Victor Donnay, Ph.D. 610-526-5352 vdonnay@brynmawr.edu

Deborah Pomeroy, EdD, 215-572-2123 pomeroy@arcadia.edu

Robyn Newkumet, Praxis Field Coord. 610-526-5214 rnewkume@haverford.edu

Ann Brown, Praxis Field Coord 610-896-1491 abrown@haverford.edu

Description: Students will observe and tutor in classrooms in which teachers are implementing new curriculum or teaching strategies in either science or mathematics. A weekly colloquium is provided in which professional educators will present their experiences in educational change and related issues. These sessions will provide the theoretical framework to help students understand their praxis experiences. A weekly reflection session is provided in which students will discuss their praxis experiences and make connections with the theoretical frameworks.

Objectives: Students will

• become keen observers of and active participants in pedagogical change in classrooms.
• understand the theoretical, economic and political underpinnings of pedagogical change in mathematics and science.
• understand the pedagogical strategies inherent in current curricular innovations and will understand their rationale and implementation.
• become familiar with personal, institutional, community and systemic incentives for and resistance to change.
• develop a heightened analytical sense of themselves as learners.

Grading:

15% Attendance and Participation in Reflection and Colloquium Sessions (including fast writes)

15% Fulfillment of Praxis Expectations — attendance, professional demeanor, tutoring

20% Class Assignments

20% Journal

30% Case Study

General Structure:

7:00-7:05 announcements and introductions

7:05-7:50 speaker or panel presentation

7:50-8:20 open discussion

8:20-8:35 break and refreshments

8:35-9:50 reflection session

Notes:

1. The following topics may be shifted to accommodate guest speakers.
2. Additional readings and one-page papers may be added at any point.
3. Required and supplemental readings and links will be posted electronically unless noted otherwise at the course web site reachable from: http://www.brynmawr.edu/math/people/donnay/
4. Readings for the course are available at the Blackboard site.

5) You should check the electronic syllabus on the web site as this will be updated and revised as necessary during the semester.

1/22 Introduction to course

How people learn: Understanding the Brain - Implications for Education

Reflection

Readings for next week:

Bransford, et al. "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School"

Watson, Bruce and Konicek, Dick. "Teaching for conceptual change." Phi Delta

Kappan

Reflection

Readings for next week:

AAAS, Science for All Americans, Ch 1

Praxis: Fill out Field Placement selection form and receive placement assignment.

Contact teacher and make initial visit.

Prepare placement time table form.

Supplemental Material related to Prof. Gollub's presentation:

http://lab.nap.edu/nap-cgi/discover.cgi?restric=NAP&term=learning+and+understanding:

See particularly, Introduction, Ch 6: Learning with Understanding, Ch 7: Designing Curriculum.

2/5 Mathematical and Scientific Literacy

Reflection

Discuss readings

The learning environment

Due: Log sheet, Praxis Fieldwork Agreement.

Assign Paper #2: Describe learning environment of your field placement. (Due 2/19)

Readings for next week:

Begin review of national and state standards

(Lowry articles)

Praxis: Start full-time in schools.

2/12 How theory becomes transformed into the practice of K-20 math & science: Elementary

Reflection

Reading Discussion

Case Study Assignment

Sharing field experiences focus on elementary

Assign Paper #3: Bring in two articles about school reform and briefly discuss

issues addressed (Due 3/4)

Readings for next week:

Tba.

Praxis: In schools.

2/19 How theory becomes transformed into the practice of K-20 math & science: Secondary

Reflection

Due/Share: Paper #2

Share Observation Journals

Reading Discussion

Sharing field experiences focus on secondary

Readings for next week:

Tba.

Praxis: In schools

2/26 How theory becomes transformed into the practice of K-20 math & science: Higher Ed.

Reflection

Reading Discussion

Sharing field experiences focus on higher education

Assign Paper #4: PSSA's and what they mean to your school/district (Due 3/25)

Readings for next week:

Glenn Report: :. www.ed.gov/americacounts/glenn

Praxis: In schools

3/4 Politics and economics of educational reform in science and mathematics

Reflection

Due/Share: Paper #3

Due: Observation Journals

Positioning field sites in politics and economic contexts

Journal sharing

Praxis: In schools

3/11 Spring Break

3/18 No Child Left Behind, State Standards and Standardized Tests

Reflection

Journal sharing

Reading for next week:

Pomeroy, "Mapping the field"

Praxis: In schools

3/25 Teaching for Equity Issues of Race, Class and Gender

Reflection

Due/Share: Paper #4

Reading Discussion

Race, Class and Equity in field placements

Assign Paper #5: Describe your teacher as change agent (Due 4/15)

Reading for next week:

Wolff, "Caught in the web of reform"

Marshall, John. Math Wars: Taking Sides," Phi Delta Kappan.

