Myself as Teacher I - The MAC program is intended to focus, in part, on reflecting on past experiences to develop your abilities as an educator.  This paper is a means of developing a sense of yourself as a teacher based upon your own experiences.  This should be a short paper (generally, 3-5 pages typed, double-spaced) which can show your views on your practices as a teacher and how these relate to previous experiences in the classroom.  (You will probably use this later in your job portfolio, upon revision based on your MAC experience.) Due: July 14

Educational Philosophy Statement - This too is a short paper which will eventually be used in your portfolio which should concisely state your philosophy toward the purpose and process of education.  It is not necessarily a focus on your own classroom practices, but rather a larger view of your beliefs as to why and how and for whom education should take place.  Due:  August 5

Profile of Peace Neighborhood Student/Experience - This will vary as your tutoring experience varies, but it should be a reflection of your experiences in tutoring at Peace Neighborhood Center, geared toward your thoughts as to how best to work with young children.  If you have the opportunity to work solely with one or two children, this should be a profile of this/these student(s) as a learner, so that this profile might be used to assist the child's teacher this next year.  If you work with a number of different children, you should reflect on the successes and challenges in working with students this age, all in the process of determining your own opinions and approaches to helping children learn.  Due:  August 7

School/Community Profile Presentation - This is a group assignment to be carried out with your colleagues with placements in the same school/district as you.  This should be an attempt to understand the context of the experience you are about to have in your classroom by learning about the communities and school which you will be working within.  You should use a variety of means to gather information (demographic, interviews, etc.) which you could present to your classmates to better assist them in understanding what your school is like, and to answer those questions you might have about the communities and families you will be working with and the building, personnel, and curriculum of your school.  These presentations will be held on August 6th.  The presentations will be 15 minutes each.  You should also use visuals (still pictures, charts, graphs, maps, etc.) to more clearly illustrate any information.  Due:  August 6

Personal Learning Project - See the page entitled "Personal Learning Project" within your binder.  The proposal for your learning project is due September 3.  The presentations of your project will be made sometime in May, 1999.

MAC Seminar Assignments:
My Own Learning Difficulties - In order to better understand how to assist our students in their own learning processes, we must understand the difficulties and challenges we have faced in our own education.  This short paper should answer the question "What was hard for you to learn and why?"  Be sure to examine as many factors as you can in evaluating your experience.  Due:  October 1

MAC Seminar Portfolio for Fall Semester - This is the document which is intended to be a means of evaluating your progress and growth as a student and teacher.  This should include accumulated work for the program, as well as demonstration of your participation in your education as a Master's student and future teacher within the program.  This should include any revisions of papers, possible journal entries, and other items which demonstrate your involvement in your education. Due:  December 3

Plan for Student Teaching - This document will act as a guide for yourself, your mentor, and your MAC instructors to understand the process and procedure for your development as a teacher in your classroom.  Developed in conjunction with your mentor, this document should act as an approximate timetable for your integration into the classroom as a teacher, and should establish a schedule for communication, observation, and evaluation of your performance as an educator.  This plan is to also act as a contract, so to speak, between yourself, your mentor, and your supervisor as to each individual's duties in guiding your development.  Due:  November 19

World Wide Web Site (Version 1.0) - See below. Due: Moved to January 21.

Critical Issues Presentation - There are a number of issues which we face as educators which we would like to present and discuss in the seminar, but lack the proper knowledge or experience to address them in the manner they deserve.  So, for this assignment your and your colleagues will develop presentations on the issues which impact you.  See the Critical Issues Page at the link above for more information.  Proposals Due:  December 3; Lesson Plans for Presentation due March 2; Presentations in Mid March.

Multicultural Book Review - Canceled.

Educational Book Review - We seek to broaden our perspectives in the realm of education in an "efficient" manner.  For this assignment, you will be asked to read a recent book on pedagogy, education, teaching, etc. and write a book review to give the pertinent information about the issues discussed as well as your take on the author's work.  We will briefly mention these in class, and will post your reviews on the MAC Web Site as a resource for yourselves and others in our field.  Title Due:  January 28; Review Due: May 6

ED 606/695 Assignments:

A Teaching Unit - Write a description of the teaching of a "unit" as it occurred in your classroom.  contrast this with the "lesson plans" the teacher has made for the unit.  Interview the teacher about her intentions and the outcomes he believes were achieved.  Describe the assessment tool(s).  Interview several students about their experience of the unit.  Due:  September 29

Social Interaction in a Classroom - Describe the social interaction patterns of one classroom on two or more days.  What are the implications of these data for teaching and learning? Due:  October 13

Quantitative Profile of a Class - Use as many measurable dimensions as you think of which might have some significance to describe your high school classes.  For example: age, gender, height, weight, attendance, participation, extra curricular participation, test scores, etc.  present these data using appropriate summary statistics --  central tendencies and variability -- and tables to tell the story of each class group.  When you compare the groups on these dimensions, what do you learn that will affect your teaching?  Due:  October 27

Teacher Life History - Tell the story of one teacher's life based on interviews, observations and artifacts.  This may be your mentor teacher or another teacher of your choosing. Due:  November 17

Profile of a Student - Develop a profile of one student's learning history across a span of eight or more years by reviewing artifacts (tests, papers, drawings, written evaluations, etc.) and talking with the student, as well as any others who have had the opportunity to watch this student develop.  If there is a sufficient record, you might use yourself.  Due:  December 8
 

MAC Seminar Assignments:
World Wide Web Site (Version 1.0) - Computer technology and the Internet are rapidly becoming one of the mainstay resources to educators.  In an attempt to recognize the educational merits of the medium, as well as understand the potential for use in learning, you will develop and maintain a site on the World Wide Web of your own, which should have some elements which can be used for educational purposes, either as an index for your own use, or a resource providing content. Check the link above for details and expectations. Due:  January 21.

