educators, related professionals, families, and other members of their community. They can also engage in cross-disciplinary practice and scholarship.

3. inquiry: Teacher candidates can investigate educational dilemmas and problems and seek resolutions that benefit students. They can also think critically about educational issues and reflect on their practice with the goal of continuous improvement.

4. instructional leadership: Teacher candidates know their content and pedagogy and use this knowledge to help all students learn. They can reflect on their practice and change their teaching approaches based on their own insights.

B. Florida Educator Accomplished Practices: Professional Level

The State of Florida has established twelve performance standards to which all teachers in the State are held accountable. The Florida Accomplished Practices at the accomplished level are the standards teachers need to demonstrate upon successfully completing a program at the master’s degree level.

1. Assessment: The accomplished teacher uses assessment strategies (traditional and alternate) to assist the continuous development of the learner.

2. Communication: The accomplished teacher uses effective communication techniques with students and all other stakeholders

3. Continuous Improvement: The accomplished teacher engages in continuous professional quality improvement for self and school.

4. Critical Thinking: The accomplished teacher uses appropriate techniques and strategies which promote and enhance critical, creative, and evaluative thinking capabilities.

5. Diversity: The accomplished teacher uses teaching and learning strategies that reflect each student’s culture, learning styles, special needs, and socioeconomic background.

6. Ethics: The accomplished teacher adheres to the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession of Florida.

7. Human Development and Learning: The accomplished teacher uses and understanding of learning and human development to provide a positive learning environment which supports the intellectual, personal , and social development of all students.

8. Knowledge of Subject Matter: The accomplished teacher demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

9. Learning Environments: The accomplished teacher creates and maintains positive learning environments in which students are actively engaged in learning, social interaction cooperative learning and self-motivation.

10. Planning: The accomplished teacher plans, implements, and evaluates effective

instruction in a variety of learning environments.

11. Role of the Teacher: The accomplished teacher works with various education

professionals, parents, and other stakeholders in the continuous improvement of the educational experiences of students.

12. Technology: The accomplished teacher uses appropriate technology in teaching and learning processes.

II. Purpose of Courses:

Catalog Description of RED 6247: focuses on the history, organization and supervision of reading programs, the sociocultural, and political context of teaching reading, and the role of Reading Specialists. Required in the MS in Reading Education program.

III. COURSE Learning Objectives: RED 6247

When you have completed the course, you will have the following understandings, skills and dispositions:

Understandings:

· Understand the history of reading instruction including factors affecting the organization and supervision of reading programs

Skills- The student will be able to do the following:

· Describe the role of the Reading Specialist – as it has evolved to a socio-cultural perspective

· Describe the Reading Specialist’s role in assessment

· Assess literacy needs of a school and develop a schoolwide assessment program

· Evaluate high-stakes testing and it’s impact on students, teachers, and schools

· Plan for administration and supervision of reading instruction based on a needs assessment in which effective teachers teach children, not materials

Dispositions:

· Be disposed to creating excellent reading instruction for all literacy learners

The International Reading Association (IRA) in A Reference for the Preparation of Educators in the United States: Standards for Reading Professionals (revised, 1998) suggests sixteen areas of performance standards which must be met by graduates of the Master’s Degree in Reading Education Program. Therefore, multiple state and professional standards that are appropriate for this class are met with the assignments that are listed in the chart below.

