Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Format
This course is an asynchronous online course designed to be completed within this Canvas course site. While you can complete the coursework at a time convenient to you, you will typically have assignments due twice a week during this online course. As you are required to submit some assignments before accessing the other, it is imperative that assignments are submitted before or on the date due.
Assumed Prior Knowledge
You are expected to be familiar with APA-style citations and references. For questions, you can refer to the APA Style website.
You will be required to not only cite the course textbooks, but also discussion board posts and interactive notebook entries made by peers. Guidance for how to cite discussion boards and interactive notebooks can be found in the section on Online forum references (apa.org).
You should also be familiar with how to navigate this course site and Google Drive and documents. You will need to have a Google account to access some materials for this course. You will occasionally need to video record yourself (using a phone is acceptable) and upload the video to a Google Slide deck. Directions for how to do so can be found at Uploading video to Google Slides.
Course Materials
- Hall, G. E., Quinn, L. F., & Gollnick, D. M. (2019). Introduction to teaching: Making a difference in student learning (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
- Scully, P. A., Stites, M. L., Roberts-King, H., & Barbour, C. H. (2019). Families, schools, and communities: Building partnerships for educating children (7th ed.). Pearson.
- A subscription to the video library of the Teaching Channel. Information about individual subscriptions to the video library of the teaching channel can be found at All Courses | Teaching Channel
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)
- Describe how beliefs and values influence the experience of education.
- Analyze how social and political movements shape and influence schooling.
- Apply knowledge of development and motivation to educational settings to promote learning for all students.
- Develop appropriate goals for student learning informed by standards, learning objectives, student development, and learning needs.
- Analyze and describe models of instruction and research-based practices and their impact on student learning.
- Respond appropriately to the diverse needs of student learners in the design of learning experiences and student assessment.
- Exhibit a critical consciousness of teaching and learning related to the intersection of culture and education.
- Plan learning experiences using a variety of approaches.
- Articulate the purpose of education and the intersection of sociocultural experience and education.
Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) Alignment
| CLO | Description | PLO |
|---|---|---|
| A |
Reflect on educational experiences and how those experiences shape views of education. |
1, 3, 7 |
| B |
Describe how beliefs about learning and teaching influence learning experiences both in and out of the classroom. |
1, 7, 9 |
| C |
Identify various social movements that have and do shape schools and education practices and describe how schools and learning are shaped by social contexts. |
2, 5, 9 |
| D |
Use current educational research to articulate and support views of education and the relationship between schools and society. |
2, 3, 5 |
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Points/Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Written Reflections on Learning |
You will have readings due each Wednesday and Saturday of the course (except for week 1 for which will have readings due only on Saturday). For each set of readings, you will be given a choice of prompts. You will choose one prompt to respond to and write one or more well-developed paragraphs (4-10 sentences) in response. Each prompt may consist of more than one question. Be sure to address every question from the prompt in your response. Responses should be posted on the appropriate discussion board. To be successful in this course, it will be important for you to read the responses posted to all prompts. While you will not be graded for doing so, reading the responses posted by your peers will help you prepare for other assignments in this course. |
300/30% |
| Reflections on Observed Educational Experiences |
You will be assigned three videos or sets of videos to watch throughout the course. For each set of videos, you will be asked to write a two- to three-page paper reflecting on the following prompts:
|
150/15% |
| Educational Autobiography |
You will write a five- to seven-page paper reflecting on your educational experiences (from birth through the present day). In the paper, you should describe specific events/memories related to your educational journey and reflect on how these experiences shaped your understanding of what it means to learn, what it means to teach, and what the purpose of education is. As you do so, identify the people involved in these events and reflect on how their involvement influenced your development as a learner. After describing these key events, identify some common themes in the events and/or common characteristics of the people who shaped your learning experiences. Describe which of these common themes and/or characteristics were helpful to you as a learner, and why they were helpful. You may also describe themes or characteristics which were unhelpful, or even harmful, and explain why. Finally, compare your experiences to what you have learned about today’s students and schools from course readings. How might your educational journey have differed from that of today’s students? Cite specific readings from the course using APA style. |
100/10% |
| Family and Community Engagement Analysis |
You will identify a school, district, or educational agency (for example: library, childcare center, community center, etc.) of your choosing to analyze the ways in which they engage families and community members in a five- to seven-page paper. To do so, you should investigate the school’s or district’s website(s) to identify opportunities for engagement. In your paper, you should:
|
100/10% |
| Current Educational Policy Analysis |
You will be asked to analyze a school, district, state, or federal educational policy of your choice in a five- to seven-page paper. In analyzing the policy, you should first summarize the policy, identify the authors, and address the following questions:
|
100/10% |
| Interactive Group Notebook and Reflection |
Throughout the course, you will work in a group to create an interactive group notebook using Google Slides. You will be asked to create slides, complete graphic organizers, and embed video into the interactive group notebook. You will also be asked to review and provide feedback to peer contributions in the group notebook. At the end of the course, you will write an eight- to ten-page paper in which you identify how your thinking has changed and/or developed over the semester. You should refer to entries you created for each of the four modules in the interactive group notebook that best demonstrate the change in your thinking and/or your growth about the theme of the module (today’s students, families and communities, social foundations of education, and building partnerships). For each theme, you should also include a discussion of how the course readings, discussion posts created by peers, and the entries you and your peers made in the group notebook influenced your growth. Finally, discuss how the way you have grown and changes in your thinking will influence your actions or practices in your future career. |
250/25% |
| Total | 1,000/100% |
Scale
Final Course grades will be calculated using the following scale:
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Components
Readings and Reflections
Written reflections allow you to demonstrate what you have learned and what you value in course readings. Each reflection may require you to complete one or more of the following activities:
- Describe how beliefs and values influence the experience of education (PLO-1).
