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Course Requirements:
Weekly
Writings and Class Participation: 30%
Group
Research Project:
20% on your individual part and 20% on your group's performance= 40%
"Hat"
Project:
30%
Weekly
Writings and Class Participation:
In
each chapter of Nodelman's book, he includes little thought projects
called "Explorations." Each week, you should choose one of those
and write a response to it. They will be graded holistically according to the
standards outlined
on my grading rubric. Length is minimum 1
page, double-spaced, and maximum 2 pages, double-spaced. They are due
every Tuesday at the beginning of class, and must be typed. No email
submissions allowed. On weeks where no chapter from Nodelman is assigned,
you should choose a different one from a chapter we have already read.
Class participation is not the same thing as just showing up. You will someday be
entering your own classrooms or workplaces, and you need to begin thinking of yourselves
as professionals rather than students. Professionals participate in the dialogues that
shape their fields. Teachers, especially, are largely responsible for defining
their own environments. You are expected to come to class prepared, awake and alert, and
eager to shape and define the learning experience you will have in this class, as well as
integrate that experience into the professional character you are developing.
What does this mean in practical terms?
1. You should read and think about the material under study before and after each class
meeting. Try to work through where you have encountered similar material in
your previous educational or other life experiences. Mentally test what you believe to be
true against what you hear.
2. While in class, be in class. Don't read, think about, or work on other
things. If you have trouble staying awake, by all means bring coffee or soda. Talk.
Ask questions. If what is going on doesn't interest you, it is up to
you to challenge and change the direction of the conversation. I'm deadly
serious about that. My job is to facilitate your education, an education that you,
ultimately, are in charge of.
Group
Research Project:
You will
prepare a group research project on one of the following topics:
1. The America Project
2. The Cinderella Project
3. The Quest Project
4. The Bad, Bad Boys Project
5. The Arthur Project
You will proceed as
follows:
1. Submit a first and second choice of topics.
2. As a group, define your topic and divide it into sections or subtopics. Try
to incorporate as many disciplinary perspectives as you can as they relate to children's
culture. Also, be sensitive to issues of multiculturalism and diversity.
3. Decide what tasks need to be accomplished. Divide the work among the members of
your group.
4. Generate an annotated bibliography of critical articles and primary sources (i.e.
children's books).
5. Each member of the group should prepare a 3-5 page summary of his or her
contribution to the group project.
6. Your group will have a 50 minutes to present an integrated,
multi-media presentation of your project, with a 25-minute question and
answer period to follow.
7. Provide an assessment that includes a self-evaluation, and an evaluation of how your
group functioned.
"Hat"
Project:
I have
developed 6 projects that blend some outside reading and research with class
work that will result in a written project. On the first day of class, you
will pull one of these projects out of a hat. You are then responsible for
completing that project by the due date indicated.
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