EDT 448M- HYBRID
Reading Practicum for Middle Childhood
SUMMER 2011
EDT 448 M- Hybrid
What is Hybrid? This means EDT 448M will include components of both face-to-face and
online learning. [see Tentative Schedule for specific details]
Dr. Paula Saine
Office: 301C McGuffey Hall
E-mail: sainep@muohio.edu
Office Hours: 3:15pm – 4:30pm
Monday/Wednesday (or by appointment)
Office Phone: (513) 529-9560
Mission/Conceptual Framework of Miami University’s Educator Preparation Unit
As the Education Unit of the School of Education, Health and Society (EHS), our philosophy and purpose are grounded
in the core values that have been identified by EHS. We believe that educator preparation must be a “holistic,
integrated approach”; that candidates must be versed in diverse paradigms, practices, and disciplines. With this
philosophical base, our purpose as the EHS community of collaborative educators (the Education Unit) is committed to
fulfilling the school’s mission to provide “dynamic and innovative programs” and endeavors to prepare caring,
competent, and transformative educators. These educators will “generate knowledge, educate, serve, and promote
wellbeing in diverse and global settings through ethical, democratic practices” and will impact student learning in the
schools of today and tomorrow. Caring, competent, and transformative educators are those who have the tools to
serve as agents for positive change in the world and hold the unique responsibility of preparing young people for
citizenship in a democracy. We use our unit standards to hold candidates accountable for becoming caring,
competent, and transformative educators who are well-grounded in the liberal education, content knowledge, and
professional knowledge (Standard 1), appreciate and understand diverse learners, environments, and organizations
(Standard 2), demonstrate sensitivity to learning contexts and environments (Standard 3), demonstrate skill in planning,
implementation, and evaluation (Standard 4), and demonstrate professionalism (Standard 5).
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Lauren Leslie and JoAnne Schudt Caldwell (2011) Qualitative Reading Inventory - 4
JoAnne Schudt Caldwell and Lauren Leslie (2005) Intervention Strategies to Follow Informal
Reading Inventory Reading Inventory Assessment: So what do I do now?
Assigned Readings
Audio Recorder
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Supervised experience in teaching a middle grade student (grade 4 through grade 9) having
difficulty in reading. Principles and methods for special needs instruction emphasized. Corequisite: EDT 442/542 Phonics and Reading Improvement.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The teacher candidates will:
1. Expand knowledge and skill of working with challenged readers by reading articles and books
which facilitate the accomplishment of meeting the needs of all learners. IS-I-1a, IS-I-1d
2. Collect and use data to inform decision making about intervention. IS-I-1a, IS-I-2c
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3. Deliver intervention that effectively resolves the needs of the challenged middle school reader.
S- I-2c, IS-I-4i
4. Create and implement instructional activities and technology to assist challenged readers do the
following: attack words efficiently, clarify ones own purpose for reading, develop
comprehension of text, attend to the important parts of the message, monitor ones
comprehension, ask questions while reading, take corrective actions when comprehension fails,
and engage in activities which lead to a lifelong motivation to read and respond to texts for
personal growth and fulfillment. IS-I-1a, IS-I-2c PB2-4 and PC1-5
5. Monitor the effects of intervention to ensure positive effects on meeting the needs of a
challenged middle school reader. S- I-2c, IS-I-4i, IS-I-1d, IS-I6. Develop a case study report based on experiences tutoring of a middle grade student
experiencing reading challenges. IS-I-1a, IS-I-1d, IS-I-5a
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
 Professionalism: You are expected to exhibit a positive and professional attitude
throughout the course. It is also important to maintain high quality work in all
assignments and hand work in on time.

Attendance/ Participation/Student Responsibility: You are required to attend class,
participate in classroom activities, and be prepared for class, which includes completing
assignments and readings as assigned. Class attendance is mandatory, and tardiness is
not acceptable (refer to Miami University attendance policy). Should absences occur,
you are responsible for obtaining class notes, handouts, and related materials. For every
two unexcused absences, your grade will be lowered by one letter grade. An absence is
excused if (1) you are ill, in an accident, or have a family emergency, (2) you call the
instructor ahead of time (or leave a voice mail message before class begins), and (3) you
bring appropriate documentation (e.g., doctor’s note). Three tardy arrivals and/or
instances of leaving class early will constitute one absence. One unexcused absence (or
three or more tardy arrivals) for tutoring will lower your semester grade by one letter
grade.

Inclusion Statement: If you have an identified visual, hearing, or physical impairment,
a communication disorder and/or a specific learning disability which may affect your
performance in this class, either temporary or permanent, please notify me as soon as
possible so that reasonable adjustments may be discussed to better insure that you will
have an equal opportunity to meet all the requirements of the course.
Equitable participation in this class also requires the use of inclusive language, methods
and materials. Students are expected to use inclusive language in written and oral work,
and to respect diversity in viewpoints expressed by others. Please notify Dr. Saine during
the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course.

