1.  There will be 3 multiple-choice exams.  The first will  be worth 55 points, the second will be 50 points, and the final exam will be semi-cumulative and worth 55 points.  Click here for more information.

2.  There will be three formal written asssignments.   The first is a Philosophic Project (located in Outside Readings Packet) intended to provide opportunities for students to explore their own views on child development and compare them to perspectives of the past and present.  The second will be a Curriculum Evaluation Project where students will evaluate an elementary level textbook chapter/unit for its appropriateness in meeting the developmental needs of their students and suggesting modifications.  The second assignment, the Child Observation Project, will deal directly with children in your Bright Futures placement and will entail a written journal with a written response.

3.  Attendance and Participation and Professionalism in class will be worth an additional 20 points.
*Please note:  Attendance will not be taken every class period, but students will be held accountable and tested on information presented in class that may not be covered by the text book.  Furthermore, extra considerations will be made for classes where discussion, a guest speaker, or outside readings (10 points) work will be the primary method of the day and points will be given for various small assignments.

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Absences - Attendance in class is clearly expected.  A student will be considered present only if the sign-in sheet is appropriately signed.  More than 5 unexcused absences will result in the loss of participation points.  Generally..missing a Monday will count as 2 absences.  Due to the liberal number of absences offered I rarely yeild on this issue.
MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE SHEET!!!

Examinations - Make-up exams will be given only for emergency situations.  If you cannot
be present for an exam prior approval and documentation is needed for rescheduling.  If
you fail to speak with me personally before the exam is given, you will not be allowed to
make up the examination and you will receive a grade of zero for the missed exam.  There are
practice quizes for each chapter to help you study.

Late Assignments - Assignments are due during class on the assigned date.  Late papers
will be penalized 10% of the total points possible for each day the paper is late.

Academic Dishonesty - All students are expected to read and abide by the academic
honesty guidelines as stipulated in the undergraduate catalog.  While I assume that most
students will be honorable, trustworthy, and honest in their academic course work,
cheating, plagiarism, and misrepresentation have been known to occur. If such violations of
the University Honor Code do occur, that student will receive a zero on the assignment and
the Director of Student Judicial Affairs will be contacted.
 

The purpose of this project is entertain and develop the ability to (a) assess an elementary textbook chapter for its appropriateness in meeting the developmental needs of your students and (b) to improve a textbook activity to better promote your students' congitive, emotional, and social development in the event that you had to use this text in your classroom despite its shortcomings.  You will justify your modifications based on evidence from relevant developmental theory and research.

I will assign you to small groups of 4 to 5 fellow students who share your teaching interests.  This is similar to how your principal or district administrators would assigne you to a textbook committee.  Your group will choose an elementary-school textbook chapter that is related to your teaching interests, if possible. The chapter you choose must include the teacher's manual so that you can evaluate the suggested activities related to your lesson.  Then you will evaluate it for its appropriateness in meeting students' cognitive, emotional, and social development.  The questions provided below should provide a useful guide.

You will be given some class time to work on these projects, but your group will also need to meet outside of class and communicate by email, phone, ect.  Part One is due on November 10th and Part Two is due on the final exam day of class.

The evaluation must be typed, double-spaced, with no more than 2 pages per question.  Include the title of the text, the publisher, the publication date, and the grade for which the text is intended.  When giving examples, please provide the page numbers on which the examples appear.  A COPY OF THE CHAPTER MUST BE INCLUDED WITH THE EVALUATION!!!

1)  Is the student considered a passive recipient of knowledge or an active constructor of knowledge?

2)  Are there activities designed to foster development by creating disequilibrium in students' thinking?

3)  Are there activities that promote the development of students' metacognitive abilities?

4)  Are there activities that foster the development of students' practical, analytical, and creative intelligence, as conceived by Sternberg?  Provide an example for each type of intelligence.

5)  Are there activities that require students to generate their own questions and then seek answers to those questions?  This question refers to actual directions requiring students to ask questions--not simply problems or readings that might spark questions in the students' minds if they were engaged in the text or problem?

