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Meeting Times
This class is an Internet-based class. No on-campus meeting times are planned. Please note that the assignments in this course have been appropriately developed to replace in-class time, as well as maintain the overall level of learning.
"I am not inviting you to follow me, but to follow yourself. I am only here to help you if you need me." (Groddeck, 1977, p. 2).
One objective of this course is to demonstrate the importance of the preceding statement as a basis for relevant education. I cannot pour knowledge into the minds of students any more than you can. What you learn and how you grow during this course will depend entirely upon what you contribute to your own education.
On a more direct level, objectives of this course include offering students an opportunity to --
Additionally, students will be able to --
Academic achievement in this graduate course is based on the following grading system:
(Source: The Merriam Webster Dictionary, p. 686)
Key Assignments
Policy on the Assignment's Point System
Lesson Plans: All Lesson Plans
and the corresponding Critique of Lesson Plans will receive between 1
and 10 points. Points will be assigned as follows:
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An exemplary assignment, worthy of recognition as a model |
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A well completed assignment, demonstrates mastery of material |
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Adequate completion, suggests some minor confusion or misunderstanding of significant material |
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Inadequate completion, more than minor confusion is present |
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Little of no demonstration of understanding of main points, or severe misunderstanding of critical areas |
Lesson Plans. Each student will be responsible for the development of 6 assigned lesson plans. These lesson plans will generally follow a prescribed format, and are intended to provide an opportunity to place readings into practice. Lesson plans must be submitted to the instructor and to the student's partner no later than 5pm on the date assigned. Assignments not received will be docked 1 letter grade for each 24 hour period, or portion thereof that the assignment is late. There will be no exceptions to this rule. Assignments which are not completed on time create a serious burden on other students in the class. If you are concerned about technology failures, dogs that eat papers, or illnesses that interpret your study time, then plan to turn your assignments in several days in advance. Then, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, you can still be on time!
Lesson Plan Critiques. Each student will be responsible for the critique of 3 assigned lesson plans. These critiques will generally follow a prescribed format, and are intended to provide an opportunity to critically evaluate attempts to move theory into practice. Each student will critique a peer's lesson plan while that peer is critiquing your lesson plan. Balance is called for. As educators, we need to learn to provide effective, productive feedback that helps an individual learn. Critiques that provide no information useful to the author may be deemed inadequate. In addition, such critiques likely will not demonstrate that the author of the critique understands the learning theory upon which the lesson plan is based. In these cases, the critique likely will not be assessed a strong grade because it fails to communicate the two criteria I will look for: 1) that the critique author understands the theory, and 2) the critique author has provided the lesson plan author with helpful feedback.
Discussion Questions. Readings have been assigned that are related specifically to learning in the areas of language arts, math, science, and social studies. These readings can all be accessed through the EBSCO database. For each of these 4 areas, a "conference" will be set up on our class WebBoard. Each conference will begin with a question or a statement designed to prompt thought and discussion. Each student in the class must then post at least 2 responses. The first response may be either a direct answer to the question I posed, or a response to another student's post. The second post each student makes MUST BE a response to someone else's post. While every student is required to post at least twice, no one is limited to 2 responses- and at the discretion of the instructor, extra credit may be assigned for additional postings which help to significantly facilitate discussion. Some students in previous offerings of this course clearly were disappointed in the lack of interaction among students. By contributing to an on-line discussion you can ensure that interaction remains at a reasonable level and increase your own learning. Nothing promotes learning a concept like explaining or teaching it! Please note that in the section entitled "Overview of Course Sessions" specific dates have been assigned by which postings for each conference must be completed.
PLEASE NOTE- The on-line discussion area is largely intended as a space for student-to-student interaction. Feel free to post questions that other students may respond to. If you are seeking information from the instructor, e-mail the instructor directly. I read my e-mail at least daily, and will not necessarily read the bulletin board daily. If you post a question on the WebBoard, I will assume that is an indication you are seeking input from someone other than me, and I will not respond. I may however, choose to offer students extra credit for their responses which meet the needs of others!
Research Paper. Every student is expected to complete a research paper. This paper is conceptualized as including both a "review of literature" and a "theory into practice" component, and will be completed in several steps as detailed below.
A complete description can be found here.
