CURS 4111U: Curriculum Studies – Intermediate/Senior English Language Arts II
Instructor:
Dr. Janette Hughes
Phone:
721-8668 X 2875
Office Hours: TBA
Office:
UB3032
Email:
janette.hughes@uoit.ca
Course Description
This course expands upon the foundation provided in CURS 4110U: English Curriculum
Studies I. The curriculum content will extend work already done in lesson and unit
planning and will focus on performance aspects of teaching English/Language Arts. The
course examines teaching strategies and classroom practices as they relate to oral/visual
communication, in particular the teaching of poetry, digital and media literacies, and
drama in the ELA classroom. The course will also provide an examination of current
trends and issues in the area of assessment and evaluation. The course will consist of:
 A detailed study of English/Language Arts curriculum guidelines and
requirements (7-12)
 Adolescent development related to Intermediate/Senior English
 Development of programs for student diversity
 Print and non-print material related to English/Language Arts (7-12)
 A review of the role of technology in the English/Language Arts classroom
 A review of a range of teaching strategies and assessment tools related to the
English/Language Arts classroom (7-12)
Learning Expectations or Outcomes
Upon completion of the course the candidate will:
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Demonstrate an understanding of the adolescent learner (cognitive, physical,
social and emotional) with respect to developmental change, learning differences,
and socio-cultural diversity
Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the policies and guidelines of the Ministry
of Education as they apply to teaching in the Intermediate/Senior divisions
Demonstrate an awareness of the supporting materials for the Ontario curricula,
including Profiles, Exemplars, and resources for “at risk” students
Demonstrate an understanding of evaluation based on achievement charts outlined
in current curriculum guidelines
Demonstrate an understanding of recent theoretical and critical trends in the study
and pedagogy of Intermediate/Senior English/Language Arts
Demonstrate the ability to critique curriculum resources and materials in light of
recent research in current studies
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Demonstrate an awareness of the Standards of Practice for the Teaching
Profession as outlined by the Ontario College of Teachers
Demonstrate the ability to provide a practical methodology for English/Language
Arts (7-12), supported by a theoretical framework
Demonstrate an ability to manage various current technologies
Course Web Site
The course web site in an integral part of the ongoing course instruction. The web site
contains:
 The course description
 Electronic copies of relevant articles and other text materials
 Comprehensive web resources
 Assessment and evaluation criteria
 Regular class notices and updates
No specific literature anthology or writing text is listed for this course. Candidates will be
asked to locate appropriate materials (short stories, poetry, teaching units, etc.) on the
World Wide Web or in the library for classroom application purposes. Sample weblinks
will be provided on the course web site. Weekly course readings are listed in this course
outline and most of them will be available online through the library. Others will be
provided by the instructor (if not available) or posted online. In addition, candidates will
select one major work on which to base a multi-media curriculum unit plan (a novel, a
major play, collection of poetry, etc.). The title of that work must be submitted to the
instructor for approval.
Ministry of Education Documents
Curriculum Documents and Exemplars
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/curricul.html
Resource Documents
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/resource/resource.html
Choices into Action
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/discussi/choices.pdf
Individual Education Plans
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/iep/iep.html
Policy/Program Memoranda
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/ppm.html
Other Documents and Resources
Curriculum Services Canada – Live Streaming Webcasts for Literacy and Numeracy
http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/literacy_en.html
Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession:
http://www.oct.ca/en/CollegePublications/PDF/standards.pdf
Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession:
http://www.oct.ca/en/CollegePublications/PDF/ethics.pdf
Professional Advisory:
http://www.oct.ca/en/CollegePublications/PDF/advisory100802.pdf
Course Profiles and Exemplars: http://www.curriculum.org/
Ontario Parent Council: http://www.ontarioparentcouncil.org
Suggested Supplementary (Optional) Support Items
Meeks, L. & Austin, C. (2003). Literacy in the Secondary English Classroom:
Strategies for Teaching the Way Kids Learn. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Milner & Milner. (2003). Bridging English, 3rd Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2003). Think Literacy: Cross-Curricular Approaches
Grades 7-12. Toronto: Queen’s Printer.
