EPSE 308 Syllabus

EPSE 308

Human Development, Learning and Diversity 

Course Instructor: Office:

Phone:

Email Address: Office Hours:

Class Meeting Dates, Times, and Location:

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course Coordinator: Office:

Phone Number: Email Address: Office Hours:

Dr. Lina Darwich

2420 Scarfe

604 827 1553 lina.darwiche@gmail.com by appointment 

As a future educator, an understanding of how children develop and learn is central to your career; equally important is an appreciation of the diversity that exists among students. This course is designed to provide a broad exposure to theories about how children develop, learn and grow up in a diverse society, and how you as a teacher can best facilitate these processes by considering the organization of classrooms, the pedagogical approaches adopted, and the kinds of relationships developed with students. During the first weeks, we will explore the educational applications of both theory and research pertaining to the development of cognitive, academic, motivational, social, emotional and moral competencies as they unfold from early childhood to adolescence. Within this foundational understanding of development, we will also consider issues of diversity, such as identity, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and sexual identity, social class, mental health, and other key characteristics that impact both learning and teaching. In addressing student diversity, a primary focus will be on understanding and valuing differences within classroom and school settings. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on practical applications and implications of theoretical and empirical issues of developmental psychology and theories of diversity to classroom educational practices, with a focus on how child and adolescent development as well as the socio-cultural environment are relevant to teaching in elementary, middle, and secondary schools. The goal is to optimize learning and development, both academic and behavioural, in all students.
Some of the questions that are addressed throughout the course include:

•   What are prospective and experienced teachers’ perspectives on child/adolescent development and issues of diversity?
  
•   How do these expectations influence interactions with students and their families?
  
•   How do teachers’ understanding of child and youth development influence classroom practices, interactions with students, families and
  with other professionals, and their expectations for students?
  
•   How might educators make sense of students as classed, “raced,” gendered, or ---abled subjects?
  
•   What role do gender, poverty, sexual identity, culture, and mental health issues play in the classroom? How does each influence
  teaching and learning?
  COURSE OBJECTIVES
  Upon completion of this course, teacher candidates are expected to:
  

•   Explore their own beliefs/theories of child development and understand how they impact their own teaching
  
•   Define and classify their own individual values, beliefs, and biases around issues of diversity and culture, and describe how these
  values, beliefs, and biases impact their interactions with people of diverse backgrounds
  
•   Explore a number of theoretical perspectives regarding child/adolescent development and their implications for classroom practice.
  
•   Learn about socialization processes and demonstrate an understanding of major conceptualizations regarding ethnic and cultural
  identity development, gender identity, sexual identity, mental health issues and within- and between-group similarities and differences
  among diverse learner groups
  
•   Learn about theories of motivation and how to enhance student engagement, self-regulation, and intrinsic motivation in order to create
  generations of lifelong learners
  
•   Learn strategies and approaches for promoting students’ social-emotional and academic success within a diverse society
  
•   Demonstrate an understanding of major models of cultural sensitivity and ways in which to effectively communicate with students,
  parents, and colleagues with diverse backgrounds different from one’s own
  
•   Apply these conceptual models to self, fellow educators, students, and families to foster understanding of the impact of diversity issues
  on our lives
  This course contributes to the attainment of the British Columbia College of Teachers standard #3: Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development.
  COURSE UNIT VALUE 3 Credits, 13 Modules
  

