Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
INSTRUCTOR: Professor Andrea A. Nielsen
CONTACT INFO: 3005F JKB
801.422.8326 (Office)
801.899.9293 (Cell)
andrea_nielsen@byu.edu
CLASS TIME: Tuesday from 4:30-6:00 p.m.
CLASS LOCATION: JFSB B003 - FLAC
OFFICE HOURS: 3:00 – 3:50 pm Tuesday (Please make an appointment)
Course Description
Spanish 476R is a full-time, field-based, culmination course that provides teacher candidates with
a semester-long teaching experience under the direction of a mentor teacher and with the support of
a university supervisor. During the semester, teacher candidates will attend a series of seminars
that will support their professional growth and assist them in beginning a professional career in
education.
Course Resources
BYU Policies & Procedures Handbook for Student Teaching & Internships:
http://education.byu.edu/ess/documents/policy_handbook.pdf
Course Wiki: http://languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com/Seminar+in+Student+Teaching
Centro de Recursos
164 University Parkway Center
BYU, Provo, UT 84602-6705
801.422.8107
Foreign Language Student
Residence Houses
1950 N. Temple View Dr., Provo
801.422.3765
flsr-dept@byu.edu
Writing Lab
Writing Lab 3009A/H
spanish-resource@email.byu.edu
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 1
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
Learning Outcomes
(Note: The hotlinked items in this section will take you to a variety of relevant online resources. Outcomes will be assessed
using classroom observations, Candidate Dispositional Scale (CDS), Clinical Practice Assessment System (CPAS), in-class
conversations, Professional & Interpersonal Behavioral Scale (PIBS), and the Teacher Work Sample).
As a result of active participation in this course, you should be able to:
o
Critically incorporate professional readings, coursework, and teaching experiences into a collection of
options for professional thought and action (INTASC Standards: 4 – Content Knowledge, 8 – Instructional
Strategies, 9 – Professional Learning & Ethical Practice; Program Outcomes: 1 - Communication, 2 - Culture, 3 –
Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, & 4 – Professional Development)
o Craft meaningful, standards-based, developmentally and contextually appropriate learning experiences
in Spanish that support the growth of students’ proficiency (INTASC Standards: 1 – Learner Development, 3 –
Learning Environments, 4 – Content Knowledge, 5 – Application of Content, 7 – Planning for Instruction, 8 – Instructional
Strategies; Program Outcome: 3 – Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment)
o
Contextualize language learning experiences by engaging students in critical thinking and problemsolving regarding culture (INTASC Standards: 4 – Content Knowledge, 5 – Application of Content, & 8 –
Instructional Strategies; Program Outcomes: 2 - Culture & 3 – Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment)
o Adapt learning experiences appropriately to better meet the needs of culturally diverse learners,
including students with a variety of learning styles and special needs (INTASC Standards: 1 – Learner
Development, 2 – Learner Differences, 3 – Learning Environments, 7 – Planning for Instruction, 8 – Instructional
Strategies; Program Outcome: 3 – Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment)
o
Utilize emerging technologies to cultivate active questioning and collaboration, to develop language
proficiency and cultural competence, to differentiate instruction, and to support your own professional
productivity and growth (INTASC Standards: 2 – Learning Differences, 3 – Learning Environments, 8 –
Instructional Strategies 9 – Professional Learning & Ethical Practice, 10 – Leadership & Collaboration; Program Outcomes: 1
– Communication, 3 – Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, & 4 – Professional Development)
o
Develop and adapt a variety of traditional and alternative assessments to evaluate students’ proficiency
across all three modes of communication, to provide feedback that will improve student performance,
and to report student progress (INTASC Standards: 6 - Assessment; Program Outcome: 3 – Curriculum, Instruction,
& Assessment)
o Participate professionally in the school community, in professional organizations and professional
development activities, and engage in professional dialogue and reflection with colleagues and
community agencies to support students, improve your teaching, and strengthen your program
(INTASC Standards: 9 –Professional Learning and Ethical Practice, & 10 – Leadership and Collaboration; Program
Outcome: 4 – Professional Development)
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 2
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
Expectations for Professional Performance
Grades are assigned on a Pass/Fail basis. In order to be recommended for licensure, teacher candidates
must demonstrate an acceptable level of performance in each of the areas below. Students who do not
complete these assessments by the end of the semester will receive a “T” grade in the course, which may delay
graduation/licensure or result in graduation without a teaching license.
The following assessments will be used to evaluate your performance:
Cultivating Professional Habits of Mind & Behavior