Strickland, K. & Strickland, J. (2002). Engaged in Learning: Teaching English, 6-12.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Web Sites
Media
http://www.media-awareness.ca/(Media Awareness Network)
http://www.gist.com(Interactive Television Guides)
http://www.canoe.ca(Canadian newspapers)
http://cbc.ca/(all of the major networks can be accessed similarly)
http://www.imdb.com(Movie database, with information, reviews, etc.)
http://script-o-rama.com(Index of film and TV scripts available on net.)
http://www.ubl.com(From Rock to Disco and Beyond — excellent.)
http://www.eonline.com(Entertainment "news coverage")
Graphic Organizers, Webs
http://www.graphic.org/concept.html
http://www.mindtools.com/mindmaps.html
Teacher’s Links
http://school.discovery.com/
http://www.classroom.net
http://www.teachnet.com
http://www.schoolnet.ca
http://encarta.msn.com/ (Encarta’s teachers’ resources)
http://juliet.stfx.ca/people/stu/x94emj/bookmark.html(lesson plan links)
http://www.educationindex.com/education_resources.html(Topic by topic)
http://www.edselect.com/novel_studies.htm (readers’ guides for novels)
ELAN (English Language Arts Network - Ontario)
http://www.elan.on.ca/
CCTELA (Canadian Council for Teachers of English Language Arts)
http://www.cctela.ca/
National Council of Teachers of English (US)
http://www.ncte.org/
Literary Links
http://www.english.upenn.edu/Resources/lit-resources.html(literary topics and themes
from Classical to Hypertext)
http://shoga.wwa.com/-rgs/glossary.html(Glossary of Poetic Terms)
http://www.bookwire.com(Authors’ link )
http://www.wier.ca/Writers in Electronic Residence
http://www.poets.ca/ (League of Canadian Poets)
http://www.youngpoets.ca/ (Young Poets – for teachers and students)
http://www.eastgate.com/ (hypertext fiction – hyperfiction and hypertext poetry)
http://www.shakespeare.com/ (a Shakespeare resource)
Plagiarism and "essays" for sale
http://www.schoolsucks.com(The infamous Schoolsucks site)
http://www.paperwriters.com/vintage2.htm(Paperwriters)
http://www.hotessays.com/(Termpaper Warehouse)
http://www.geniuspapers.com/(AAA and Genius Term Papers)
Key Topics (General)
Below is a list of topics that will be covered. There will be some flexibility in material
covered and discussed depending on class interest and time available.
Topic
History and Philosophy
of Teaching English
Understanding the
English Curriculum in
Ontario
Approaches to Teaching
and Learning
Language and Literacy
in Language
Arts/English
Literature, Media and
Popular Culture
Writing, Poetry
Description
 Explore current issues in Language Arts/English
education, including:
 The role of technology in English classrooms
 Standardized testing
 Changing views of literacy
 Explore different historical/theoretical perspectives on
English teaching
Standards: Leadership and Community, Professional
Knowledge
 Review key documents in Curriculum Planner CD/
Ontario Curriculum documents for grades 7-12
Language Arts/English, including course profiles and
exemplars
Standards: Professional Knowledge, Teaching Practice,
Ongoing Professional Learning
 Explore the learning needs of adolescent learners
 Explore how current theories of learning have impacted
English/Language Arts teaching
 Explore the key factors that make an effective
Language Arts/English lesson plan (focus on the short
story)
 Create and evaluate a variety of effective lesson plans
for grades 7-12
Standards: Professional Knowledge, Teaching Practice,
Commitment to Students and Student Learning
 Explore changing conceptions of literacy (i.e. critical
literacy, media literacy and technological literacy)
 Review theories of language acquisition
Standards: Professional Knowledge, Teaching Practice