Academic Dishonesty: Please refer to the Student Handbook for Miami University.
Note in particular that downloading websites and using any portions without quoting and
citing them is considered plagiarism and has resulted in students being charged with
Academic Dishonesty. In such cases, students can be withdrawn from the MCE program,
have AD (Academic Dishonesty) placed on their transcript, and receive an F for the
course.
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This professor strictly adheres to the Miami University policy in regards to academic
honesty in relation to assignments (see Student Handbook, Part V. Academic Misconduct,
http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/handbook/academic_regulations/
acadregspv.cfm), with particular attention to Section 01.502.B: “Written and other
assignments.” Should you have any questions about how to cite information from books,
the Internet or other sources, please ask. Academic honesty, of course, is anticipated and
expected. All work turned in should be prepared for this class and this class only (refer to
Miami University policy), with the exception of the Integrated Unit or other assignment
that is integrated into other courses by design. Ideas or information, directly quoted,
summarized, or changed to “your own words,” must be appropriately cited.
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to
submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism.
All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference
database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the
Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the
Turnitin.com site.
Penalties for plagiarism and other forms of Academic Misconduct in EDT 448.M will
include: 1) zero credit for the plagiarized assignment; 2) zero credit for the “Professional
Dispositions” portion of the course grade; 3) forfeiture of any accrued “extra credit” in
the course to date and ineligibility for any future extra credit; and 4) reporting of the
incident to the Department Chair in accordance with Miami’s policy. No assignments
that have been plagiarized may be “re-done,” and “I didn’t know . . . “ will not be
accepted as an excuse.

Professional Dispositions: Dispositions are your professional behaviors related to
teaching and include expectations for both your performance in the college classroom and
in the field. You are expected to exhibit proper attitudes toward students, colleagues,
school/university personnel; respect for others; professional dress and demeanor, etc.
Please refer to the Miami University brochure Identifying and Dealing with Disruptive
Behavior in the Classroom, the Miami University Code of Student Conduct and the
Miami University Disposition Checklist you signed in EDT 311.
More information can be found at:
http://www.units.muohio.edu/eap/students/disposition.htm

Dropping the Course/Withdrawal: In brief, if a student drops a full-semester course by
the third week deadline, the course will be removed from the record. If a student drops a
course between the third week and the ninth week of the term, a “W” will be recorded. A
student cannot normally drop a course after the ninth week of the term and the only way
to drop at this point is by petition.
Be sure to drop unwanted courses (following appropriate procedures); students are not
automatically dropped for nonattendance.
Additional information is available in the Student Handbook, Part II. Registration, Section
01.203, at:
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http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/handbook/academic_regulations/aca
dregspii.cfm

Fingerprinting/Background Check (for candidates working with students)
In order to comply with requirements from the various school districts where Miami
University pre-service teachers are placed, EAP requires yearly (calendar year)
fingerprinting/background checks for all pre-service teachers involved in working with
students. If you have not done this, you must do so before participating in tutoring and
field experiences. It will be best to go to the Miami University Police headquarters (next
to the Dittmer Parking Lot) for this procedure; it could take 4-6 weeks for results if you
have it performed elsewhere. There is a fee.
ASSIGNMENTS
Participation (on-going) 20 points
Throughout this summer session, you are expected to participate in individual and/or group
activities, which are designed to help you increase your knowledge and experiences
concerning the teaching of struggling middle grade readers and writers. Your contributions
will consist of taking an active part in in-class activities and out-of-class electronic
discussions about specific assigned readings using various online learning communities. These
online communities will include discussion board, chat, and blogs via Whole Class Discussion
Board, Small Group Discussion Forum, Private [Individual] Forum and/or Open Blog. All
responses will be submitted to Niihka by 10:00 p.m. on or before the due date. No late
responses will be accepted.
Intervention Strategy Lesson 20 points
You will work with a peer to complete this assignment. You will collaboratively develop and
teach a 25-minute Intervention Strategy Lesson [5 minutes for Q & A]. Your lesson should be
interactive and hands-on.
Quizzes (10 points each)-- 20 points
There will be two quizzes. The quizzes are designed to probe your level of preparedness in
teaching a middle grade student having difficulty in reading and/or writing. Quiz questions will
rely to a high degree on the course lectures, discussions, and assigned readings.
Tutoring Project-- 40 points
A significant part of your time and effort in this course will be devoted to tutoring a middle
school student in need of literacy assistance. You will be assigned to tutor one middle school
student during the course of the semester. Expectations for this assignment include (1) identifying
the student’s strengths and needs, (2) preparing *lesson plans for each session—including making
regular reflections following each tutoring session, (3) conferencing with the instructor, (4)
writing a progress report, which may be shared with the student’s parents/guardian and (5)
maintaining the student’s progress and your own work. You will be guided in developing
effective strategies throughout the tutoring experience. More detailed information about this
assignment will be provided in a separate handout/addendum to the course syllabus.
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* Lesson plans and case report will be checked on an on-going basis. You must bring them
to each class meeting once tutoring begins.
Assignments
1. Participation
2. Intervention Strategy Lesson
3. Quizzes (2)
4. Tutoring Project
TOTAL
Grading Scale
A+
99-100 %
A
95-98.9%
A93-94.9%
B+
B
B-
STUDENT EVALUATION
Points
20
20
20
40
100 points
91-92.9%
87-90.9%
85-86.9%
C+
C
C-
My Scores
________
________
________
________
________
83-84.9%
79-82.9%
77-78.9%
D+
D
DF
75-76.9%
72-74.9%
70-71.9%
Below 70%
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