Unit of Instruction - One of the more important skills in teaching is the ability to plan lessons and units, so as to appropriately meet all objectives and determine a rational plan or approach to fostering student understanding.  The unit of instruction will hopefully be a unit that you will be teaching in your classroom at some point.  If you are developing a unit of instruction for your methods course, you may use such a unit for this assignment, though it should meet the objectives which will be described in class as to format and approach. Units and other lesson planning items are to be reviewed by your primary faculty supervisor at times specified by them.  You should also include elements of your units within your Winter and Job Portfolios..

Student Evaluation Form - One of the key points to being an effective educator is to seek input and evaluation of your performance from those you are intending to help; your students.  This document should help solicit appropriate input and suggestions from your students in order to better assist them in their education.  This will also be used later in your evaluation of your teaching. Due:  February 18.

Resume - As you know, the resume is the first of several items which can help you find a professional position as a teacher.  A professional, education-oriented resume (both paper and electronic format), is due in late February, in order to help start the process of finding such a position. Due:  February 25.

Portfolio for Job Interviews - This document is intended to give potential employers an opportunity to see what type of teacher and person you are.  It should include a number of artifacts, including a resume and list of references, examples of activities, planning, and assessment, student and professional evaluations, and other documentation of your work as an educator.  It should be contained within a separate binder and organized for easy access, and should be brief enough that one could review the materials in ten to fifteen minutes. Due:  March 30 for Ann Arbor student teachers, April 6 for Saline student teachers.

MAC Seminar Portfolio for Winter Semester - As mentioned earlier, this is the document which is intended to be a means of evaluating your progress and growth as a student and teacher.  As a result, it should demonstrate continued progress, including all elements from the previous semester and additional items from seminar and teaching experiences accumulated during the Winter term.  Due:  April 13.

ED 606/695 Assignments:
Student Learning Paper - Write a paper in which you describe the way students learn and the pedagogical methods that you will use to support/enhance/promote/facilitate that learning.  Give many examples from your observations and teaching during this year. Cite relevant sources from the educational research literature that supports your view.  These papers are to be presented at a class meeting in April.  Due:  April 8 (or before for those who will be absent that day for spring break).

 
World Wide Web Site (Version 2.0) - This will be a revision of your Web Site from the previous semester, with included elements pertinent to a job portfolio and activities utilizing technology in your classroom.  Al;so included will be the Educational Book Review, along with other pertinent Web based information focusing on your role as an educator.  Check the link above for details. Due:  May 6.

Video Reflections on Teaching - So often we have difficulties reflecting on our own practice because we cannot see it happening, or at least see it "from a distance".  For this assignment, you will be required to record and assemble videotape from at least hree teaching experiences and reflect on your own practice.  You will include the video along with a written.  Due:  May 13.
 

End of Year Presentations on Your Classroom Experiences - Over the course of the year, we will have several opportunities to informally share our classrooms experiences and interests with the cohort.  This presentation is intended to be a more formal means of sharing your reflections on the past year with your colleagues.  Due:  May 27 (Presentations will take place on May 27 and June 1).

Educational Philosophy Statement/Myself As Teacher  Synthesis Statement  - This document is a revision of the statements you made last summer, based upon your observations and experiences over the past year.  This document should also be added to your job portfolio.  It should reflect upon your experience as well as readings and discussions from the MAC seminar. As it includes elements of both earlier papers, this should be a longer document to state your beliefs and philosophies about education in general, and the education process of your own classroom.  Feel free to include examples and elements from your experience in the MAC program.  Due:  June 1.

In addition to these larger assignments, there will be a number of shorter, day-to-day assignments which may arise out of discussion topics or class activities.  Generally, these assignments will be assigned a session ahead of time, and will be used to guide the discussion or activities for the following class session, so it will be important for you to complete these assignments as well.  Such assignments will always be given at least a session in advance, and will be listed on the program Web Site. 

One of the regular assignments which will be expected is a journal of your experiences and readings.  With each reading assignment, we will have a variety of journal-like writing assignments in order to better focus on the issues discussed and to help reflect your thoughts and feelings on these issues.  Many of these will be free writing activities, though some may be specifically directed to give a better focus on the issues at hand.  Hold on to these -  we will be collecting them randomly and will expect to see elements of these within your portfolios. 

You will also be expected to complete all reading and other non-written assignments according to the schedule listed within the semester syllabus or on the Web Site.  There may be a number of class activities which are based upon your completion of such readings or activities, which would be impossible to complete otherwise.