 Explore the characteristics of Reader-Response theory
and its impact on English classrooms
 Explore the problems and possibilities of teaching the
novel and teaching Shakespeare
 Explore effective approaches to Media Studies
Standards: Teaching Practice, Professional Knowledge
 Explore writing process theory and pedagogy, which
Assessment and
Evaluation
Individual Needs and
Diversity;
English and Cultural
Studies
emphasizes experiential, personal growth
 Explore issues related to Writing Workshop approaches
 Investigate poetry teaching
Standards: Teaching Practice, Professional Knowledge,
Commitment to Students and Student Learning
 Review rubrics used in Ontario curriculum
 Examine a wide variety of assessment techniques
 Create effective assessment tools for Language
Arts/English
 Overview of the OSSLT (Grade 10 Literacy Test) and
the OSSLC (Ontario Secondary School Literacy
Course)
Standards: Professional Knowledge, Teaching Practice,
Ongoing Professional Learning
 Develop strategies for addressing diversity in the
classroom including gender, SES, culture, learning
style, learning disabilities and enrichment
 Explore the basic principles of cultural studies
Standards: Commitment to Students and Student Learning,
Professional Knowledge, Teaching Practice
Weekly Topical Outline
Date
Jan. 9, 2007
Focus
Performance in the
English language arts
classroom
Jan. 11
Jan. 16
Understanding drama:
Transforming Texts,
Engaging Drama
Shakespeare and drama
Jan. 18
Shakespeare and drama
Jan. 23
Shakespeare and
Readings/Activities/Bring
Transforming Texts: Intelligences in
Action (1995), Theresa Rogers et al, English
Journal.
“I thought about it all night”: Readers
Theatre for reading fluency and motivation
(2002), Jo Worthy & Kathryn Prater, The
Reading Teacher.
Beyond Memorization: Using Drama to
Promote Thinking (2005), Tonya Perry,
English Journal.
Using the Original Approach to Teach
Shakespeare (2005), Bruce Robbins, English
Journal.
Critical practice: Teaching “Shakespeare”
(2000) Bronwyn Mellor, JAAL.
Give Me Moor Proof: Othello in Seventh
Grade (2005), Eileen Landay, English
Journal.
Using Process Drama to Deconstruct a
Midsummer Night’s Dream (2005), Gustave
Weltsek, English Journal.
Challenging Normative Sexual and Gender
Drama
Jan. 25
Language and Poetry
Identity Beliefs through “Romeo and
Juliet” (2005), Paula Ressler, English
Journal.
Passion for poetry (1997), Priscilla Myers,
JAAL. AND
Practicing Poetry: Teaching to Learn and
Learning to Teach (2002), John Moore,
English Journal. OR
The Fire this Time: Renewing the Poetry
Unit (2002), Fred Barton, English Journal.
Examine the following websites—
http://www.youngpoets.ca/
http://faculty.uoit.ca/hughes/research.htm
Jan. 30
Language and Poetry
Feb. 1
Language and Poetry
Seminar
Feb. 6
Language and Poetry
Seminar
Feb. 8
Media
Education/Digital
literacies
Enact: Students as
Producers
Seminar
Fifty-Five Teachers, Poems in Hand,
Approach the Cruelest Month (2005), Jame
Brewbaker, English Journal. AND
From Cheryl Crow to Homer Simpson:
Literature and composition through pop
culture, (2004), Jerome Evans, English
Journal.
What is after-school worth? Developing
literacy and identity out of school. (2004),
Glynda Hull, Adolescent Literacy,(digital
poetry)
http://www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/sprin
g04/Hull.html#
“There’s a better word”: Urban youth
rewriting their social worlds through
poetry (2006), Korina Jocson, JAAL.
Lessons in the teaching of vocabulary from
September 11 and Harry potter (2002),
Alleen Pace Nilsen, JAAL.
Too Little or Too Much? What Do We
Know about Making Vocabulary
Instruction Meaningful? (2006), Janet
Allen, Voices from the Middle.
