07S:114 Introduction to Practicum: English/Speech

Course Web Site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07s114
One section of this course is offered every Fall and Spring semester.

Introduction to Practicum is the first formal course on your journey to becoming an English Teacher.  During this semester, you will work in and observe an English classroom in one of the area secondary schools.  You will also participate in the Academic Mentoring Program at Northwest Junior High School.  Together, we will explore the complexities of teaching English/Language Arts through reading selected articles and discussing them in our weekly classes.  This course allows you to be a student of the English classroom, as well as a participant, with the hope that you will gain a better understanding of your chosen profession and begin to develop your own philosophy of teaching.

07S:115 Methods: English

One section of this course is offered every Fall and Spring semester.

This course is designed to get you ready for student teaching and your own classroom in the months ahead.  We will explore a variety of instructional strategies and assessments to appeal to different learners in the classroom.  We will create lessons and unit plans you can adapt to your own classroom and share our ideas with each other.  We will discuss the current realities of teaching today and explore how different societal aspects impact your classroom and your teaching.

07S:155 Approaches to Teaching Writing

One section of this course is offered every Fall and Spring semester. If it meets minimum enrollment, a section is also offered in the Summer semester.

This course is designed in three layers--the practice of writing itself, the theory and pedagogy of the teaching of writing, and the understanding of how to watch both.  One half of our class time will be a collaborative workshop configuration.  We will draft, read, share drafts in conferences and response groups, and "publish" the pieces we write in formal "read-arounds."  During the other half, we will respond to the readings, the theory, and learn how to work in the classroom with the techniques we are using in the "practice" layer.  In short, I hope this course will give you "praxis," theory applied to practice.  The two are inextricably tied.  One of my teachers, Donald Graves, liked to say, "There is nothing so practical as a good theory."  I hope you’ll agree.  We try to find opportunities to work with local student writers through the public schools and here at the University.  I’ve always maintained that the best way to learn to teach writing is to “go head to head” with another student writer.

07S:182 Language and Learning

At least one section of this course is offered every Fall and Spring semester. If it meets minimum enrollment, a section is also offered in the Summer semester.

Intended primarily for elementary and secondary pre-service language-arts teachers, this course focuses on the nature of linguistic development and performance. We’ll read works that reflect a range of scholarly approaches to language study, explore language use both in and out of school, and consider implications for classroom teaching. Students will be expected to reflect thoughtful habits of mind in class activities and discussions, plan instructional sequences that promote awareness of linguistic diversity, and demonstrate understandings of young people’s language practices and learning.

07S:193 Reading and Teaching Adolescent Literature

One section of this course is offered every Fall and Spring semester. If it meets minimum enrollment, a section is also offered in the Summer semester.

In this course, we will be immersing ourselves in a range of literary texts at the same time that we are thinking through the multiple ways in which those texts and teachers and students interact with one another. Our goals will be to become familiar with ourselves as readers of literature, with the conventions that shape the ways literature is read and taught in school, and with the wide variety of literature intended for the young adult reader.

07S:194 High School Methods Reading

One section of this course is offered every Fall and Spring semester. If it meets minimum enrollment, a section is also offered in the Summer semester.

This course is designed to bring together theory and methods of teaching literacy with developing an understanding of the literacy needs and preferences of adolescents. A main focus of this course is understanding and appreciating the many purposes of literacy, while also exploring teaching methods and techniques that will help adolescent readers make the most of their literacy experiences. Throughout the course of our study, we will read a range of texts appropriate for English/language arts classrooms and will utilize a variety of activities and strategies for literacy these, and other, texts. The course will attempt to blend theory and practice in such a way that students in the course will both understand some basic elements of what to teach and how to teach it, as well as how thinking about literacy in ways that will benefit secondary students. The progression of the course is designed to build upon the knowledge we develop through our literacy and activities; we will begin the semester with trying to define the teaching of literacy for ourselves and our study will build upon what we learn about ourselves as readers – and as teachers – as the course progresses.

07S:315 MA Seminar

This course is offered in the Fall semester only.

