Rigor+and+Justice+Drafts

Mission Statement: We aim to prepare teachers to be effective instructional leaders in their very first year of teaching in order to ensure immediate student success. We aim to give teachers differentiated instruction in their own field and rigorous standards for their performance. We aim to support teachers as they transition from observer in the classroom to classroom facilitator. Rationale for Teacher Ed Program: We feel that current teacher education programs do not adequately prepare teachers to step into the classroom on day 1. The teachers suffer, the school environment suffers and the student suffer. Not only will teachers make more progress with their students, they will not feel overstressed, overburdened and will not perpetuate the high teacher turnover rate that is so endemic in the teaching profession as it stands. Goals of Teacher Ed Program: -Provide support to fledgling teachers in areas of difficulty. -Provide extra support for cooperating DOE schools in need of committed, extra staff. -Prepare teachers to enter their first official year of teaching with the confidence and experience of a veteran, third-year. Course Listings/Descriptions for Teachers: (in order) List of Duties for Teachers in School: 3 year program (Masters Program): 3 schools- 60 person program **In school- monthly rotations** Year 1: Observations, teacher and student interviews Year 2: Observations, pair with veteran teacher to co-plan Year 3: Observations, student teaching, feedback 2x week by professors. Curriculum: - Year 1: 2 days in school, 3 days taking classes - Year 2: 3 days in school, 2-3 taking classes - Year 3: 4 days in school, 1-2 taking classes (portfolio project at the end)
 * __Rigor and Justice__**

__Course Listings and Rationales__

1. History of Education All first year students are required to take history of education within the first semester. It is imperative that future teachers learn from the history of education in this country and its innovators, as well as critique past models in order to educate themselves on how to improve the system in the future. -Classroom Procedures and Organization Every teacher needs clear, systematic and organized procedures in order to make their classrooms run efficiently and avoid wasted learning time. There are best practices associated with these classroom organization systems and procedures that will shared, discussed and practiced. Students will be able to enter their classrooms with a procedure and organization plan in place. - Classroom Management and Investment (Incentives Based) In this class, students will create behavior management systems and practice dealing with classroom management concerns. Students will analyze causes and effects of disruptive behavior and meaningful ways to handle these difficult situations. This class will also cover student investment that can be applied to any content area. This incentives based investment instruction will allow students to create their own investment plans and classroom management procedures. -Special Education and Differentiation Almost all of our classrooms are becoming heterogeneous mixtures of general education students and special education students. This class will primarily focus on addressing the needs of our special ed students and how we can best meet them at the level they are at and scaffold to help them achieve. This class will concern itself with what differentiation actually looks like in the classroom, as well as examining case studies of special education students to gain insight into some of the challenges they will face. -Teaching ESL/ELL students/former ELLs Especially in urban environments, more and more teachers are dealing with the Challenge of having ELL/ESL or former ESL students in their classrooms who May be proficient in English, but not skilled or able to communicate their Knowledge fully. This class will focus on strategies and tools that can be used to service our ESL/ELL populations. - Technology in the Classroom In the technology age, writing, reader and various other academic skills are being conducted over previously unfamiliar mediums. Integrating technology into our classroom in productive ways will help our students prepare to be successful in the upcoming world they will live in. -Assessment What does authentic assessment look like? What are the various ways to Examine what a student has learned? These are the types of questions Explored in the assessment test. Students will draft several forms of assessments And explore theory and best practices of student assessment.
 * //Core Classes//**