Leading double lives: Literacy and
technology in and out of school (2005),
Bronwyn Williams, JAAL. AND
When is a teen magazine not a teen
magazine? (2001), Bonny Norton, JAAL.
OR
Lessons Learned from Integrating
Feb. 27
Media
Education/Digital
literacies
Entertain: Students as
Listeners & Viewers
Seminar
March 1
March 6
March 8
Media
Education/Digital
literacies
Examine: Students as
Anthropologists &
Literary Critics
Seminar
Media
Education/Digital
literacies
Expose: Students as
Social Critics
Seminar
Evaluation and
assessment
Seminar
March 13
Evaluation and
assessment
Standardized Tests
Technology in a Writer’s Workshop
(2004), Patricia Watson & Jan Lacina, Voices
from the Middle.
“Gotta be worse”: Negotiating the
pleasurable and the popular (2000),
Margaret Finders, JAAL. AND
“The writers are getting kind of
desperate”: Young adolescents, television,
and literacy (2000), Jo Ellen Fisherkeller,
JAAL. OR
Teaching Media-Savvy Students about the
Popular Media (2004), Kevin Maness,
English Journal.
Louise Rosenblatt seeks
QtAznBoi@aol.com for LTR: Using chat
rooms in interdisciplinary middle school
classrooms (2002), James Albright et al,
JAAL. OR
But will it work in the heartland? A
response and illustration (2000), Cynthia
Lewis, JAAL.
Representations of critical media literacy
in the film Pump Up the Volume (2006),
James Trier) JAAL. OR
What could professional wrestling and
school literacy practices possibly have in
common? (2004), Donna Alvermann et al,
JAAL.
Assessment and evaluation-Codependent
but different. In Engaged in learning:
Teaching English 6-12 (2002), Kathy
Strickland. Available online at:
http://college.heinemann.com/shared/products
/0502.asp#samples
AND
The Trouble with Rubrics (2006), Alfie
Kohn, English Journal.
Assessing Assessment (2005), Leanne Miller,
Professionally Speaking.
http://www.oct.ca/publications/professionally
_speaking/march_2005/evaluation.asp
Dealing with Standardized tests (2004) The
new teacher book: finding purpose, balance
and hope during our first years in the
March 15
March 20
March 22
Evaluation and
assessment:
Alternative Methods of
Evaluation
Evaluation and
assessment:
Critique of Traditional
Grading
Promoting Professional
Growth
Interviews, and what is
so unique about me?
classroom.
The Art of Grading Papers Quickly and
Effectively (2004), Tonya Perry, English
Journal.
Portfolio Assessment: When bad things
happen to good ideas (2001), Martha
Dudley, English Journal.
ASSIGNMENT D DUE Multimedia Unit
Project-Public showcase.
Reading between the bubbles. (2004), The
new teacher book: finding purpose, balance
and hope during our first years in the
classroom
A closer look at tests and exams from the IS
English classroom. (Examples).
Eleven Ways to be a Great Teacher (1998),
Donald Wesley, Educational Leadership.
AND
Learning to Love the Questions:
Professional Growth and Perspective
Transformations (2005), Rebecca Sipe &
Tracy Rosewarne, English Journal. OR
Altering Ways of Being in a Language Arts
Classroom (2005), Donna Hanak, English
Journal.
Assessment
A) Seminar Presentation
45%
DUE: February (sign up)
B) Multimedia Unit Plan
50%
DUE: March 15
C) Digital Teacher Portfolio
5%
DUE: March 22
Assignments
Assignment A
Seminar Presentation (45%)
Due: February (Various dates arranged as per sign up sheet)
In pairs or groups of three, students will present a seminar on the theoretical background
and current practices relating to a significant aspect of English teaching/learning. The
presentation may include pre-assigned reading, audio-visual material, and practical
demonstrations, but must be no longer than 50 minutes, including discussion, activities
etc.