***Recommendations for improving the chapter must be based on the specific content of the chapter.  For example, it is not sufficient to recommend that a math text should include more activities that require cooperative learning or a social studies text should include more analytical questions.  The recommendation must specify concepts or skills that students would be expected to learn and include a description of how the activities would be carried out to enable your students to learn that content.  The goal of the recommendation is to describe an activity that you could use in your classroom and not to describe a way that the publisher could improve the text.
 
 

1)  Does the chapter foster students' emotional development from Erikson's psychosocial perspective?

2)  Does the chapter promote the meaningful development of self-esteem?

3)  Does the chapter include activites that promote moral development and/or cooperation?

4)  Does the chapter include activities that allow for diverse abilities or children with exceptional needs?

5) Does the chapter foster mastery/learning goals or rely on task/performance goals?

Grades: Your grade will be based on both the quality of the completed projects as well as the group evaluation of your participation.  This is not an individual project and should not be treated like one.  The project should be completed early enough to permit each group member to read the draft before it is submitted.  Part 1 is worth 20 points and Part 2 is worth 30 points (which includes 5 participation points).  It is possible for different members to get different grades on the same assignment.

Please note...we will be discussing  these issues throughout the semester and more detailed information on grading procedures will also be provided within the first weeks of class (my experience has taught me that, regardless of age, going over this issue during the first week of class is futile).  
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Select a student, preferably from your Bright Futures placement, to observe over the course of 10 hours of interaction.  Record the date, times, and place of each observation and submit this log with your final outline.  Read through the topics of discussion below in advance in order to focus your attention during your tutoring sessions.  Take brief notes during the course of the tutoring session immediately afterwards so that you do not forget what took place that day.  To the best of your abilities, attempt to observe child development through the use of  activities such as those in the Daniels text.  You may want to consult guidelines in our texts and discussions from class in recording behavior.  You will then need to summarize your notes in terms of the topics provided (below) and briefly describe your experiences in regard to the activites.

At the end of your 10 hours of observation, you will have a packet of handwritten notes.  Use your notes to respond to the following topics, highlighting evidence in your notes to support your claims.  Then, type a  1 - 2 page (minimum) summary (single-spaced) to structure your class participation.  After your presentation, several of your classmates will offer developmentally-based recommendations for this child.  You will hand in your notes, outline, and summary of your group's critiques for a grade.

Topics of Discussion:  In your outline, you should address each of the following topics.
1.  For part 1, give a brief description of your child.  No previous knowledge or background information is needed unless you feel that it is appropriate (please use a psuedoname).  Then, based on your observations, briefly discuss what you noticed about the child's development in these three areas:

• Physical/motor development
• Cognitive development
• Social/emotional development

3. Briefly discuss your experiences with the activites from the Daniels text.

2. For part 2, choose at least one of the theories discussed in class or in your texts which you think is most relevant to the child you observed.  Discuss the behaviour you observed that is explained by this theory.  How does the theory explain what you observed?  Why do you think it offers a good explanation?   Finally, based on this theory what recommendations might you make to foster this child's development.

Presentation:  You will discuss your finding for Parts 1 & 2 (and 3 if applicable) with a small group of your peers.  After you have made your presentation, you and the peer group will have a brief discussion in which your peers will ask questions.  You will summarize the critiques made by your peers (this will be done in class) and turn them in with your observation and presentation notes.

Grades:  The project is worth a total of 30 points (a rubric is provided in the back of the Outside Readings packet.

A. Loneliness in Young Children

B. Working with Shy or Withdrawn Students

C. Preventing Bullying

D. Developing Social Competence for All Students

E. Self-Regulation through Goal Setting

F. Failure Syndrome Students
 

The purpose of the jigsaw activity is fairly straight forward and will primarily be completed in class.  It allows us to cover a larger amount of material in a shorter amount of time.  You and a group of your classmates will become an 'expert' in one of the topics above.  It is very important that you read your assigned topic prior to meeting with your group (these will be assigned in class).  From this, the group will decide on how to present the information in class.  In practice we usually have students 'reorganize' into groups where each topic is represented.  Nonetheless, this activity will focus us on a review of motivation and socio-emotional issues and provide the basis of discussion.

Your group will need to present the information presented as briefly as possible.  However please include the following elements:
 

You only need one presenter, however you can be flexible in how it is presented.  Please attempt to keep the presentation to around 4 or 5 minutes (this will allow time for brief discussion).

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