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COURSE MATERIALS:
Specialized Course “Textbook” and “Book of Reading” package available through UBC Bookstore
EXPECTATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS 1. Attendance and Participation
Attendance and participation are essential to the experiential learning that is necessary within a professional program. Keeping up with assigned readings and participation in class activities and both large and small group discussions forms the basis of professional inquiry and development. Therefore, teacher candidates are expected to attend all scheduled classes, lectures and/or seminars. Teacher candidates who miss a significant amount of class time (more than 15% of course hours) may be required to repeat the course. If you are going to be absent, please inform the instructor by e-mail, by phone or in writing within 24 hours of the missed class. More than one missed class will require a doctor’s note. If a student misses more than one class, the instructor must inform the Teacher Education Office and the teacher candidate may be asked to repeat the course. Full details regarding attendance are described in the BEd Program Handbook found at: http://teach.educ.ubc.ca/publications/index.html.
Attending the 2-week Practicum provides an excellent opportunity to observe and study concrete cases of children’s developmental needs and learning processes (e.g., motivation, intelligence, social-emotional needs, cognitive, emotional and moral development). As part of your participation in class you will be asked to make observations during your practicum and fill out a very short form. This form you will bring back to class after your practicum is over. These practicum experiences will be the basis for some deeper and collaborative in-class group reflection. The goal is to apply the theories that you learn in this class to the educational practices that you encounter in a classroom.
2. “Theory to Practice” Project: Creating Developmentally Appropriate Lessons (30 % of final mark)
Following from our exploration of theories of learning and the development of intelligence, cognitive and academic competencies, you are asked to create as a team of 3-4 people a developmentally-appropriate lesson plan on the same topic or focus for TWO different age groups, including an engaging activity that can be utilized in a classroom. The goal here is to demonstrate your capacity to recognize developmental differences in developing a lesson plan by considering how to modify a lesson on the same topic or issue when addressing children of different ages.
Your lesson plan can focus on any subject or curriculum area (your choice). You are allowed to use an existing lesson plan as a starting point for this assignment and expand it to another age group. What is most important is that everything in the lesson plan is grounded in developmental principles as addressed in the first segment of this course and so that you will create an appropriate learning experience for students at two different age or grade levels.
Although your description of the lesson plan must be specific enough for other people to reproduce your activities, the emphasis for the evaluation of your assignment is that you provide a theoretical rationale for how your lesson maximizes student learning at the two particular age/grade levels identified, using developmental theories and concepts covered during the course. Your ability to consider multiple theories or aspects of development is needed for top marks. Consequently, your lesson plan should include at least three parts:

1. (a)  Identify the two different grade levels or ages targeted for this lesson and identify the focus, content, and objectives you hope to accomplish as well as what you expect students will learn,
   
2. (b)  Describe the activities planned and your anticipated goals, and what you will do to help students reach these objectives, based on your understanding of developmental theory/research, and
   
3. (c)  Provide an extensive addendum to the lesson plan that specifies the theoretical rationale (i.e. specific developmental theories) for your decisions about both what you decided to teach and how you decided to teach (at least 1-2 pages).
   

Your lesson plan should be about 3-4 pages (Times New Roman, double-spaced, 12-point font) and is due at the end of week 7.
3. Inquiry based Team Teaching (30 % of final mark)
Team teaching is a context for you to critically reflect on, respond to, and engage your colleagues in one of seven topics as a team (approximately 5 people per team). Please work collaboratively on the following three parts of this assignment:
1) Main Thesis: What is the underlying question or issue that this article or chapter addresses? What is the main thesis, concepts or theory? What is your own response to this question or theory? In what ways is what you personally think similar or different from the thesis or theory and what are some possible reasons for this?