All members of the group must participate in the research, the organization of the
materials, and the oral presentation. Your presentation must respond to the following
questions: What is the problem? What does the current literature in literacy and English
education reflect? What is the dominant response? What are alternative responses to the
issue?
The topics listed below are suggestive of the type and scope intended. Other topics may
be chosen provided they are approved by the instructor. ONE group per topic.
1) TOPICS
2) Popular websites in adolescents’ out-of-school lives. Student
examples…(www.stickdeath.com, www.arcadepod.com, www.aliciakeysunpluged.com ; www.seventeen.com www.mtv.com ; www.castleintheskysailormoon.com)
3) Graphic novels, zines, fanfiction (fanfiction.net) in the English classroom.
4) Technology and tech savvy students.
5) Multiculturalism in the English classroom.
6) English as Second Language instruction.
7) Mythology and English.
8) Hip Hop in the English classroom.
9) Observing/supporting/ challenging masculinities and femininities in an English
classroom.
10) Supporting diverse youth identities through literature (ie. teaching queer-inclusive
ELA)
11) Evaluation, Assessment and Rubrics in the English Classroom.
12) Peer and Self-Evaluation techniques.
13) Bullying in secondary schools.
14) Professional Development Conference-National Reading Conference, Council of
Teachers of English, International Literacy Conference, others? Literacy Blogosphere
connections http://critical-literacies.blogspot.com/
15) Beyond Monet…what’s new, what’s not? ( www.beyonmonet.ca )
16) Boys and literacy: What’s all the fuss?
17) The problems of recycling other people’s lesson plans.
18) Learning Styles in ELA classrooms
19) The Question of Censorship
20) Motivating Writers
21) Teaching Canadian Literature
22) Special Needs Learners in the ELA classroom
23) Critical Theory and literature
24) Popular Culture in the ELA classroom
25) Community Connections and ELA
26) Cooperative/Collaborative learning and the ELA classroom
27) Independent Study and ELA
Each group is responsible for providing a brief handout for all members of the class. The
handout should contain summary information of the seminar’s main points, perhaps some
examples, and a bibliography. Other materials could be made available and held in a
class binder for those interested in photocopying.
Seminars will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
 Quality of thought (Demonstrates an awareness of current literature/ research and
has a clear command of the issue with considerable insight.)
 Application and practical use of information (Group connects current literature to
practice –informed and thoughtful ideas)
 Quality of presentation (Effective organization, time management, usefulness of
hand-out, ability to engage class through discussion and/or activity)
Assignment B
Multimedia Unit Project (30%)
Due: March 15
Length:
12-15 pages
Evaluation: 50%
Partners or Individual submission
Before developing this project it will be useful to read “How am I going to do this?” from
The new teacher book: Finding purpose, balance, and hope during your first years in the
classroom. (2004).
This project may be done either individually or with a partner of your choice to construct
a curriculum plan for teaching literature. If done with a partner one grade will be
assigned. The project provides an opportunity to learn about planning instruction with a
variety of resources. It also will help you explore possibilities for teaching fiction, nonfiction, poetry and media to extend students’ understanding. Articulating a major concept
or theme that you want the students to understand is crucial.
Individually or together, you will develop a unit plan that addresses a theme that you
agree on (your theme topic may emerge from your field experience placements and/or
conversations with Associates) and some of the ideas in texts-readings we have read in
class. You will need to decide on the basic plan (goals, performance assessment, strands
identified in relation to curricular guidelines, etc.) and the grade level of the students for
whom the unit is designed. Themes such as equity, racial identity, social belonging and
alienation, differing perspective of war, the environment, and survival are just a few
possible themes.
