COURSE SYLLABUS

EDCI 943
Fall 2009
Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45
212 Fairchild Hall

Instructor: Dr. Victoria Clegg
Office: 215 Fairchild Hall (second floor; purple door)
Telephone: 532.7828
E-mail: vclegg@ksu.edu

[Course Goals] [Course Requirements] [Contract] [Grading]
[K-State Honor and Integrity System] [Disability Support] [Classroom Conduct]

GOALS:

Principles of College Teaching is designed to help you think about teaching and learning at the college and university level.  You will have the opportunity to develop or enhance some teaching skills as a result of your work this semester, although the development of particular teaching skills is not the exclusive aim of the course.  What you gain from this course will be largely dependent upon your focus and your effort.  I consider it my responsibility to help you reach your individual goals as well as those I have listed below ... so if you have other goals in mind, please let me know.

Upon completion of this course, I would like you to:

• Recognize the many responsibilities that come with teaching college and university students.
• Incorporate learning principles relevant to planning learning experiences for college students.
• Integrate concepts of individual learning styles into instructional planning.
• Realize both the value and the limitations of using student learning outcomes.
• Be aware of differences in learning styles and classroom participation in the many diverse cultures
  represented by today's college students .
• Consider a variety of teaching strategies for different learning tasks -- facts, skills, concepts,
  attitudes, creative problem-solving, etc.
• Understand the importance of evaluation in the teaching/learning process.
• Plan evaluation activities to help students learn.
• Concentrate upon important aspects of instruction when observing others teach or when viewing
  videos of your own teaching.
• Analyze the effects of instructional techniques or strategies when observing instructional situations.
• Identify your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher and make effective decisions
  about how best to enhance and improve your teaching skills.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

SEMESTER PROJECT (50 points)

Your semester project must deal with teaching and/or learning at the college level.  You select the topic and devise the format for the completed work. I want the project to be both useful and interesting to you.

Talk with me about your ideas.  You and I will agree to a plan for your semester's work and sign a contract for the project by September 17.  I'm serious about your making a decision by then, so there is a 10-point penalty for missing that deadline.  On the other hand, students have been known to start work on a project and develop "an even better idea", so it's possible for you to alter the contract as late as mid-October.  

At mid-semester, I may ask for a brief update just so I'll know what you have accomplished on your project by then. Toward the end of the semester, I will ask you to share with the class the highlights of what you learned from your semester project.

The semester project is due on December 14 ... but you may submit it earlier if you are ready.

Contract for Semester Project:

Your contract will include all of the following:

• Your name.
• A brief description of  your project.
• Your reasons for undertaking this particular project.
• An indication of how you will share with Dr. Clegg a demonstration or explanation
  of what you learned from your semester's work on the project.  
• Your anticipated due date -- no later than December 15.
• Signatures -- yours and Dr. Clegg's.
• Signing date -- no later than September 17.

ASSIGNMENTS (80 points) -- I will provide more information about each of these assignments before they are due. This work is very closely tied to discussions we will have in class, so don't try to work on them before I give you more information.

1. (20 pts) Student Learning Outcomes.  You will draft student learning outcomes or objectives
   that relate to the teaching you are doing now or expect to be doing in the future. You
   may use these objectives, or modifications of them, in assignment #2. 
2. (40 pts) Evaluation of Learning. You will prepare descriptions and examples of various
   means of evaluating learning that would be appropriate for the students and courses
   you expect to teach.  This assignment may incorporate some of the work you completed
   for assignment #1.
3. (20 pts) Instructional Strategy.  You will write a detailed plan for helping students meet a
   particular learning objective.  You will share your plans with the class on December 3 .

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LESSONS LEARNED:  OBSERVATIONS   (25 points)

You will observe three college teachers during the semester.  You will discuss at leas one observation with co-observer classmates (pairs/triads).  You will interview at least one of the teachers.  You will then write about what you learned from your observations and your conversation(s).   As you work on this assignment, you may have questions.  Be sure to ask!

EVALUATING YOUR TEACHING:  VIDEO ASSESSMENT   (15 points)

The point of this exercise is that you learn more about how to evaluate your own performance as a teacher.  During the semester, you will make a video of yourself  teaching. If a real teaching situation is not possible, we'll arrange something else.  The video and conferences with classmates and with me are graded as credit/no credit and should be completed by November 25 -- before Thanksgiving.  This means you must have done the video, watched it yourself, shared it with your partner(s), given it to me to watch, and talked with me about what you have learned from the experience -- all of that by November 25.  Do not wait until the last minute!

PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY   (30 points)

Based on your experiences in learning and teaching, you are to write your current philosophy of teaching. The philosophy must reflect your viewpoints, your basic theories about learning and teaching. You may certainly adapt ideas from others ... whether they are strangers to you or colleagues.  You will submit three versions:  an introspective version for yourself, a version for colleagues, and a version for students.  All three versions will be considered in the evaluation of this assignment.

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Academic Honesty

Kansas State University has an Honor & Integrity System based on personal integrity, which is presumed to be sufficient assurance in academic matters one's work is performed honestly and without unauthorized assistance. Undergraduate and graduate students, by registration, acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Honor & Integrity System. The policies and procedures of the Honor & Integrity System apply to all full- and part-time students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate courses on-campus, off-campus, and via distance learning.

A component vital to the Honor & Integrity System is the inclusion of the Honor Pledge which applies to all assignments, examinations, or other course work undertaken by students. The Honor Pledge is implied, whether or not it is stated:

       "On my honor, as a student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid
          on this academic work."

A grade of XF can result from a breach of academic honesty. The F indicates failure in the course; the X indicates the reason is an Honor Pledge violation.

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Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

 

Any student with a disability that needs a classroom accommodation, access to technology or other assistance in this course should contact Disability Support Services (202 Holton Hall, dss@ksu.edu) and/or me (vclegg@ksu.edu).

Expectations for Classroom Conduct

All student activities in the University, including this course, are governed by the Student Judicial Conduct Code as outlined in the Student Government Association By Laws, Article VI, Section 3, number 2. Students that engage in behavior that disrupts the learning environment may be asked to leave the class.