Curriculum

This course introduces prospective and practicing teachers to the characteristics of students with physical, cognitive and emotional/behavioral challenges. The participants will be introduced to legislation issues including ADA, IDEA, IEPs, transition services, inclusion, etc. Participants will explore the role of students, family and education professionals. As part of this course, participants will reflect upon 15 hours of observations and interactions with students with disabilities.

This course provides the basic theories, issues and concepts related to teaching bilingual students in Pre-K-12 classrooms. Program models will be presented that employ bilingual education and integrated English as a Second Language (ESL) services as well as other models. Classroom strategies impacting student behavior and student learning are discussed. Current issues are discussed and provide students with opportunities to complete library research. Graduate students will complete a significant research project as part of this course. Field experience required.

This course takes a global approach to the promotion of literacy. Focusing on juvenile and children’s literature as well as on literature applicable to adolescents, the course will provide an in-depth study of literacy beyond our national borders. Methods of teaching literacy — reading, writing, speaking, comprehending, and thinking — to ELL students will be infused in the course. Students will develop lessons, literature-teaching modules, and develop materials for use in future classroom work. Field experience required.

This course focuses on student-centered theories, providing models of curriculum development and their application for English Language Learners. Approaches and strategies such as: the grammar-translation approach; the Silent Way; the Audio-lingual Method; Total Physical Response; Jazz Chants; the Natural Approach as well as Cooperative Learning; Multiple Intelligences; Whole Language; among others are presented. English language development (ELD) lesson and unit planning as well as the assessment of these are required. The Common Core and Learning Standards as applied to English Language Learners will provide the basis for curriculum work in the course. The course will infuse technology and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in methodology. Students will apply material learned to curriculum units and develop instructional strategies that exemplify “best practices” in the field.

This course serves as an introduction to various issues (e.g. cultural and linguistic bias, political, social, and psychological factors diagnostic, formative and summative) in assessment, IQ, and special education testing (including gifted and talented); the importance of standards; and the difference between language proficiency and other types of assessment (e.g. standardized achievement tests of overall mastery), as they affect ESOL student learning. The statistical principles of validity and reliability, and the variety, selection and use of standardized language tests will be discussed. Consideration is also given to a variety of standards-based language proficiency instruments and performance based assessment tools and techniques that are used to inform instruction and for identification, placement, and demonstration of language growth of ESOL students.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the principles of research in education. Students will become effective consumers of educational research by analyzing the literature in a particular area of study and synthesizing the results into material that can be applied to diverse educational settings. Students will also develop practical research skills that they might use to assist them in their own professional development. Preservice teachers and practitioners enrolled in this course will complete a field-based research project pertaining to their area of study.

This course will present current theories of second language acquisition (SLA) as well as provide an overview of linguistic phenomena in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and discourse analysis germane to the second language classroom. Language transfer, BICS vs. CALP, hypotheses of major theorist in the fields of SLA and linguistics will be discussed. The course will analyze fundamental concepts, such as SLA in adults and children, in formal and informal learning contexts, and in diverse sociocultural settings, and take an interdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to consider SLA from linguistic, psycho-logical and social perspectives. The course will emphasize how to teach pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar/syntax, and discourse in an ESL classroom and allow students to apply research-based practices. Field experience is required.

This course will approach sociolinguistic considerations germane to the ESL classroom from a humanities perspective. After reviewing models of first and second language acquisition, this course will discuss socio-linguistic phenomena such as code switching, dialects and idiolects, language transfer, loan words, and appropriate discourse. Students will apply theoretical models to ESL classroom practice through research and projects.

This course is designed to explore required content standards (pre-K-12) and to develop instructional practice for meaningful learning in the ESL classroom. Cognitive-Academic Language Learning Approaches (CALLA) and other content-area Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) lessons will be covered. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model will be emphasized. Participants in the course will learn how to deliver instruction and how to create instructional materials using this model. Assessment of learning in the second language content-area classroom is conducted. Field experience required.

(120 hours) in elementary and secondary setting*

This practicum is designed to allow teacher candidates the opportunity to develop competence in teaching English to speakers of other languages in grades K-12. Standards-based practices and strategies related to planning, implementing, and managing ESOL and content instruction, including classroom organization, teaching strategies for developing and integrating language skills, and choosing and adapting classroom resources will be discussed. This practicum provides a supervised professional experience for candidates. Candidates are placed in an ESOL classroom or resource room at a grade level appropriate to their circumstances: candidates will be placed in a grade K-6 (elementary) setting and in a grade 7-12 (secondary) setting for a balanced total of 100 clock hours. Teacher candidates are expected to demonstrate attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential to effective teaching consistent with New York State Learning Standards and Ontario Expectations. Teacher candidates will develop their final professional portfolio through the semester in conjunction with the professional seminar. Candidates are supervised by an experienced mentor and the university supervisor.

This course is designed to provide teacher candidates with knowledge and understanding of those competencies that are essential to successful teaching. The seminar focuses upon the teacher candidate's professional role as a classroom practitioner in an ESOL classroom. In addition, responsibilities for classroom organization and management and the use of technology in the classroom are addressed. Further, creation of multiculturally sensitive and gender equitable classrooms; attitudes toward teaching, learning, and assessment; knowledge of ethics and a basic understanding of school systems and community characteristics are considered.