- Apply knowledge of development and motivation to educational settings to promote learning for all students (PLO-3).
- Analyze and describe models of instruction and research-based practices and their impact on student learning (PLO-5).
- Exhibit a critical consciousness of teaching and learning related to the intersection of culture and education (PLO-7).
- Articulate the purpose of education and the intersection of sociocultural experience and education (PLO-9).
In doing so, written reflections will capture your developing thoughts about each of the four course learning outcomes throughout the semester. They will be instructor-evaluated based on a provided rubric.
Reflections on Observed Educational Experiences
By viewing educators in real classrooms and other educational settings, you will be able to observe the practices discussed in this course. Each reflection may require you to complete one or more of the following activities:
- Analyze how social and political movements shape and influence schooling (PLO-2).
- Apply knowledge of development and motivation to educational settings to promote learning for all students (PLO-3).
- Analyze and describe models of instruction and research-based practices and their impact on student learning (PLO-5).
- Exhibit a critical consciousness of teaching and learning related to the intersection of culture and education (PLO-7).
- Articulate the purpose of education and the intersection of sociocultural experience and education (PLO-9).
In doing so, reflecting on educational experiences will help you to identify how the ideas developed to meet each of the course learning objectives can be put into practice. You will be instructor-evaluated based on a provided rubric.
Interactive Group Notebook Entries
For your interactive group notebook, you will be asked to apply what you have learned in course readings to analyze yourself as a learner, schools, systems of education, and other educational spaces and professionals. You will be given a choice of contexts to analyze so that the context is relevant and meaningful to you. Entries in the group notebook may ask you to complete one or more of the following activities:
- Describe how beliefs and values influence the experience of education (PLO-1).
- Analyze how social and political movements shape and influence schooling (PLO-2).
- Apply knowledge of development and motivation to educational settings to promote learning for all students (PLO-3).
- Analyze and describe models of instruction and research-based practices and their impact on student learning (PLO-5).
- Exhibit a critical consciousness of teaching and learning related to the intersection of culture and education (PLO-7).
- Articulate the purpose of education and the intersection of sociocultural experience and education (PLO-9).
In doing so, you will be engaging in an analysis of each of the four course learning outcomes. Individual entries will not be graded, but your instructor may provide feedback. You will also receive feedback from a peer. It is imperative to complete the entries, as they will be used in your final summative assessment (below) for the course.
Summative Assessments
In your summative assessments, you will complete one or more of the following activities:
- Describe how beliefs and values influence the experience of education (PLO-1).
- Analyze how social and political movements shape and influence schooling (PLO-2).
- Apply knowledge of development and motivation to educational settings to promote learning for all students (PLO-3).
- Analyze and describe models of instruction and research-based practices and their impact on student learning (PLO-5).
- Exhibit a critical consciousness of teaching and learning related to the intersection of culture and education (PLO-7).
- Articulate the purpose of education and the intersection of sociocultural experience and education (PLO-9).
In doing so, you will be engaging in an analysis of each of the four course learning outcomes. Individual entries will not be graded, but your instructor may provide feedback. You will also receive feedback from a peer. It is imperative to complete the entries, as they will be used in your final summative assessment for the course.
Course Policies
Communication
This class will use Canvas to post announcements, communicate information, post assignments and due dates, and discuss course-related topics. It is your responsibility to check Canvas a minimum of twice per week. You should also be sure to check your OU email regularly to receive important communications about the course from the instructor or other enrolled students. When corresponding, please begin with a greeting and proper salutation, sign with your full name, and indicate the course section. Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life. We should do our best to communicate respectfully even when we may be in disagreement with one another.
Please send all communications through Canvas to ensure that they are received. During the week, I will typically reply within 24 hours of receiving your message. If you send a message after 4:00p on Friday or over the weekend, you can expect to receive a reply no later than the end of the day on the following Monday. If you do not receive a response within these timeframes, your message may not have reached me; please resend it.
Feedback
Every effort will be made to provide feedback within 72 hours of the due date of assignments for assignments submitted on time. Assignments for which a grade is required before additional assignments are opened will be prioritized. It may take up to one week to provide feedback on summative assessments.
Late Policy
The content of this course is cumulative; that is, you need to understand the early content to access and understand later concepts. Thus, submitting work late is not in your best interest, because being late on one assignment will cause you to also be late on future assignments. However, late work will be accepted up to 48 hours late. For assignments submitted more than 24 hours late, a 10-point deduction will be applied.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying another person's work or by submitting content generated by AI. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch the OU Libraries Plagiarism Tutorial video and take the short Avoiding Plagiarism Tutorial Canvas course offered by University Libraries.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|