Education 185L/Cal Teach 3
Winter 2012
Room: Thimann Labs 391
Class Sessions: Tuesdays, 6:00 – 7:50 p.m., or Wednesdays, 5-6:50 p.m.
Molly Deich
Email: mdeich@ucsc.edu
Web Page: http://calteach.ucsc.edu/courses/Molly.html
Phone: 831-421-2486
Office Hours: by appointment, or before/after class
Cal Teach 3 analyzes how students learn mathematics and science in both formal and informal settings. We will examine assumptions about learning, teaching, and schooling, as well as consider the contexts and practices that best support the development of students' scientific and mathematical understanding. We will discuss theory and research on learning and conceptual development, and use these frames to inform our work in our host classrooms.
This course has been given a "W" designation by the university. Please see this link for more information: http://writing.ucsc.edu/requirements/glossary/w-requirement.html
Students are expected to write at least 25 pages for a 5-unit course; since CaT3 is only 3 units, the expectation is that you will produce at least 15 pages of polished writing for this class.
Course Objectives
1.
Engage students as learners in an experiential laboratory course;
2.
Discuss factors that can facilitate or hinder student learning; and
3.
Develop reflection and writing skills through discussion and practice.
Grading and Assignments
Grades will be based on participation in class discussions and activities (25%), writing assignments (50%), and your final class presentation (25%). Written assignments may be emailed to me, or printed out and handed in before class .
Please pay close attention to the due dates -- we have several of them. Late papers will receive lower grades unless you and I have made prior arrangements. Weekly attendance is expected; please let me know if you have to miss a class meeting. Unexcused absences will result in a lowered overall class grade.
Starting with week 5, our lab activities will be organized and led by student groups.
Like all endeavors in the university, this course holds to the UCSC guidelines for academic integrity (http://www1.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/undergraduate_students/). Unless otherwise explicitly noted, all assignments are to be completed by individual students and represent each student’s original work. Potential violations will be taken seriously, following university procedure. If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please obtain an Accommodation Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and submit it to me in person outside of class within the first few days of the quarter. Contact DRC at
459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY), or http://drc.ucsc.edu for more information on the requirements and/or process.

Assignments
Paper
One 750-word (3-4 pages) paper due Week 7: Describe a lesson you have observed in your placement classroom. Identify and discuss the learning theory that is evident in the teacher’s instructional approach to the lesson. Please reference at least 3 published works (e.g. readings from your Cal Teach or Education courses) and include a bibliography in APA or MLA format.
Essay
One 750-word (3-4 pages) essay due Week 9: Report on internship classroom experiences.
Please describe what you have observed and what you have done in your internship classroom to date.
Project and Final Presentation
In CaT2, you developed a lesson intended to teach one or more content standards. For CaT3, your lesson-plan project is intended to provide a context for you to link lesson content with pedagogical design. You will plan a short instructional unit (3-5 lessons) on a topic of your choice. This unit may grow from your internship classroom or it can be a unit you would like to teach one day for middle or high school math or science students. Describe what the students will learn, how they will be taught, how you will assess their learning, and provide justification of the educational theory behind your choice of teaching methods. You should reference at least
3 scholarly articles/chapters and include a bibliography in APA or MLA format. In order to provide a framework in which to develop both your thinking and your writing, sub-assignments will be due throughout the quarter (weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8). The final project will be due the last day of class.
1.
Part One due Week 2 -- Introduction: submit 1-2 pages describing the unit you will teach, brief descriptions of the topics you will teach, and overall learning goals for students.
2.
Part Two due Week 4 -- Unit Activities: Provide 3-5 lesson plans (1-2 pages each) in the order you would teach them using the template which is on my Cal Teach web page. Explain why you chose to teach the topics in that particular sequence.
3.
Part Three due Week 6 -- Assessment: Submit 1-2 pages describing how you will assess your students, using both formative and summative evaluation techniques. You should also describe how will you evaluate the effectiveness of your teaching methods.
4.
Part Four due Week 8 -- Learning Theory: Submit 2-3 pages describing the learning theory utilized in your teaching strategy. Why did you choose the teaching methods you did? Cite at least 3 scholarly articles/chapters in this section from your Cal Teach and/or Education courses and include a bibliography in APA or MLA format.

5.
Due Week 10 -- Total Revised Project: Please combine all draft components of the project and make any corrections noted on the initial four components. In addition to submitting the final project, you will be required to resubmit the graded components due in weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8.
Presentation Guidelines
Your final presentation should last approximately 15 minutes. Discuss the instructional unit you have prepared, describe the activities you will incorporate into the lesson, provide rationales for your lesson and activity designs (citing specific learning theories), explain your assessment plans, and provide any other information you find particularly interesting and relevant. Feel free to include demonstration(s) in your presentation.

Date
Wk 1
1/9
Wk 2
1/16
Wk 3
1/23
Class Schedule
In-Class Activities
Marshmallows and Paper Bags
Math Word Problems as an
Assessment Tool
Discuss Brooks & Brooks
Flying Things
Discuss Cai, et al.
Wave Speed Lab
Discuss Duckworth
Non-Renewable Resources Lab
Prepare for Next Class
Read Brooks & Brooks
Project, Part One: Introduction
Read Cai, et al.
Read Duckworth
Project, Part 2: Unit Activities
Read Lampert
Wk 4
1/30
Wk 5
2/6
Discuss Lampert
Student-led Lab(s)
Discuss Clough
Student-led Lab(s)
Read Clough
Project, Part 3: Assessment
Read Leonard, et al.
Paper: Host-Classroom Lesson Description
Wk 6
2/13
Wk 7
2/20
Discuss Leonard, et al.
Student-led Lab(s)
Read Richtel
Project Part 4: Learning Theory
Wk 8
2/27
Discuss Richtel
Student-led Lab(s)
Project Presentations
Essay: Internship Summary
Wk 9
3/5
Presentations Project Presentations
Final Project. Please submit all graded parts 1-4 with your final draft.
Wk
10
3/12
Presentations Have a great break and spring quarter!
Class Readings
1.
Brooks, J. & Brooks, M. (2001). In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist
Classrooms , pp. 3-14. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

2.
Cai, J., Moyer, J.C. & Laughlin, C. (1998). Algorithms for solving non-routine mathematical problems. In L. J. Morrow & M.J. Kenney (Eds.), The Teaching and Learning of Algorithms in
School Mathematics , pp. 218-229.
3.
Clough, M.P. (2002). Using the laboratory to enhance student learning. In R. Bybee (Ed.),
Learning Science and the Science of Learning, pp. 85-94. Arlington, VA: National Science
Teachers Association.
4.
Duckworth, E. (1986). Teaching as research. Harvard Educational Review, 56 (4), 481-495.
5.
Leonard, J. et al. (2010). The nuances and complexities of teaching mathematics for cultural relevance and social justice. Journal of Teacher Education 61 (3), 261-270.
6.
Richtel, M. (2011). In classrooms of future, stagnant scores. The New York Times . September 3.
Course Grading Scale
100-98%
97-94%
93-90%
89-87%
86-84%
83-80%
79-77%
76-74%
73-70%
60-69%
<= 59%
C+
C
C-
D
F
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-