- Small Group Advisory Each semester students are placed into small advisory reflection groups. They reflect on observations, classroom best practices, etc. depending on the stage of the program. -Teaching Literacy and Literature This elective is aimed towards teachers who plan to teach English at the middle Or high school level. It was focus on guided reading models, new approaches to Teaching literacy, as well as the balance between reading skills and teaching Literature. -Teaching Writing This elective is applicable for teachers planning on entering an English classroom Or any other teacher who will be incorporating a fair amount of writing into their Daily routine. With maybe the exception of math, this class will be applicable to All. Issues discussed will be investment in writing, the writing process, portfolio Based approaches to writing, the writer’s workshop model and writing in the Technology age. -Incorporating literacy into non-English classrooms. Writing and reading are essential skills to any successful student and classroom Environment. That being said, not enough reading and writing is being done in content areas outside of the humanities. This class will focus on specific and creative ways that other content areas can teach literacy and incorporate more literacy-based skills. -Elementary Education- Issues and Solutions This elective is for teachers looking to enter the elementary school classroom. Elementary school comes with its own set of challenges and this class will Guide students through the best practices of a successful elementary school Classroom, focusing on literacy, math skills and classroom structures and organization. - CTT teaching This elective is increasingly pertinent to teachers of all disciplines and grades. The collaborative team teaching model is being extended into millions of Classrooms. Coteaching can be a challenging process and this class will guide Students through troubleshooting the issues that may arise, as well as inform Both lead teachers and special education teachers about the various coteaching Models and approaches that exist. This class will also ask students to pair up And practice coteaching in a classroom environment at our partner schools. -School Leadership Preparation More and more, especially in the urban setting, new teachers are asked to take On leadership roles in their schools. This class will assist teachers in skills such As dealing with administrators, how to request leadership positions, student Advocacy etc. - Remedial classes It is our intention that these classes be rigorous and have multiple aspects to them Including real classroom practice time, written papers, research projects, group Projects etc. We believe fully that no person will be perfect at every skill initially. We have therefore built in a series of remedial classes on classroom management, Organization, content teaching, and teaching writing/literacy for students that Are struggling with any of those areas. -Portfolio/Thesis Class **Sample Schedules** Teachers will be in two schools each semester. They will observe the equivalent of three regular class periods at each school. The goals of their school time during year one is to track small groups of students throughout a semester. They are to observe these students, their progress, and their difficulties over the course of one semester. They also observe the teachers: their best practices in unit planning, daily lessons, management and organization. Throughout the semester they have focus observation objectives so they can build a pool of best practices in all areas of teaching. Teachers will observe six classes in order to gain a variety of experiences, while maintaining the ability to monitor and form consistent relationships with students and teachers. They will also conduct one-two small group or individual tudor sessions based on mentor teachers’ instructions. Sample semester schedules: Fall Semester: Spring Semester: The goal of year 2 is to continue getting comfortable in the classroom by pairing with mentor teachers in planning and facilitating lessons. This year will be similar to traditional student teaching roles, but the students will only be in the classrooms for three days of the week. Teachers will continue to spend one full day observing and working one on one or with small groups of high need students. Teachers will work with veteran teachers to plan lessons within units. They will lead class once a week by the end of the semester for mentor teacher feedback. All lessons will be videotaped for peer and professor feedback as well. Core classes will focus on lesson planning and management.
 * //__Electives__//**
 * Year 1:**
 * Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * School 1 morning observations || School 2 morning observations || History of ed ||  || Small group advisory ||
 * School 1 morning observations || School 2 morning observations ||  || Teaching lit and learning ||   ||
 * Mentor teacher meetings || Mentor teacher meetings || Class proced./org ||  ||   ||
 * School 1 afternoon observations || Small group/one on one tutor session ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * School 3 morning observations || School 4 morning observations ||  || Special ed/differentiation || Small group advisory ||
 * School 3 morning observations || School 4 morning observations || Class proced./org ||  || CTT teaching ||
 * Mentor teacher meetings || Mentor teacher meetings ||  ||   ||   ||
 * School 3 afternoon observations || Small group/one on one tutor session ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Year 2:**
 * Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * School 5 observations || School 5 observations || School 5 observations || Classroom management and investment ||  ||
 * School 5 lessons || School 5 lessons || School 5 lessons ||  || Assessment/ Backwards planning ||
 * Mentor teacher reflections || Mentor teacher reflections || Mentor teacher reflections ||  ||   ||
 * Small group instruction || Small group instruction || Small group instruction ||  ||   ||


 * Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * School 6 observations || School 6 observations || School 6 observations || Teaching Writing ||  ||
 * School 6 lessons || School 6 lessons || School 6 lessons ||  || Elementary education- issues and solutions ||
 * Mentor teacher reflections || Mentor teacher reflections || Mentor teacher reflections ||  ||   ||
 * Small group instruction || Small group instruction || Small group instruction ||  ||   ||

Teachers will be teaching four days a week, with two classes on the side. Teachers will be teaching three of the four days of their week. They will take equal part in planning and grading process. One day will continue to be small group work and teacher observation. Teachers will only have one school each semester, so they can simulate the first year teaching experience. Classes focus on school leadership and portfolio building. Students take additional electives to fill in gaps in curriculum or learning. Lessons taped or observed once a week for peer and mentor teacher feedback. student teaching || School 8- student teaching || School 8- student teaching ||  || School 8- observations || student teaching || School 8- student teaching || School 8- student teaching || School leadership prep || School 8- observations || student teaching || School 8- student teaching || School 8- student teaching || Incorporating lit in non-english classrooms || School 8- observations || student teaching || School 8- student teaching || School 8- student teaching ||  || Thesis advisory group ||
 * Year 3:**
 * Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching || Teaching ELLs || School 7- observations ||
 * School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching || Technology in classroom || School 7- observations ||
 * School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching ||  || School 7- observations ||
 * School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching || School 7- student teaching ||  || School 7- observations ||
 * Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * School 8-
 * School 8-
 * School 8-
 * School 8-
 * All remedial courses and other electives given during summer. Students can get credit for teaching small groups or individual students during summer school.