Possible Total Points
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126 - 140 = A 112 - 125 = B 98 - 111 = C 97 or below = F |
Readings
Readings for this course come in 3 flavors. The first flavor is book chapters. Book chapters are clearly referred to as chapters from your text, Learning and Instruction: Theory into practice. A second reading type will be on reserve in an on-line format. These articles will be identifiable because they are hyperlinks from this page. On-line reserve materials are stored in Adobe Acrobat Format. If you need assistance in obtaining the Adobe Acrobat Plug-in or accessing this material, contact the computer helpdesk at 590-1188. The final type of reading material is also available on-line, but must be "searched" to gain access. These materials are identified with a "*" at the start of the article title. These materials are available in full-text format from EBSCOhost, an electronic database available through the FGCU Library (http://library.fgcu.edu). After entering EBSCO, simply search for the title of the article, and it will be available in full-text. You can then read the material on-line, or print it out for later browsing.
Policy on Late Assignments
My commitment to the class is to hold class during scheduled hours (whatever that means in cyberspace), to be available during office hours, to maintain appointments, and to review and return all work in a timely fashion. For me to maintain my commitments, I must have the opportunity to schedule assignments at appropriate intervals. Late assignments are an inconvenience and impinge upon my ability to meet my obligations to other students and my family. In addition, late assignments keep other students from completing their work, since much of the class is based on responding to someone else's work. Therefore, I discourage turning in assignments after the assigned time. To enforce this, all assignments are due at 5pm on the date assigned unless otherwise specified (be on time!). Late assignments will be assessed a penalty equal to 5% of the possible points for each week (or portion thereof) that the assignment is late. Please plan your time accordingly.
Overview of Course Sessions & Modules
WEEK 1 -- May 10-May 14
E-mail
the instructor acknowledging completion of the readings and asking
any questions that may exist.WEEK 2 -- May 17- May 21
Module 3--Topic: Classical Conditioning
- Readings: Chapter 2 in Gredler, M.E. (1997). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (3rd). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
Module 2-- Topic: Gestalt Psychology
- Readings: Chapter 3 in Gredler, M.E. (1997). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (3rd). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
- *It can be taught, but it does not develop naturally: Myths and realities in writing instruction.; By: Graham, Steve. and Harris, Karen R.., School Psychology Review, 1997, Vol. 26 Issue 3.
WEEK 3 -- May 24- May 28
MODULE 4--Topic: Operant Conditioning
- Readings: Chapter 5 in Gredler, M.E. (1997). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (3rd). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
Lesson Plan #1 (based on Operant Conditioning) due by 10am on Monday May 31.
WEEK 4 -- May 31 - June 4
Third set of postings to class WebBoard should be completed by Monday June 7 at 10am. These postings should be in the area entitled "Issues in Math Education."
WEEK 5 -- June 7 - June 11
MODULE 6 -- Topic: Information Processing Theories Readings: Chapter 7 & 8 in Gredler, M.E. (1997). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (3rd). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
- *Promoting strategic learning. (cover story); By: Day, Victoria P.. and Elksnin, Linda K.., Intervention in School & Clinic, May94, Vol. 29 Issue 5.
- Lesson Plan #3 (based on Information Processing Theories) due by 10am on Monday June 14.
WEEK 6 -- June 14 - June 18
WEEK 7 -- June 21 - June 25
WEEK 8 -- June 28 - July 2
WEEK 9 -- July 5 - July 9
WEEK 10 -- July 12 - July 16
MODULE 11 -- Topic: Wiener's Attribution Theory Readings: Chapter 12 in Gredler, M.E. (1997). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (3rd). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill. *Trends and issues in teaching elementary school social studies.; By: EDIGER, MARLOW., College Student Journal, Sep98, Vol. 32 Issue 3.
Lesson Plan Critique #3 (based on Constructivism) due by 5pm on Saturday, July 17.
Final set of WebBoard postings should be made prior to 5pm on Saturday, July 17. These should be made in the area entitled "Issues in Social Studies Education."
Resources
Communication
E-mail
the instructor
Connect
to the class bulletin board
Connect
to the class mail list
Go to Top / FGCU Home Page / Faculty Home Page
This web page was initially developed as a result of a collaboration between Mike Tyler (instructor) and Danilo M. Baylen (instructional designer). Currently, it is maintained by Mike Tyler, and any questions about this site should be directed to him.
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