Attend seminars regularly and punctually (if you are ill, please notify Professor
Nielsen)

Prepare and participate actively, adequately, and appropriately in seminar discussions
and activities


Collaborate with mentor teacher and demonstrate initiative
Display professional dress, grooming, and behavior
Developing & Demonstrating Professional Knowledge

Successfully fulfill a 14-week student teaching placement in the assigned school
settings, including observation of mentor teacher and students, team teaching, and
independent teaching


Generate a Teacher Work Sample of high quality


Complete the Ethics Test

Complete the Praxis Test (Spanish: World Language – 5195) before graduation (or your
license will say provisional)


Produce a lesson plan used in your class once a week.
Complete the required self-assessments on Mylink
Candidate Dispositional Scale (CDS)
Field Experience Demographics (FED)
Professional and Interpersonal Behavioral Scale (PIBS)
Complete an official ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) with a rating of Advanced
Low or better (this should have been completed prior to student teaching)
Receive a satisfactory CPAS evaluation from your mentor and university supervisor
Self
assessments:
Candidate
Dispositional
Scale (CDS) &
Professional
and
Interpersonal
Behavioral
Scale (PIBS)
Mentor
teacher:
Clinical
Practice
Assessment
System
(CPAS),
Professional
Disposition
Instrument
(PDI) and a
letter of
recommendati
on
BYU supervisor: Assessment of professional habits, assessment of Teacher Work Sample, a CPAS, a PDI
and a letter of recommendation. Additional information about these assessments is given on the next page
and on the wiki.
Candidate Dispositional Scale (CDS)
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 3
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
This is a self-assessment of your own dispositions as a teacher. The CDS is done in FLANG 276 and
again in Span 476R/496R (like the PIBS).
Clinical Practice Assessment System (CPAS)
The CPAS serves as the final summative assessment of your performance as a student teacher. It consists
of numerical ratings in ten areas. In addition to a numerical rating in these ten categories, the CPAS
includes a narrative commentary, which also serves as a letter of recommendation. Both your mentor
teacher and I will complete a CPAS assessment of your performance, which will automatically be included
in your Career Placement File. At the end of the semester, you will need to electronically “sign” both
CPASes on LiveText to acknowledge that you have seen and read them.
Ethics Test
Must be completed online for licensure.
Field Experience Demographics (FED)
The FED is not an actual assessment; rather, it simply provides information on the number of students
with whom you work who are classified as minorities or as having special needs and BYU compiles it for
accreditation purposes.
Professional and Interpersonal Behavioral Scale (PIBS)
This self-assessment, which is done in FLANG 276R and again in Span 476R/496R, serves as a pre-post
assessment of your performance in ten categories (personal integrity, respect for authority, contributions
in class, responsibility, attendance, punctuality, flexibility, initiative, commitment to the program, and
dress and grooming).
Teacher Work Sample (TWS)
The TWS consists of a unit plan of five or more lessons which you teach to your students (during the
month of February), followed by an assessment of their learning and a professional analysis and
reflection of the outcomes. It is considered a “process writing” assignment, meaning that you will submit it
in segments, revising each segment in successive drafts. It is crucial that you submit each segment by the
assigned date in order to allow time for me to give you feedback so you can revise it as necessary. A rating
of “3" on a 5-point scale for each criterion is generally considered acceptable; however, there is no fixed point
value that you must earn in order to pass. I will let you know when I think the project has been adequately
completed and ready to upload to LiveText. More information is available on the course wiki.
Tentative Seminar Schedule
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 4
