VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC AND STATE UNIVERSITY

Spring 2003
EDCI 4744 CRN 16219 for 3 credits (undergraduate)
EDCI 5784 CRN 16273 for 3 credits (graduate)

This course is accompanied by:
EDCI 4754, CRN 11679  for 10 credits (undergraduate)
EDCI 5754, CRN 11709 for 9 credits (graduate)
 

CLASS MEETS: Major Williams Hall 327
INSTRUCTOR:  Gresilda A. Tilley-Lubbs
CLASS TIME: Wednesdays 4-7
OFFICE HOURS: M 1:30-2:30, W 11-12, or by appt.
OFFICE: 328 Major Williams Hall
TELEPHONES:  231-4051  (Leave message.)    540-774-9262 (Home)
EMAIL: glubbs@ vt.edu
WEB PAGE:  http://www.fll.vt.edu/Lubbs

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT: John Knowles
TELEPHONES: 381-4747 or 231-4051 (Leave message)
E-MAIL:  nowk@aol.com

GRAD CLASS ASSISTANT: Lourdes Travieso-Parker
TELEPHONE: 540-961-7727
E-MAIL: ltravies@vt.edu
 

WEB PAGE for Handbook:   http://thandbook.heinle.com

OTHER USEFUL WEB PAGES:
http://www.richmond.edu/~terry/methods.htm
http://www.richmond.edu/~terry/tech.htm
http://web.cortland.edu/flteach/methods/
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/frameworks/worldlanguages

REQUIRED TEXTS:

- Shrum, J. L. & Glisan, E. W.  Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2nd edition, 1999.

- National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. (1996). National standards for foreign language learning: Preparing for the 21st century. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, Inc. (for teachers of languages other than ESL)

- Kornblum, H. & Kupetz, M. (eds.) ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students. TESOL. 1997. (for ESL teachers)

PREREQUISITE: Approval from the instructor is required for admittance into this class. Students must have completed or be completing advance studies in the target language. Required education classes should be taken in conjunction with or prior to the class.

ELECTRONIC MAIL:

You will need to have an active PID for this course. In addition to general mail, an e-mail list will be used for announcements, work updates, and general class discussion. You may send messages to the e-mail list by clicking on “Reply to all.”

HONOR CODE:

The Virginia Tech Honor Code will be strictly enforced. All aspects of your coursework are covered by the Honor System. Please see the following website for further information:
http://www.vt.edu:1002/studentinfo/gradhonor/

STUDENTS NEEDING SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS: Please contact the Office of the Dean of Students who will provide the instructor with a written description of the necessary specified accommodations.

MISSION STATEMENT:

As the instructor of this methods course, I plan to:

· create an inviting and stimulating environment in which the students will form a learning community based on mutual respect and interests with the common goal of pursuing research and inquiry into innovative and traditional methods of teaching a foreign language.
· create a content- and context-based curriculum in which concepts and structures are presented in a spiraling fashion that is cognitively engaging and intrinsically interesting for students;
· prepare teachers to be responsive to local, national, and international needs. (Byrnes, et al, 2000);
· facilitate as learners construct their own knowledge so that it will be meaningful and applicable to their own needs and goals, thereby granting them ownership of the class and its outcome;
· encourage self reflection so that the learners will constantly evaluate their progress as situated within the learning environment.

GOALS OF THE COURSE:

 This general goals for our work in this course are to develop:

· An understanding of second-language acquisition research, incorporating pedagogical methods and learning theories.
· The ability to contextualize language instruction to address the goals of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning.
· The ability to construct meaningful and well-planned units of study such as lesson and unit plans.
· The ability to deal creatively and positively with those students who have diverse learning styles.
· A knowledge of assessment methods for language performance in context.
· An understanding of the use of technology to contextualize and integrate language instruction.
· An awareness of and an understanding of the importance of adapting to school culture.
 

ASSESSMENT:

The evaluation for the methods course will be based on the following:
Class participation and exit slips 15%
2 chats 15%
5 lesson plans and peer teaching 15%
Unit plan 20%
Journal reflections 15%
Electronic portfolio 20%

CLASS PARTICIPATION AND EXIT SLIPS: In a discussion class, attendance is crucial to the dynamics of the group. The class activities will be varied, ranging from rich discussion of the reflection papers to guest speakers who will share about their work in the Hispanic community. Each week the students will be asked to write an exit slip commenting on the direction of the class itself.