In this assignment, you are required to plan and present in written outline a detailed
strategy for teaching a novel, full-length play or set of poems at a particular grade and
level. We will survey the literature being taught in the DDSB as a group based on your
field experience placements. The unit should be developed for a 3-4 week period (15-20
classes-75 minute periods). The plan should be responsive to all the strands of the
English Language Arts curriculum (literature studies and reading, writing, language,
media studies); a range of pedagogical approaches; modifications; and the inclusion of a
few complementary shorter works where relevant. This unit should reflect original work
prepared individually or with a partner. When drawing on others’ ideas you must
acknowledge the source(s).
Developing daily lesson plans
Collaboratively decide how you want to develop the lessons. Decide which approach(es)
you will take in teaching the novel. Identify your curricular aims and expectations,
Identify curricular strands and decide how you might reflect those strands in your lessons.
Decide which themes, which strategies, which resources you might draw on. Consider
for example, to what degree your unit plan is intertextually connected with poems, short
stories, films/film clips and web based activities. You lesson must be technologically
savvy with at least two of the following: video-streaming, audio files, or podcasts.
Decide how the daily lessons will build on one another, sequentially flowing from day to
day and in which direction you want the unit to develop. Articulate clearly and logically
how the lessons are connected and interconnected. It is important to build in different
kinds of assessments as well. These assessments should be linked to the Ontario
Curricular guidelines for teaching English. You may use the Ontario Curriculum Planner
if you wish.
Your completed assignment should contain the following divisions of content:
1. A rationale for using this particular unit at the grade you have chosen. Your
rationale needs to clearly explain your particular understandings and theoretical
framework for teaching in the English Language Arts classroom. Your rationale
needs to demonstrate an awareness of the course readings and specifically
indicate how you are defining your own practice. In other words, your theoretical
orientation to teaching in the English classroom needs to be explicitly described in
this section. In addition, this section should reveal connections between the
theoretical orientation and the practical applications evidenced in your unit.
Consider for example, how your lessons respond to learners. In what ways does
one learn in your class? What does it mean to teach? Who teaches? What is
English as subject matter? Finally, this rationale should comment on the literary,
social, cultural, and thematic issues which are relevant and include some
indication of the contexts in which you would be employing this unit (including
grade level/ability of the students, the nature of the school community, the
placement of the unit in connection to other units, as well as some of the
expectations). 2-3 pages.
2. An outline of the individual class periods with brief, point form descriptions of
the content and teaching practice employed, including homework assignments (57 pages).
3. Two to four activities or projects to be completed by the students (1 page).
4. An annotated list of complementary material (poetry, short stories, essays, films,
music, etc.), which could be used.
5. A description of the evaluation plan for the unit. (1-2 pages)
6. A brief closing statement that reflects on the rewards and challenges of
developing this assignment. (1-2 pages)
7. A bibliography of works consulted in preparing this outline (1 page)
Assignment C
Digital Teacher Portfolio (5%)
Due: March 22
Candidates will:
 Articulate a professional philosophy of English language arts teaching
 Include at least one artifact from this course in their digital teacher portfolio
created for the Core Curriculum course that reflects that philosophy.
The portfolio might include one or more of the following:
 A statement of your philosophy of Intermediate/Senior English teaching
 Artefacts – examples of assignments, assessments, strategies, lesson plans, digital
story, HyperStudio project, PowerPoint presentation etc. that candidates have
prepared for the course, notes from associate teachers, photographs/video of
candidate teaching, examples of work done by candidate’s students during student
teaching experiences, etc.
 Attestations – materials prepared by others about candidate’s work such as
teaching reports, feedback on assignments, letters from students and parents, etc.
 Items produced specifically for the portfolio such as goal statements, captions,
and explanations to accompany artefacts, etc. These items provide the evidence
of the candidate’s professional growth.
 Items that provide evidence of professional reading beyond course requirements,
such as an annotated bibliography of appropriate literature (i.e. children’s book,
young adult literature, video, music, and/or professional resources).
 Items that provide evidence of reflective practice, such as an amended lesson
plan, feedback to colleagues, a piece of student work with a short reflective piece,
a piece that talks about metaphors for teaching, a work of art or performance
piece, or even a photograph with a brief note relating why it is important.