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2) Experience and Examples: What relationships can you establish between this article/chapter and your own experiences attending school? Can you see the experiences of your family members or friends in this article/chapter? What relationships can you establish between this article and your current practicum experience? Provide examples or tell a story about what you’ve observed and/or experienced.
3) Discussion Questions: What two or three questions would you like to discuss with the group after reading the article? What question(s) do you have for the author?
Your main focus should be on creating a critical perspective that engages your colleagues in a whole class discussion, deep reflection, and a dialogue of different ideas in relation to the major issues raised in the reading. Remember that all of your colleagues have already read the text so please do not simply summarize the reading. The team teaching should take around 50 minutes.
On the class meeting following your team teaching, please submit a short individual reflection on lessons learned (2-3 paragraphs). This reflection should include: how the team functioned (working with colleagues), what you learned about engaging students (teaching a whole class and ensuring every student a place to participate), what you learned about supporting dialogue across difference (creating spaces for different perspectives and experiences to surface), as well as what you’d like to do more of next time you teach and why (insights from your reflection on teaching).
4. Auto-Geography (40 % of final mark)
According to McGregor (2004, p. 1), “We teach who we are.” The purpose of this assignment is for teacher candidates to locate themselves in an intersectional landscape: to reflect on your identity in relation to your family, your particular experience of intersectionality, the intersections that constitute your local community, and how these connect you to global communities. There is a historical and developmental aspect to this auto-geography: in order to understand your present location, you’ll need to get grounded in your past experience, and this will enable you to articulate your expectations for your future experiences as an educator as well. As educators, we continually reflect on and make meaning of our own privileges, biases and standpoints as a method for learning from our students about their diverse experiences, identities, circumstances, and backgrounds. While this assignment is designed as an auto-geographic experience for teacher candidates, like all of the assignments and experiences in this course, it can also be transformed in age-appropriate ways for use with future students to enable them to locate themselves and reflect on their own complex identities and diverse experiences in society.
This assignment has three parts: (a) finding and/or creating artifacts, (b) a dialogue, and (c) a short reflection. You will be given some in- class time to develop first thoughts and ideas for this project. However, be prepared to work outside of class to finalize your project.
a. Finding and/or creating artifacts
Find artifacts or create something that represent the questions: Where am I coming from?, Where am I now? and Where am I going? These found and/or created artifacts can represent one of the following aspects: 1) your identity, 2) your family, 3) the processes that most shape your intersectionality in local communities, and 4) the ways in which you are connected to global communities. Be selective about what you choose to include and/or create and focus on what is meaningful for you, rather than feeling like you have to “cover” everything. This auto- geography may include diverse forms of representation, such as an essay or a poem, a painting, a sculpture, a musical composition, a short movie or photographic sequence, or collage of meaningful objects. Leading questions could be: What experiences have been central to your evolving identity as an educator over time? What diverse family or cultural processes shape who you are and who you want to become? How do you imagine yourself in the future as an educator? You may find or create something to represent your past, present, and future or something that combines some or all of them. When addressing the content of these questions, some of the readings and topics of this course may be useful as an orientation (i.e., biases, communicating across differences, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, poverty and social class, mental health, risk and resiliency). This assignment purposely gives you a lot of freedom so that you decide and choose what is most meaningful for you.
b. Dialogue:
In our meeting before last we’ll hold small group dialogue circles to describe your auto-geography and learn from the feedback and experiences of one another. You will be given the opportunity to get feedback from your group on your auto-geography as well as to juxtapose your location to experiences and insights with those of some of your colleagues. You are asked to listen attentively as well as to create a supportive and thoughtful atmosphere in your group so that each of you is able to tell your stories and/or show your creations. It is your task and opportunity to communicate across differences, recognize diverse perspectives, and learn from these disparate experiences, as well as to acknowledge commonalities within your group. Please be prepared to explain why the artefacts you created or found are meaningful and relevant as well as to think about other’s auto-geographies and give them advice. Importantly, consider seriously how your own individual experiences shape your goals and expectations as a teacher and in turn your educational practice.
We will also organize a ‘gallery walk’ at the last day of class so that we all can see the auto-geographies of each other. You may want to talk about ‘how’ you would like to present your project and/or what you would like to share with others.

c. Reflection Paper:

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Due on the last day of class is a reflections paper on how the experiences that you made: creating it, talking to your colleagues and presenting it at the last day of class – will affect your teaching: 1. describe your project shortly and the process of making it, 2) describe the experiences presenting it and talking with your colleagues about it, 3) write about the reflection throughout the process and how those will influence you as a future teacher. How might it influence your practice in the classroom, communicating with families and the students, creating an open and warm classroom atmosphere, or anything alike. The paper should be between 1-2 pages (Times New Roman, single- spaced, font 12).
Reference: McGregor, S. (2004). Transformative Teaching. We Teach who We Are, in: Kan – Forum, Vol. 14, no. 2
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ASSIGNMENTS
All written assignments should be submitted in written form (INSTRUCTOR TO SPECIFY PAPER OR ELECTRONIC), double spaced, in 12 font, with page numbers and an appropriate bibliography, as necessary, presented in APA style (American Psychological Association).
LATE SUBMISSIONS
You are expected to submit all course work by the specified due date unless arranged with the instructor at least one week in advance. Any late assignments that have not been previously discussed with your instructor will result in a failure on that assignment.
PASS-FAIL MARKING
As is the case for most courses in the Teacher Education Program, this course is graded using a pass/fail grading system. That is, only “pass” or “fail” will appear on your transcript, with “Pass” being equivalent to at least B+ performance (76% in UBC’s standard marking system). In a professional faculty, passing a course entails both good academic performance as well as active participation in learning activities. Students are expected to meet all criteria to receive a passing mark. Moreover, each assignment must earn a passing mark in order for the student to receive a passing final grade for the course. If an assignment does not meet expected standards, students will have one opportunity to revise and resubmit the assignment. In such cases, the student must attach the first version of the assignment and highlight the changes made in response to instructor feedback.
If a student has continued difficulty meeting expectations, he/she should discuss the situation with the instructor and also with the Teacher Education Office. It is the instructor’s responsibility to provide timely, specific and helpful feedback on student assignments.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PLAGIARISM
The integrity of academic work depends on the honesty of all those who work in this environment and the observance of accepted conventions concerning such practices as acknowledging the work of others. Students are expected to complete their own work and to submit work that has been prepared for this class only. Plagiarism, submitting or presenting the work of another person as if it were one’s own, or submitting work prepared for another class can result in an automatic failure of this course. Moreover, students are also expected to acknowledge, as appropriate, the contributions of others in your submissions by way of appropriate referencing.
Plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct are taken very seriously at UBC, whether committed by faculty, staff or students. Students should be aware of the sections of the University Calendar that address academic misconduct (www.students.ubc.ca/calendar) and of the university’s website on scholarly integrity (http://clc.library.ubc.ca/airc.html). The UBC library webpage on plagiarism and how to avoid it is also a very useful resource (www.library.ubc.ca/home/plagiarism/), with specific information on the many different forms that plagiarism can take, including accidental and intentional plagiarism (see: www.library.ubc.ca/home/plagiarism/for-students.doc or www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
If you have questions or concerns about any of these policies or conventions in relation to how they apply to the work you do in this course, please discuss them with the instructor.