What does it mean to be a fully “literate” person in these new times÷and how to define the study of “English”? Where have we been as a field and where are we going? Is English something one comes to “know”, something one does, or both? Is it best seen as a discrete subject, or as a set of concerns that cut across the curriculum? How do political and institutional contexts shape our work as teachers of English? How to convince policy-makers and parents that our English courses are offering understandings and opportunities of key significance? We'll explore an array of such questions, from various perspectives and along multiple pathways through reading, writing, discussion, and our own research.

07S:187 Seminar: Curriculum and Student Teaching

Course Web Site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07s187b
This course is offered in the Fall and Spring semester.

As an accompaniment to student teaching, Seminar is a course that helps you make sense of your student teaching experience. It provides a forum for you to converse with other student teachers of English, to explore your question about student teaching with an eye towards your own professional career. Every week we will discuss the various aspects of teaching in general, such as planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management, as well as delving into the unique characteristics of English/language arts teaching. Students will be required to show evidence of their short- and long-term planning, their ability to reflect on their teaching practices, and their understanding of instructional strategies and assessment. We will complete electronic portfolios as well as work on professional portfolios.

07S:191 & 07S:192 Student Teaching

Student Teaching is offered in the Fall and Spring semester.

The student teaching semester is the culmination of any teacher-education program. It allows teacher candidates to apply knowledge from their coursework to a real teaching situation over an extended period of time. This is the most vital and critical phase of a teacher’s preparation; the goal is to professionalize teacher candidates as confident, informed, reflective practitioners who are committed to students’ learning, passionate and knowledgeable about their subject, and grounded in theory. We are proud of our English Education graduates. Many of them serve as mentors to our student teachers regularly.

Student Teaching Placement
Our placement assignments provide optimal growth for each of our teacher candidates. We are careful to select each school, classroom, and cooperating teacher with each student teacher in mind. Each student teacher works one-on-one, all semester, with both the supervising classroom teacher and a carefully selected college supervisor who has had prior experience as a classroom teacher. The English Education program is diligent about finding supervisors and area cooperating teachers who are enthusiastic mentors, highly competent colleagues, and familiar with the theories and practices we teach. Our partnerships with area schools are strong, supportive, and reflect longtime working relationships. In addition, each student teacher attends a weekly on-campus seminar that considers common concerns related to the teaching of English and preparatory materials for the job market: the resume, the teaching philosophy, the electronic portfolio, the interview process. We make every effort to create a positive learning experience for each student teacher, a model for what we hope they’ll do for their own students.

Special-site Placement.
Most of our English Education students spend their student teaching semester at schools within driving distance of the University of Iowa. However, a few candidates apply each semester for permission to student teach at a special site. The College of Education has established partnerships with a number of school districts that allow our teacher candidates to experience both urban and rural, more linguistically diverse school settings different from the area surrounding the university. These include Aldine, TX; Rialto, CA; and Las Vegas, NV. Our students apply, too, for special sites in the Chicago area and within driving distance of the other Iowa Regents’ Institutions (the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and Iowa State University in Ames).

Special-site placements require that the student teaching responsibilities be completed without the support of the university community (seminar assignments, e-Portfolio requirements, application for licensure, consultations with peers and professors). While student teachers at special sites do maintain contact with a selected University supervisor, they miss the weekly support of others who are familiar with the program’s course of study. For these reasons, our application for special site placement requires additional steps and a thorough review by the English Education faculty. We base our collective faculty decisions on students’ ability to work independently and overall performance in the program. For this reason, we strongly advise our students to discuss their special site plans with their faculty advisors before applying.

Procedure for applying for a special-site placement:

1. Submit the special-site application along with your student teaching application (available from the Office of Student Field Experiences) one full academic year before the student teaching semester.

2. Write a clearly articulated rationale (500-800 words) that explains your reason(s) for a special-site placement, and submit it with your application.

3. Maintain a 3.0 overall University of Iowa grade point average and in your program area.

4. To be considered, we expect you to demonstrate qualities of independence, maturity, and ability to meet deadlines throughout your course of study.

The English Education faculty will consider your application and notify you by October 15 (for Spring semester) and by February 15 (for Fall semester). Any questions, please contact Amy Shoultz.