Participation in Class/online Discussion
Students are expected to regularly check the course website and participate in discussion
when appropriate. They are also expected to come prepared for class, having read the
required articles and ready to discuss them. Students will take turns facilitating class
discussion.
ASSIGNMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES
Please attend to the following assignment policies and practices.
Professionally Presenting Assignments
Assignments must always reflect a professional form (margins, pagination, headings,
subheadings, correct grammar, and mechanics). Supporting references and
documentation should be given where appropriate. Assignments must be professionally
presented in a digital form or paper from (see Assignment criteria for details).
Assignments must include the following information:
 title / name of assignment
 your name & student number
 course name and number
 instructor's name
 date submitted
 Keep a copy of all assignments that you have submitted (hard and soft copy) as
good practice.
Submitting Assignments
Assignment criteria are specified in the detailed assignment descriptions. Read them
carefully to be sure that you have fulfilled all aspects of the requirements. Assignments
are DUE ON THE DAY indicated unless the following occurs:
Late assignments
Non-negotiated Late Assignment
This is an assignment that has been handed in late, after the 1st ten minutes of
class, and there has not been a verbal, contractual agreement between the student
and the professor to extend the time for the assignment to be handed in. This
assignment is considered late and will be assigned a grade of zero.
Negotiated Late Assignment
This is an assignment that has been handed in late, but this is with the permission
of the professor. The professor and student, through discussion, have mutually
agreed on the time/extension and penalty (if applicable) that the student will
receive to hand in the assignment.
Extenuating Circumstances
The professor will consider individually, rare extenuating circumstances, which
may cause an assignment to be late. The student must provide documentation to
validate the extenuating circumstance, which might include hospitalization, death
of family member or significant other. It will be at the professor’s discretion to
work out the extension in this situation.
Returning Assignments
Most assignments will be either returned via e-mail, WebCT or in class within a time
frame that is suitable for the professor to mark a large number of submissions.
Academic Dishonesty
It is required that Teacher Candidates be informed of the university policy that any act of
academic dishonesty is a serious offence. Plagiarism (the unacknowledged use of another
writer's work) may be dealt with by the instructor giving a "0" (zero) on any assignment
containing plagiarism in the course. A final grade of "0" (zero) may be awarded to the
student guilty of academic dishonesty regardless of how well the student is doing in the
course at the time. Please refer to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology
(UOIT) Academic Calendar Policy on Academic Dishonesty.
Communication
In this course, teacher candidates are required to communicate effectively through
writing, speaking, and digital media. Classroom discussion of material is an integral part
of the course. Teacher candidates will also learn to regard assessment and evaluation as
an accountability process that includes reporting to parents. Lectures and cases will
include attention to issues involved in effective communication with the home. Teacher
candidates will take some of their assignments and present them in their digital teacher
portfolio section on assessment and evaluation.
Use of Technology
Teacher candidates will use WebCT (webpage sections found within WebCT course
shell), their teacher portfolios and productivity tools (e.g., Word) in this course. In
addition, teacher candidates will be exposed to a variety of digital resources loaded on the
laptop (e.g., report card templates, Assessment & Planning Ministry of Education
document etc) as well as software for creating rubrics (Rubric Builder) and accumulating
marks (MarkBook). Technology will also be used to access online articles and websites
with information about assessment and evaluation.
Individual Needs and Diversity
Assessment is the means by which we come to recognize the impact that various
variables have on teachers creating assessment instruments, assessing students and then
reporting fair and accountable grades. The discussion of individual needs and diversity
will be part of much of the discussion and case studies used within this course. Making
accommodations and modifications in terms of programming has enormous impacts on
the individual needs of students.
Disclaimer
This outline documents the instructor’s intentions for this course. Over the period of the
academic year, it may become clear that some modifications may be necessary. Any
modifications that may influence student success or the marking scheme will be made
only after frank discussion with all teacher candidates and the prior approval of the dean.
End.