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IMPORTANT POLICIES

Please be aware of the following UBC, ECPS, and Teacher Education Policies:
Gender Inclusive Language
Please incorporate and gender inclusive language in your oral and written language. This language positions women and men equally, it does not exclude one gender or the other, nor does it demean the status of one gender or another. It does not stereotype genders [assuming all childcare workers are female and all police officers are male], nor does it use false generics [using mankind instead of human kind, or using man-made instead of hand crafted]. In addition, this language requires gender balance in personal pronouns, for example, use "he and she" rather than "he" or balance gendered examples in a paper, referring to both male and female examples. You may also cast subjects in the plural form, for example, when a “student raises his hand” change to when “students raise their hands.”
Person First Language
Please incorporate and use person first language in your oral and written language. Disabilities and differences are not persons and they do not define persons, so do not replace person-nouns with disability-nouns. Avoid using: the aphasic, the schizophrenic, the hearing impaired. Also avoid using: the hearing impaired client, the dyslexic lawyer, the developmentally disabled adult. Instead, emphasize the person, not the disability, by putting the person-noun first: the lawyer with dyslexia, the child with hearing impairment, the teacher with a physical impairment.
Professional Conduct
Teacher candidates in the Faculty of Education are expected to adhere to principles of professional conduct while on campus and in schools. They are also expected to adhere to the policy of the university regarding respectful learning environment. Participants in this course are expected to demonstrate all of the qualities of professionalism, arriving at each class fully prepared, engaging actively in the teaching and learning process and interacting ethically with your peers and your instructor. Classes will be conducted within an atmosphere of respect, both for each other and for the ideas expressed by participants in class discussions and debates. My responsibility in this class is to model professional conduct and to guide you to an understanding of professionalism when you are on campus, and when you are on practicum in schools.
Students with Disabilities
If you have a letter from the office of Access and Diversity indicating that you have a disability that requires specific accommodation, please present the letter to me so that we can discuss possible accommodation. To request academic accommodation due to a disability, first meet with an advisor in the Office of Access and Diversity to determine your eligible accommodations/ services. Please keep me and the Teacher Education office informed about requests for accommodation.