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
Date
Topic - This schedule is subject to change in order to address emergent
Assignments
needs and/or health concerns.
Jan. 6
Discuss the positives and negatives.
Introduction to the course and answer questions for
the class.
Jan. 13
Orientation to Student Teaching for mentors &
student teachers (Overview, licensure, CDS, CPAS,
FED, PIBS, TWS, Ethics Test, Praxis, applying for
graduation, holiday breaks)
Teacher Work Sample: Contextual Factors
Jan. 20
Jan. 27
Feb. 3
Comprehensible Input: Interpersonal
Communication, Scaffolding, & Staying in the
Target Language
Teacher Work Sample: Unit Overview & Rationale,
Unit Planning Web, National Standards &
Objectives
Curriculum Development: Cultural
Contextualization & the Connections Standard
Teacher Work Sample: Assessment Plan
Maintaining Student Engagement: Classroom
Management & Learning Centers
Sign up to give the Bienvenida
Sign up to bring Food
Complete Course Information Sheet online
Complete Photo Permission Sheet
Complete Field Experience Demographics
(FED) on LiveText
1st Lesson Plan due on Sunday
January 25, 2015 on the Wiki
Teacher Work Sample: Contextual Factors
Due
2nd Lesson Plan due on Sunday
February 1, 2015 on the Wiki
Teacher Work Sample:
 Unit Overview & Rationale
 Unit Planning Web
 National Standards & Unit Objectives
3rd Lesson Plan due on Sunday
February 8, 2015 on the Wiki
Feb. 10
Teacher Work Sample: Design for Instruction &
Lesson Planning
Feb. 17
Feb. 24
Preparing for Parent Teacher Conferences (& Program
Advocacy & Recruitment)
Preparing for the Teacher Fair: Cover Letters,
Résumés, & Interview Questions
Teacher Work Sample: Unit Planning Work
Session
4th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
February 15, 2014 on the Wiki
Teacher Work Sample:
Assessment Plan
5th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
February 22, 2015 on the Wiki
Complete Professional & Interpersonal
Behavioral Scale (PIBS) on LiveText
6th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
March 1, 2015 on the Wiki
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 5
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
Mar. 3
Teacher Work Sample: Unit Planning Work
Register with e-Recruiting
Session
7th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
March 8, 2015 on the Wiki
Mar. 10
Teacher Work Sample: Instructional Decision-
Teacher Work Sample:
making & Report of Student Learning
Design for Instruction & Lesson Plans
8th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
March 15, 2015 on the Wiki
Mar. 17
Teacher Work Sample: Reflection & Self-evaluation
Teacher Work Sample: Teach Your Unit
9th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
March 22, 2015 on the Wiki
Mar. 24
Applying for Jobs: Asking for & Writing Letters of
Recommendation
Teacher Work Sample:
Instructional Decision-making
Report of Student Learning
Complete Candidate Dispositional Scale
(CDS) on LiveText
10th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
March 29, 2015 on the Wiki
Mar. 31
April 7
Applying for Jobs: Job Hunt, Substituting,
Licensure in Other States
Applying for Jobs: Preparing a Professional Portfolio
& Teaching Demonstration
11th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
April 5, 2015 on the Wiki
Teacher Work Sample:
Reflection & Self-evaluation
Letter of Recommendation Due
Last Day of Student Teaching April 14th
12th Lesson Plan due on Sunday
April 12, 2015 on the Wiki
April 14
All forms signed CPAS of both the mentor and
supervising coordinator, and all forms completed on
Mylink.
Teacher Work Sample: Final Electronic
and printed Copy Due to Professor Nielsen
by April 20th by 9:00am
Mentor Teacher Completes CPAS by April
15th
Final copy of entire Teacher Work Sample
uploaded to mylink due April 20th by
9:00am
Sign CPAS Evaluations from Mentor &
Professor Nielsen
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 6
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
This page contains a list of important dates for student teachers and interns.
BYU Academic Calendar for 2015
Important Dates






January 5, 2015
January 15, 2015
January 19, 2015
February 16, 2015
February 17, 2015
February 19, 2015