CHATS: There will be two chats in the course of the semester. They may be simultaneous or running chats. The topics for the chats will deal with case studies of crisis situations that can occur in the classroom. Please encourage your collaborating teacher to participate in the chats with us. The times for the virtual chats will be determined in class.

LESSON PLANS: The students will prepare 5 lesson plans that they will peer teach in class. The lesson plans should all focus on teaching language proficiency rather than culture. They should exhibit student interaction with the goal of encouraging communication in the target language.

UNIT PLAN: The unit plan will consist of a web module similar to the one found in chapter 12 of Teacher Handbook. The students will present the unit plans to their peers during class on May 7.

JOURNAL REFLECTIONS: The students will post reflections to the group e-mail. The students should plan to read the reflections of the other students before class. This will greatly enrich the discussions that we have in class. The reflections should all be 2 pages, double spaced with one-inch margins on each side written on the computer in 12 font. The reflections should be posted to the group e-mail by Monday at midnight. There will not be a reflection on the weeks when the other written projects are due. Always refer to the syllabus to know when a reflection is due. The students must turn in hard copies of the reflection to both Kris and John at the class at which it is due.

ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO: The final exam will consist of the presentation of the electronic portfolio. The electronic portfolio will showcase the student as a teacher. It will enable a prospective employer to see the best that the teacher has to offer.

TECHNOLOGY SKILLS: To develop the electronic portfolio, the student must be able to:

· exhibit typing skills, including ease with using the many facets of a  word processing program;
· create a document;
· name, save, retrieve, revise, rename a document;
· send, receive, save, print, and delete e-mail to individuals or to groups;
· send, receive, and print e-mail attachments;
· paste text into an e-mail attachment;
· download and complete forms online;
· create and save files;
· copy, move, and delete file;
· perform general and specialized searches;
· bookmark useful web sites;
· load and use software and courseware;
· participate in a chatroom;
· create and maintain a web page;
· use clip art;
· use a scanner;
· do a power point presentation.

TENTATIVE COURSE/ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE

Note: the reflections will always be due on the e-mail list by midnight of the Monday before class in order to allow your colleagues to read them so they can be discussed in class.. Print out two copies, one to give to the instructor and one to use to make notes during class. There will also be a case study to read every week on the Webpage.
 
 

DATE	TOPIC	ASSIGNMENTS
January 15	Introduction and overview Presentation of electronic portfolios Student teaching
January 22	Using an interactive approach to develop interpretive skills	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 6 Appendices TH
January 29	Peer teaching of a 10-minute segment of the lesson plan	Lesson plan based on an authentic magazine or newspaper article (Episode 1, pp. 136-138)
February 5	Using technology and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL)	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 12 Reflection TH, pp. 350-354
February 12	Using a story-based approach to teach grammar	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 7 Reflection p. 164  THCase study chat
February 19	Peer teaching or presenting of lesson plan demonstrating integrated language instruction	Lesson plan based on story-based approach to teach grammar, following TH, pp.164-165, Episode Two
February 26	Developing oral interpersonal and presentational communication	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 8Reflection TH, p. 211, Episode Two Case study chat
March 1-9	Spring break at VT
March 12	Lesson plan integrating speaking with oral or written texts, including an information-gap activity	Lesson plan integrating speaking with oral or written texts, TH, pp. 210-211, Episode One
March 19	Developing written communication skills through integration of the Three Modes	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 9Reflection TH, p. 247, Episode One
March 26	Peer presentation of a writing activity for secondary levels or beyond	Lesson plan for a writing activity for secondary levels or beyond, TH, p. 247, Episode Two
April 2	Addressing student diversity in the language classroom	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 10 Reflection pp. 282-285 TH
April 9	Peer teaching of a lesson plan appropriate for diverse learning styles	Lesson plan based on TH, pp. 281-282, Episode One
April 16	Assessing language performance in context	Shrum/Glisan Ch. 11Reflection, TH, pp 312-315, Case Study 1
April 23	Peer presentation of lesson plan with authentic performance-based assessment task and rubric	Lesson plan based on TH, pp. 310-311, Episode One, including a rubric for assessment
April 30	Electronic portfolio presentation	Electronic portfolio
May 7  (tentative)	Unit plan presentations	Integrated unit plan based on teaching for language proficiency incorporating a web module (cf. TH, pp. 350-354)

Syllabus subject to change!