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COURSE SCHEDULE

	Week 1: Developmental Theories and Education: An Introduction
	Topic			Teachers’ Beliefs and Understanding of Child Development
Guiding Questions				What do teachers need to know about child development, and why is it important? What are some of the prominent theories of development that inform education? How do ecological models of development and socialization inform educational practice?
	Weeks 2-3: Teaching, Learning, and Cognitive Development
	Topic 1		Constructivist and Sociocultural Perspectives
Guiding Questions			What are some of the key theories for teaching and learning? Teaching something doesn’t mean that children learn it. How do we link teaching and learning? How do we develop and ensure that understanding has taken place? What are the components that help children monitor their own understanding?
	Topic 2		Neuroscience and Cognitive Development
Guiding Questions			What does the latest research in neuroscience tell us about student learning? What are some ways in which teachers can be informed by this research to promote student learning?
	Topic 3		Intellectual and Academic Achievement; Reading, Writing and Numeracy
Guiding Questions			How do we conceptualize intelligence among school children? What theories of intelligence inform educational practice? What happens when students do not demonstrate the intellectual competencies needed for school success? How do academic skills develop in the basic content areas (e.g., reading, writing, numeracy)?
	Week 4: Engaging Students: Motivation, Self Perceptions and Self-Regulation
Guiding Questions			How do children develop a concept of self? How does a students’ beliefs about self impact their classroom behaviour and success? How can teachers support student’s development of self-regulation? What are the critical issues in motivation, and what does the latest research tell us about how to motivate students? What are the ways in which teachers can facilitate or impede student motivation?
	Week 5-6: Social, Emotional and Moral Development and Learning
	Topic 1		Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Guiding Questions			What is SEL? How does SEL support successful student outcomes? How can SEL be taught in classrooms and schools? How does SEL relate to various instructional strategies and other school initiatives?
	Topic 2		Morality and Behaviour: Fostering prosocial vs aggressive behaviour
Guiding Questions			How do children develop a sense of right and wrong during the school years? What are the factors – both individual and contextual – that influence development? How can teachers foster positive moral development? How does this impact student behavior?
	Week 7: Recognizing the Intersections of “Difference” and Communicating Across Differences
Topic			Intersectionality and Difference, Issues and Strategies for Communication in Diverse School and Classroom Settings
Guiding Questions			How do different kinds of “differences” intersect in different contexts? How might educators make sense of students as classed, “raced,” gendered, abled, subjects? What are some of the communication issues that arise with respect to diverse learners? What are some strategies for enacting essential communication skills for promoting, maintaining and managing classroom behaviour, conducting parent teacher meetings, and creating professional interactions with peers and administrators in diverse classrooms and school settings?
	Week 8: Gender

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Topic		Gender and development, gender in the classroom, gender as subculture
Guiding Questions		What role does gender play in the classroom? How does gender influence classroom interactions? What are the implications for gender subcultures in teaching?
	Week 9: Sexuality and Sexual Identity
Topic		Gender and Sexual Identity in Classroom and School Settings
Guiding Questions		Gender identity, sexual identity, and changing notions of family in Canadian society: What are the implications for teaching and learning? What are some of the issues that arise for adolescents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning in school settings? How do we create inclusive educational environments for students in school and classroom settings?
	Week 10: Race, Culture and Ethnicity
Topic		Issues Around Race/Ethnicity and Culture in the Classroom and School Setting.
Guiding Questions		What are the ways that race and ethnicity play a role in teaching and learning?
	Week 11: Social Class and Poverty
Topic		Understanding Social Class and Poverty in Classroom and School Settings
Guiding Questions		How do social class and poverty influence learning and teaching? What does the current research in Canada report about poverty and social class in children and their families? What is the effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on child development outcomes?
	Week 12: Mental Health
Topic		Mental Health Promotion in Schools
Guiding Questions		What is mental health and mental illness in children and youth? How do you understand the most common mental health concerns of children/youth? How can you identify associated behavioral symptoms? What are the appropriate ways to make appropriate recommendation for referral to psychological services in your school District/community?
Auto-Geography		Presentation and Dialogues about Auto-Geographies: Time for Dialogues about the Auto-Geographies in small groups
	Week 13: Risk and Resiliency
Topic		Issues of risk and resiliency in classroom and school settings: Promoting positive development in all students.
Guiding Questions		What is risk? What is resiliency? What are the ways in which to promote students’ positive development in classrooms and schools?
Auto-Geography		Gallery Walk and submission of reflection papers

Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning or CASEL
Find Youth Info – Resources/programs to help youth-serving organizations & community partners

Edutopia- What works in public education, George Lucas Foundation What Works, US Dept of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences Centre for Social and Emotional Education
Developmental Studies Center - Caring School Communities Project Teach Safe Schools

Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR)

WEB RESOURCES

(www.casel.org) (www.findyouthinfo.gov) (www.edutopia.org) (www.ties.ed.gov/nceewwc/) (www.csee.net) (www.devstu.org) (www.teachsafeschools.org) (www.esrnational.org/home.htm) Education.com - Online Magazine with special issue on bullying by researchers around the globe (www.education.com) Feelings Factory (www.feelingsfactory.com/) The UBC Human Early Learning Partnership (www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/)

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Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) Best Practices Portal The Hawn Foundation
Project EXSEL
The Roots of Empathy
Committee for Children
Responsive Classroom
Developmental Studies Center
Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies or PATHS Search Institute (focus on developmental assets

(www.cbpp-pcpe.phac-aspc.gc.ca/) (www.thehawnfoundation.org) (pd.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/exsel/index.html) (www.rootsofempathy.org) (www.cfchildren.org/) (www.responsiveclassroom.org/) (www.devstu.org/) (www.channing-bete.com/prevention-programs/paths/) (www.search-institute.org/)

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