Requirements

10 – Attendance and conduct: 

Students are expected to attend class to the best of their ability. Because much of the learning in the course will come from class discussions and activities, it is important that you arrive to class on time and remain until the end.

If you have 3 or more unexcused absences, you will automatically be penalized in your participation grade. An absence will be counted as excused if written documentation is provided demonstrating the reason for the absence. If you are more than 5 minutes late for 3 classes, it will be counted as an absence.

Laptops are permitted in class, but points will be deducted if you are distracted (or distract your classmates) as a result of using your laptops. Other distracting behavior includes chatting with classmates, working on other material, and sleeping/dozing off in class. Please refrain from using your cellphones in class.

20 points – leading class

Each student will be responsible to lead the class at least once with a fellow classmate. If you are leading a particular class: 1. You should post 3 additional sources in the class blog.
2. You, together with your partner, should plan a 15 minute presentation of your topic (this can include assignments, videos, key facts/ideas, etc)
3. You, together with your partner, should be prepared to lead/facilitate the discussion (using your classmates discussion points and questions as well as your own)

20 points Weekly Blog Posts

For each class that includes a student-led presentation and discussion, all students who are not leading the class should post, by 9 pm on night before class, a blog post consisting of a reaction to the reading assignment, including at least two discussion points and at least two discussion questions. These should be specific to the readings. These will not be counted if not posted on time.

20 points – Class participation

Students are responsible to contribute to class discussions, especially those led by fellow students. 1. You should be in class on time
2. You should be prepared to discuss the reading assignment for the day
3. You should be prepared to participate in classroom assignments and discussions If a student does not get a chance or does not feel comfortable speaking in a particular class, he/she may add a post and/or comments on the blog after the discussion. These contributions will count towards the class participation grade.

30 points: Final Paper (due May 23rd – 11:59 PM)

For your paper, you should choose an important topic or issue related to education. The final paper should be a minimum of 8-12 pages, double-spaced (times font, standard margins). The objective of the paper is to provide an historical overview of an issue facing contemporary educators. It should include references to sources other than those we used during the class in addition to assigned readings.

Format

Your final paper should be approximately 8 -12 pages in length. It should include at least 5-7 references (may include texts from class). The general framework of your paper should be:

1. Historical/Social Analysis: Provide an historical and social context for your topic/question. Why is this an important issue in education? How has it been handled in society? How does it “fit” into the history of education?
2. Conceptual/Theoretical Analysis: Discuss some conceptual and/or theoretical framework for addressing this problem. What are the underlying issues/questions at stake?
3. Practical Analysis: Explain some approach to solving/addressing this problem. This can be your own opinion, an approach taken by educators, or one argued by someone in the literature. Relate this approach to the historical/social analysis and theoretical analysis.

In addition to the main content described above, your paper should include an introduction, which presents the paper to the reader, and a conclusion, which sums up some of your major findings/conclusions from the paper.

Topics

You are allowed to choose any topic that is of interest to you and is relevant to education. It does not have to be something specifically covered in class. Here are some possible topics:

• Assessment
• Standardized Testing and No Child Left Behind
• Inequality and Education (gender,class,race)
• Multicultural Education
• Curriculum Development
• Private vs Public Schools
• Privatization of Public Schools
• School violence
• School choice
• School Policy
• Identity Development
• Classroom Management
• Professional Development

Once you have chosen a general topic, you should narrow it down to a more specific question. For example, if you are interested in assessment, you may ask “What are some effective alternative assessment methods being used in school settings?” If you are interested in Identity Development in children, you may ask, “How do students create their own identity within the classroom?” If you are interested in Violence and Delinquency, you may ask “What are some social factors within a high school setting that effect violence and/or delinquent behavior in adolescents?” Once you have chosen a question, you should develop a clear thesis, i.e. “Portfolios and case studies are effective formative assessment tools that provide teachers and students with alternatives to high-stakes standardized testing”.

Grading Rubric:

A:

• Content fulfills all criteria: historical, conceptual/theoretical, practical exploration of topic
• Clearly organized: clear topic/thesis, logical development
• Well written: few to no grammar errors/typos

B:

• Content fulfills most criteria: at least 2 of 3 historical, conceptual/theoretical, practical exploration of topic
• Fairly well organized: clear topic/thesis, logical development
• Well written: few grammar errors/typos

C/D:

• Content does not fulfill most criteria: only 1 of 3 historical, conceptual/theoretical, practical exploration of topic
• Not well organized: hard to follow development
• Not well written: too many grammar errors/typos

F:

• Content does not fulfill any criteria: historical, conceptual/theoretical, practical exploration of topic
• Not organized: hard to follow development
• Poorly written: too many grammar errors/typos