March 19, 2015


April 14, 2015
April 20, 2015
First Day of classes at BYU
Student Teaching Applications Due to the Education Department
Martin Luther King Jr – No School
President’s Day – No School
Monday Schedule
UFLA Annual Conference
 http://organizations.weber.edu/ufla/
Utah Teacher Fair – 9:00 am to 2:00pm BYU WSC
 https://ucs.byu.edu/teacher-fair
Last of Day of Student Teaching and Class
TWS due - Printed and Bound to Professor Nielsen by 9:00 am. Also submitted to Mylink.
Professional Conduct & Expectations
Attendance
Student teachers and interns are expected to be present and on time for
professional commitments. Of course, illness and other emergencies cannot
be
avoided. If you must be absent from your placement or a seminar due to
illness or emergency, please inform all who are affected by such an absence
(i.e.,
mentor teacher, university supervisor, or group members). Do not rely on your peers to relay messages—
make sure you communicate directly with your mentor teacher & Professor Nielsen. You should comply
with the school policies at your field placement regarding absences and make sure that plans are available
for substitutes. Habitual absences or tardies in either the seminar course or your field placement are cause
for concern and may affect both your grade in this course and your university supervisor’s ability to
affirm that you have successfully completed the student teaching experience. In severe cases, you may be
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 7
Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
required to extend your student teaching, repeat it, or graduate without licensure.
Professional Conduct
Experiences gained in schools and university coursework, combine to form integral components of your
professional preparation. In both arenas, you are responsible for behaving both ethically and professionally.
Confidentiality
Professional conversation and critical reflection are important parts of learning to teach. As you discuss
your student teaching experiences in class or with your colleagues, you are expected to use discretion and to
respect the privacy and dignity of the children and families with whom you work. Specifically:

When discussing issues situations from your field placement, you should do so with an attitude
and in a tone that conveys courtesy and professionalism.

You should be cautious about preserving the privacy of colleagues, students, and their families. If
you must discuss an individual or family in order to obtain help in understanding or resolving a
difficult situation, do so with discretion and try to avoid sharing sensitive or personally
identifying information when possible.

In casual conversations or social situations, you should maintain confidentiality. Refrain from
relating stories that may be embarrassing to teachers or students or that include sensitive
information about a child or family.

You should only share student work with written permission from students and their legal
guardians. You should also mask the names of students on any written or visual work that you
share in class or use in your course assignments (such as the Teacher Work Sample).
Dress and Deportment in Schools
You are expected to adhere to the BYU Honor Code while at your field placement and when attending
extracurricular activities at your school, keeping in mind the value of being viewed as an adult and as a
professional with authority in the classroom. Jeans are not appropriate attire. You should always be polite
and considerate of other adults in the building including administrators, custodians, secretaries, and
paraprofessionals.
Professional Communication and Problem Solving
One of the purposes of this course (and of your student teaching experience) is to challenge your
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Student Teaching in Spanish
Span 476R/496R – Winter 2015
Brigham Young University
assumptions, beliefs, and interpretations, recognizing that these will often differ because we draw from
different life experiences. We are responsible for creating a supportive environment that allows us to teach
uninhibited. Appropriate, effective communication is an important factor in facilitating that, as well as a
critical component of professional conduct. You are expected to give and receive constructive feedback in
professionally appropriate ways. If you encounter a problem with your mentor teacher, university
supervisor, or a colleague, you are encouraged to address it directly with that person in a professional
manner. If you are unable to resolve it, then please contact me, Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Bateman, or Dr.
Laraway for assistance.
Honor Code Standards
In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of their
academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own
must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may result in a failing
grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university.
Students are also expected to adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Adherence demonstrates respect
for yourself and others and ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university’s
expectation, and my own expectation in class, that each student will abide by all Honor Code
standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards.
Preventing Sexual Discrimination or Harassment
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in an
educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended to eliminate sex
discrimination in education and pertains to admissions, academic and athletic programs, and universitysponsored activities. Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment of students by university employees, other
students, and visitors to campus. If you encounter sexual harassment or gender-based discrimination,
please talk to your professor; contact the Equal Employment Office at 801-422-5895 or 1-888-238-1062
(24-hours), or http://www.ethicspoint.com; or contact the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847.
Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability that may affect your performance in this course, you should get in touch with the
office of Services for Students with Disabilities (1520 WSC). This office can evaluate your disability and
assist the professor in arranging for reasonable accommodations.
Span 476R/496R ♦ Winter 2015 ♦ Adapted from Cherice Montgomery by Andrea Nielsen M.ED. ♦ andrea_nielsen@byu.edu ♦ 9