***Advised Elective (3 credit hours)

This course is designed to assist candidates in the advanced graduate programs in the College of Education as they develop their comprehensive portfolios that evidence the knowledge, skills, and dispositions recognized by the highest national and international professional organizations within their program areas. The course will explore the general and specific directives of portfolio preparation including format and composition. Personal guidance will be provided by the instructor through regular meetings.

This course examines the ways in which diverse disciplines (e.g., history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, multiculturality, economics, ethics, law) are the basis upon which Western educational practices are built. These interconnected foundations continuously shape school characteristics and conditions including curriculum, pedagogy, classroom organization, technology and the expectations held of teachers, students, parents, administrators, and the community. Course experiences will involve prospective teachers in gaining knowledge with which to analyze the effects of these educational foundations on the school experience in the past and present. Prospective teachers will use their evolving foundational framework to examine educational paradigms, theories and practices that either strengthen and expand the democratic possibilities of schooling or maintain the current correspondence between educational success and students’ socio-economic and cultural identities.

The course is designed to introduce the prospective teacher to the theories of human learning, development and motivation and the applications of these theories in the learning environment. Each of the developmental stages of early childhood, childhood, preadolescence and adolescence will be focused upon to gain awareness of human learning, maturation and motivation. Prospective teachers will be required to participate in a school-based learn and serve field placement to experience the application of theories; observe the interaction of a child/adolescent within the school, family and peer systems; and reflect upon their learning through a case-study project.

This course is designed to help prospective teachers develop the knowledge and skills to deliver literacy instruction effectively. Participants will learn how to: create a literate environment that wraps literacy around all areas of the curriculum; implement the New York State Learning Standards or Ontario Expectations following principles of effective instruction; incorporate technology into instruction; use a wide range of literature, including multicultural literature, across the curriculum; cultivate partnerships with parents to encourage and enhance literacy development; and use literacy assessments to make decisions about instruction for diverse learners.

This course provides the basic theories, issues and concepts related to teaching bilingual students in Pre-K-12 classrooms. Program models will be presented that employ bilingual education and integrated English as a Second Language (ESL) services as well as other models. Classroom strategies impacting student behavior and student learning are discussed. Current issues are discussed and provide students with opportunities to complete library research. Graduate students will complete a significant research project as part of this course. Field experience required.

This course serves as an introduction to various issues (e.g. cultural and linguistic bias, political, social, and psychological factors diagnostic, formative and summative) in assessment, IQ, and special education testing (including gifted and talented); the importance of standards; and the difference between language proficiency and other types of assessment (e.g. standardized achievement tests of overall mastery), as they affect ESOL student learning. The statistical principles of validity and reliability, and the variety, selection and use of standardized language tests will be discussed. Consideration is also given to a variety of standards-based language proficiency instruments and performance based assessment tools and techniques that are used to inform instruction and for identification, placement, and demonstration of language growth of ESOL students.

This course will present current theories of second language acquisition (SLA) as well as provide an overview of linguistic phenomena in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and discourse analysis germane to the second language classroom. Language transfer, BICS vs. CALP, hypotheses of major theorist in the fields of SLA and linguistics will be discussed. The course will analyze fundamental concepts, such as SLA in adults and children, in formal and informal learning contexts, and in diverse sociocultural settings, and take an interdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to consider SLA from linguistic, psycho-logical and social perspectives. The course will emphasize how to teach pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar/syntax, and discourse in an ESL classroom and allow students to apply research-based practices. Field experience is required.

This course is designed to explore required content standards (pre-K-12) and to develop instructional practice for meaningful learning in the ESL classroom. Cognitive-Academic Language Learning Approaches (CALLA) and other content-area Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) lessons will be covered. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model will be emphasized. Participants in the course will learn how to deliver instruction and how to create instructional materials using this model. Assessment of learning in the second language content-area classroom is conducted. Field experience required.

(120 hours) in elementary and secondary setting

This practicum is designed to allow teacher candidates the opportunity to develop competence in teaching English to speakers of other languages in grades K-12. Standards-based practices and strategies related to planning, implementing, and managing ESOL and content instruction, including classroom organization, teaching strategies for developing and integrating language skills, and choosing and adapting classroom resources will be discussed. This practicum provides a supervised professional experience for candidates. Candidates are placed in an ESOL classroom or resource room at a grade level appropriate to their circumstances: candidates will be placed in a grade K-6 (elementary) setting and in a grade 7-12 (secondary) setting for a balanced total of 120 clock hours. Teacher candidates are expected to demonstrate attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential to effective teaching consistent with New York State Learning Standards and Ontario Expectations. Teacher candidates will develop their final professional portfolio through the semester in conjunction with the professional seminar. Candidates are supervised by an experienced mentor and the university supervisor.

This course is designed to provide teacher candidates with knowledge and understanding of those competencies that are essential to successful teaching. The seminar focuses upon the teacher candidate's professional role as a classroom practitioner in an ESOL classroom. In addition, responsibilities for classroom organization and management and the use of technology in the classroom are addressed. Further, creation of multiculturally sensitive and gender equitable classrooms; attitudes toward teaching, learning, and assessment; knowledge of ethics and a basic understanding of school systems and community characteristics are considered.