit maps
posted in each classroom. These signs are marked with the primary evacuation route (red) and
secondary evacuation route (orange) in case the building needs to be evacuated. See Emergency
Evacuation Procedures.
G. Religious Observances: USFSM recognizes the right of students and faculty to observe major
religious holidays. Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class for a major
religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second week
of classes. Instructors canceling class for a religious observance should have this stated in the syllabus
with an appropriate alternative assignment.
Course Grading
2
This is a pass ~ fail course. Full participation is required in order to receive a passing grade.
Missing a class is not acceptable. If a class is missed a conversation will need to take place with
the instructor. If two or more classes are missed, the student must reschedule this course for
another semester.
Course Requirements

Reflective Analysis
*Critical Task*
Students are required to write a reflective analysis based on each public school visit. The reflective
analysis will be due one week prior to the next class. Each analysis must be written in APA 5th
Edition format under the following guidelines: 12 Point New Times Roman Font, Title Page,
Running head, reference page including the school website and any other materials.
Below are the required guidelines for each Reflective Analysis:



A description of the school visited, the administrators and teachers
encountered and the students observed. Students must visit each school’s
website (included in the syllabus) prior to the visit to obtain background
information on each school.
A discussion of beliefs held prior to the school visit and what is known or
confirmed as a result of the school visit
The relationship between information acquired during the visit to concepts
learned during courses at USF-SM. With the exception of the students
enrolled in the part-time program, each course must be addressed:
o EDE 6326-Planning & Organizing: Instructional Strategies
o EDE 6458 -Reflecting on Instructional Decision-Making I
o EDF 6125-Child Development
o SCE 4310-Teaching Elementary Science
o
ESOL I-Teaching Limited English Proficiency Students in K-12
o EDE 6506 -Classroom Management, Safety, Ethics, Law
o EDE 6548 -Reflecting on Instructional Decision-Making II
o ESOL 2:-Second Language and Literacy Acquisition
o MAE 6117-Teaching Elementary School Mathematics
The six required Reflective Analysis assignments must three written pages (not including the title
page and reference page). Of course, exceptions to the page requirement will be granted depending
on the content of each analysis.
Schedule of School Visits
o Bayhaven School of the Basics Plus
2901 West Tamiami Circle
3
Sarasota, Florida 34234
(941) 359-5800
http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/bayhaven/
Reflective Analysis due: via Blackboard
o Island Village Montessori School South Campus
Pinebrook Road
Venice, FL 34292
(941) 484 - 4999
http://www.islandvillage.org/
Reflective Analysis due: via Blackboard
o Emma E. Booker Elementary School
2350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Sarasota, Florida 34234
(941) 361- 6480
http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/Emma/
Reflective Analysis due: via Blackboard
o Samoset Elementary School
3300 19th Street East
Bradenton, FL 34208
(941) 708 – 6400
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/
Reflective Analysis due: via Blackboard
o Rogers Garden Elementary School
515 13th Avenue West
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 209 – 7540
http://www.schools.manatee.k12.fl.us/webdisk/831ROGARWEB/iweb/Site_2/
Welcome.html
Reflective Analysis due: Blackboard
o Palmetto Elementary School
834 7th Street West
Palmetto, Florida 34221
(941) 723 – 4822
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmetto/Welcome.html
Reflective Analysis due via Blackboard
4
Semester:
Student U-Number:
Assessment Criteria – Continuous
Improvement
Assessor:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Unacceptable
Marginal
Proficient
Advanced
Exceptional
Score
Identifies principles and strategies for affecting changes
occurring in her/his classroom and school.
Uses data from her/his own learning environments as a
basis for reflecting upon and experimenting with personal
teaching practices.
Participates in the design of a personal professional
development plan to guide her/his own improvement.
Assessment Criteria – Diversity
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Unacceptable
Marginal
Proficient
Advanced
Exceptional
Score
Recognizes the cultural, linguistic, and experiential
diversity of students.
Provides learning situations which will encourage the
student to practice skills and gain knowledge needed in a
diverse society.
Assessment Criteria – Role of the Teacher
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Unacceptable
Marginal
Proficient
Advanced
Exceptional
Uses continuous quality improvement techniques in
school improvement efforts.
Develops short- and long-term personal and professional
goals relating to the roles of a teacher.
5
Score