Praxis: In schools

4/1 Change Theory: Tensions, supports, sociological and psychological

Reflection

Discuss readings

Discuss elements of change in field placements

Praxis: In schools

4/8 Implementation of Change at the Teacher Level

Reflection

Praxis: In schools

4/15 Implementation of Systemic Change

Reflection

Due/Share: Paper #5

Praxis: In schools

4/22 Communities Voices: Teachers, Administrators and School Boards

Reflection

Framing the Case Studies

4/29 Closing Speaker:

Reflection

Presentations by Graduate Students

5/6 Presentation of Case Studies

What I’ve learned about curriculum and pedagogy

What I’ve learned about school/classroom change

Case Study due

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Description of Praxis Experience

Students will observe and tutor in classrooms in which teachers are implementing new curriculum or teaching strategies in either science or mathematics. A weekly colloquium is provided in which professional educators will present their experiences in educational change and/or issues. These sessions will provide the theoretical framework that should help students understand their praxis experiences. A weekly reflection session is provided in which students will discuss their praxis experiences and their connections to the theoretical frameworks.

• Praxis will start the third week of classes and will continue for 10 weeks. Students are not expected to report to praxis sites during spring break.
• During this fieldwork students are expected to keep a journal that includes and is clearly differentiated between observations and reflections.
• During the fieldwork, students are expected to seek out and record evidence that would allow the student to describe his/her praxis in terms of a case study. In some cases the student may need to interview other individuals in the school/district. While some data can only be learned through interview, most of the field data should be inferred from observations.
• Since students may be novices in such a classroom-based praxis, it is expected that the student will observe many things before they are fully discussed in class. Students will need to be very familiar with each possible component of the case study (see below), so that they can record observations for discussion much later in the course.

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Overview of Assignments (more details provided in class)

1. Class Assignments:

• Description of context
• Description of learning experience
• Description of how this felt as a learner
• Inference as to what this kind of pedagogy tells us about the teacher’s theory of practice? (e.g. Whose knowledge and experience counts? How do children learn best? What counts as knowledge and evidence of it?)

• Neighborhood
• School
• Classroom
• Teacher (interview teacher to get a sense of background and philosophy)
• Children

B. Journal -- to be handed in mid-course and at the end. At mid-course, these will be evaluated as outstanding, strong, adequate and inadequate for the purpose of providing feedback to students. Journals must have enough detailed observations that will provide evidence for discussion in the case study. They should also include reflections that raise questions, make connections to other observations and/or material discussed in class, and pose hypotheses.

C. Case Study of Pedagogical Change — this 10-15 page paper should synthesize the student’s praxis experience in terms of class discussions and readings. The paper should contain quotes and detailed description of evidence used to present the case. The school, district, and teacher should be referred to by pseudonyms only. The student should avoid making evaluative pronouncements about the teacher, program and/or students. The evidence should speak loudest. The paper should include a conclusion that discusses what the student has learned about changing curricular and pedagogical practices from this experience. The following list contains the kind of information that will be helpful in developing your understanding of the practices that you are observing and with which you are assisting.

• School and/or District
• Brief demographic/geographic description
• Is change institutionalized?
• Expectations of teachers and students?
• If coming from the broader level, what seems to be driving the change?
• If institutionalized, how is the program viewed by the school board and parents? What efforts are being made to bring these groups on board?
• Tensions
• What are the supports for teachers trying new programs?
• What are the impediments to change?
• Host Teacher

• The teaching strategy being tried

• What kind of learning activities is the teacher preparing? What is new (to the teacher) about these activities? How does it relate to standards?
• Assessment — What kind of assessments are planned to effectiveness of the reform
• Impact on and reaction by students
• Resources — What resources (including professional development) and materials are available to the teacher for program implementation?
• How effective does this program appear to you? WHAT IS YOUR EVIDENCE?
• What skills have they mastered? What are they working on? EVIDENCE
• What concepts do they understand? What are they grappling with? EVIDENCE
• What is teacher thinking about actual effectiveness of program in terms of children?

What have you learned about curriculum and pedagogical practice and about school change from this experience?

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Reading List

No Child Left Behind Legislation: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html?exp=0

Supplementary Materials

Related to Prof. Grobstein's presentation:

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/reflections/alum03/

to Prof. Gollub's presentation:

http://lab.nap.edu/nap-cgi/discover.cgi?restric=NAP&term=learning+and+understanding:

See particularly, Introduction, Ch 6: Learning with Understanding, Ch 7: Designing Curriculum.