WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

COURSE SYLLABUS EDUC 5301

Advanced Principles and Practices in Education

Fall 2008

Saturday 8:00 a.M. – 12:00 P.M.

Main Building, Room 110

 

Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging and distinctively Christian environment for professional success, lifelong learning, and service to God and humankind.

 

Instructor:      David T. Ibanez, Ed. D.

Office Hours:    30 minutes before/after class

E-Mail: davidibanez@nisd.net 

                                                                       

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Development of skills related to the teaching learning process. Students will develop knowledge of educational history, philosophy, organization, political, and psychological and apply this knowledge to the schools and individual classrooms.

 

TEXTBOOK:  Good, Thomas L. and Brophy, Jere E. Looking in Classrooms. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Tenth Edition 2008.

 

Textbooks are an information source and a means of explaining and stimulating interest in the material.  However, it does not contain all the information students need to know,   Additional information, notes and handouts, interpretations, and analyses will be given in class.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  By the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to:

  1. Recognize the major concepts of classical and operant conditioning as well as social learning.
  2. Understand current educational research, use related theories and concepts appropriately.
  3. Be able to describe and apply the ideas of classical & operant conditioning and observational learning.
  4. Explain the information-processing model of memory.
  5. Understand and apply the principles of motivation to specific populations and with specific behavioral problems both in and outside of education and human services settings.
  6. Understand the relationships that exist between the historical, philosophical, sociological, organizational, and political aspects of teacher decision making and leadership.

 

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES:  Three major methods will be utilized in the class to facilitate the students’ understanding of the major principles and concepts of learning and motivation:   1)  Lectures on appropriate topics related to the study of learning, memory, and motivation,  2)  Readings to further elaborate on each theory, and 3)  Presentations,  and role-playing.

PARTICIPATION is a MUST in all class discussions.  You are expected to be an active learner, which includes verbally participating class and group discussions. Because it is at the graduate level, this class will involve a degree of self-exploration and interpersonal learning.  The assumption is that one of the best ways to learn about learning and motivation is to experience the process and then conceptualize/apply this learning experience. 

NOTE:  As stated above, part of your course grade may be influenced by your participation in class discussions.  If you expect to get the most out of this class then you should actively participate in the class activities, group discussions, and lecture question/answer components.

 

Readings:  Assigned readings and/or chapters are to be completed prior to the class session for which they are assigned.  

 

ATTENDANCE: Students should make every effort to attend all class meetings.  All absences must be explained to the instructor, who will then determine whether the omitted work may be made up.  When a student reaches that number of absences considered by the instructor to be excessive, the instructor will so advise the student and file an unsatisfactory progress report with the campus dean.  Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings will receive a grade of F in the course.  Additional attendance policies for each course, as defined by the instructor in the course syllabus, are considered a part of the University’s attendance policy.  A part of the course is experiential and therefore cannot be made up. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the professor of the dates that they will be absent.  If you anticipate upcoming absences in this course come talk to the instructor sooner rather than later. 

 

TURN ALL CELL PHONES AND PAGERS OFF DURING CLASS.

 

Plagiarism Policy:

 

Intellectual integrity and truthfulness are fundamental to scholarship.  Plagiarism is a form of cheating.  Plagiarism occurs when a student fails to give proper credit when information is either quoted or paraphrased.  Plagiarism takes place when you take credit for someone else’s work.  Plagiarism may result in an “F” in the course or your being expelled from the class or university.

 

Disabilities: It is university policy that no otherwise qualified disabled person be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity in the University.  Students should inform the instructor of existing disabilities at the first class meeting.

 

Course Requirement:

Periodic Quizzes The quizzes will be handed out during the first hour.

Case Study You will be given a case study to analyze and apply the concepts learned in class. The case study will be typed, double spaced, and no more than five pages in length.

Research Paper/Presentation You will select a topic to research and present to the class. Research paper is 5 to 7 pages in length, APA style, with 3 to 5 references from professional educational journals.  The presentation should be no longer than 20 minutes. Provide a one page outline (mandatory) and other handouts (optional) for every student.

Midterm and Final Exam The exams will cover the assigned readings, class discussion, presentations, and lectures.

 

The University has a standard grade scale:

A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F= below 60, W = Withdrawal, WP = withdrew passing, WF = withdrew failing, I = incomplete. An incomplete may be given within the last two weeks of a long term or within the last two days of a microterm to a student who is passing, but has not completed a term paper, examination, or other required work for reasons beyond the student’s control. A grade of “incomplete” is changed if the work required is completed prior to the last day of the next long (10 to 15 weeks) term, unless the instructor designates an earlier date for completion.  If the work is not completed by the appropriate date, the I is converted to an F.

 

Grading System:

Participation                             20%

Periodic Quizzes                       10%

Case Study                               10%

Research paper/Presentation     20%

Midterm Exam              20%

Final Exam                               20%

Tentative  Schedule:

August 23                    Course Expectations And Introductions                                                

August 30                     Classroom Life                                Chapter 1             

September 6                Teacher Expectatons                     Chapter 2

September 13               Preventing Problems                       Chapter 4

September 20               Coping with Problems          Chapter 5

September 27               Motivation                                       Chapter 6

October 4                    Midterm Exam

October 11                  Students’ Interaction                        Chapter 7

Heterogeneous Classes        Chapter 8

October 18                  Affirming Culture                          Chapter 8

October 25                  Assessing Student’s Knowledge    Chapter 10

                                    Growing as a Teacher                    Chapter 14

November 1                 Final Exam