Florida Accomplished Practices	International Reading Association Standards	Assignments
1.Assessment	2.14 Show that goals, instruction and assessment should be aligned 101 Develop and conduct assessments that involve multiple indicators of learner progress 1.2 Administer and use information from norm-referenced tests, criterion-referenced tests, formal and informal inventories constructed response measures, portfolio-based assessments student self-evaluations work/performance samples observations anecdotal records journals and other indicators of student progress to inform instruction and learning 12.5 Use multiple indicators to determine effectiveness of the literacy curriculum	Needs assessment based on interviews, data from multiple sources (Bring examples from a focus school to class to create plan)
2. Communication	11.1 Communicate with students about their strengths areas for improvement, and ways to achieve improvement 11.2 Communicate with allied professionals in assessing student achievement and planning instruction 11.3 involve parents in cooperative efforts and programs to support students’ reading and writing development 11.4 communicate information about literacy and data to administrators staff members, school-board members, policymakers, the media, parents, and the community 11.5 interpret research findings related to the improvement of instruction and communicate these to colleagues and the wider community	Needs assessment
3.Continuous Improvement	3.5 Show knowledge of federal state, and local programs designed to help students with reading and writing problems 3.1 Participate in professional development programs. 13. 2 Evaluate professional development programs. 13. 3 Provide professional development experiences that help emphasize the dynamic interaction among prior knowledge, experience, and the school context as well as among other aspects of reading development. 13.4 provide professional-development experiences that are sensitive to school constraints (e.g. class size or limited resources.) 14.3 Promote and facilitate teacher and classroom-based research 16. 4 Support and participate in efforts to improve instruction and other services to students	Create a reading instruction plan; Create/ add to Professional Development Portfolio; plan professional development meetings or conferences
4. Critical Thinking	7.5 Ensure that students can use various aspects of text to gain comprehension including conventions of written English text structure and genres figurative language an intertextual links 7.6 Ensure that students gain understanding of the meaning and importance of conventions of standard English (e.g. punctuation or usage.)	Create a reading instruction plan
5. Diversity	1.2 Demonstrate an understanding and respect for cultural linguistic, and ethnic diversity	Needs assessment
6. Ethic	2.13 Recognize the importance of giving learners opportunities in all aspects of literacy (e.g., as readers, writers, thinkers, reactors, or responders.) 3.4 Illustrate the importance of creating programs to address the strengths and needs of individual learners 13.6 Model ethical professional behavior	Create a reading instruction plan
7. Human Development and Learning	1.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of literacy for personal and social growth 1.6 demonstrate an understanding of the major theories of language development, cognition, and learning; and 2.1 demonstrate an understanding that written language is a symbolic system;	On-line Reading Response Log
8. Knowledge of Subject Matter	1.1 1 demonstrate recognition that reading should be taught as a process; 2.11 show an understanding of relevant reading research from general education and how it has influenced literacy education; 4.4 show an understanding of the instructional implications of research in special education, psychology, and other fields that deal with the treatment of students with reading and learning difficulties.	Create a reading instruction plan
9. Learning Environments	2.9 demonstrate an understanding of how contextual factors in the school can influence student learning and reading (e.g., grouping procedures, school programs, and assessment);	Create a reading instruction plan
10. Planning	2.3 demonstrate an understanding of principles of new language acquisition; 5.6 promote the integration of language arts in all content areas; 8.5 teach test-taking strategies 12.2 adapt instruction to meet the needs of different learners to accomplish different purposes 12.4 select and evaluate instructional materials for literacy, including those that are technology-based; 12.6 plan and implement programs designed to help students improve their reading and writing including those supported by federal, state, and local funding; and 12.7 help develop individual educational plans for students with severe learning problems related to literacy.	Create a reading instruction plan
11. Role of the Teacher	5.8 implement effective strategies to include parents as partners in the literacy development of their children. 12.1 initiate and participate in ongoing curriculum development and evaluation; 12.3 supervise, coordinate, and support all services associated with literacy programs (e.g., needs assessment, program development, budgeting and evaluation, and grant proposal writing); 15.1 plan lessons for paraprofessionals; 15.2 observe and evaluate paraprofessionals interacting with children and provide feedback to them on their performance; 15.3 provide professional development and training for paraprofessionals15.4 provide emotional and academic support for paraprofessionals. 6.3 interact with and participate in decision making with teachers, teacher educators, theoreticians, and researchers;	Workshops for stakeholders
12. Technology	5.7 use instructional and information technologies to support literacy learning 8.1 provide opportunities to locate and use a variety of print, nonprint, and electronic reference sources 12.4 select and evaluate instructional materials for literacy, including those that are technology-based;	Needs Assessment; Reading Instruction Plan; On-line Reading Response Log

IV. KNOWLEDGE BASE

A. What is reading? What has influenced how reading is taught?

Reading is the complex process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction among the reader, the text, and the context of the reading situation (Michigan State Board of Education, 1985). This definition has evolved over time. The context for teaching reading has also changed over time due to many historical, social, and political influences.

In April 1995 the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) indicated that less than 1/3 of nine-year olds were proficient in reading and that only 2-5% could read at advanced levels. This prompted the United States Congress to create the National Reading Panel (NRP), who produced the Report of the National Reading Panel: an Evidence Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and its Implications for Reading Instruction. The NRP’s report supposedly created a base from which the field of reading could say there are preferred procedures to teach reading to reach President Clinton’s goal of every child a skilled and fluent reader by grade 3.

The findings of the Panel stated that there are 5 essential areas for reading instruction:

1. Phonemic Awareness – Being able to notice think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. This is critical before children learn to read.

2. Phonics Instruction – helps children learn the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language.

3. Fluency, the ability to read orally with speed, accuracy, and proper expression is a critical factor for reading comprehension. There is only correlational evidence that the more silent reading a student does the better a reader he/she becomes. It may be that the more a student reads the better he/she becomes or that better readers choose to read more.

4. Comprehension is the “essence of reading” (Durkin, 1993). Reading comprehension is a complex cognitive process that involves three key aspects; vocabulary development; reading involving an intentional and thoughtful interaction with text, teachers who teach strategies for comprehension

5. Vocabulary – the words we must know to communicate effectively. Vocabulary carries the concepts in text and is critical for comprehension.

The National Reading Panel Report has met with substantial criticism based on the narrow definition of research upon which it based its findings.

The state of Florida has adopted a formula for addressing reading instruction. It consists of

5 + 3 + ii + iii = NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. The five means the five areas from the NRP; the three means the three ways of assessment, including screening, diagnosis, and progress monitoring; the two i’s mean initial instruction; and the three i’s immediate, intensive intervention.

B. Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction by Ralph W. Tyler (1949) is a classis in the area of curriculum design. In it, Tyler identifies four basic questions that must be answered:

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?

2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?

3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?

4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

He advocates starting with a needs assessment of the client being served. Needs are the difference or gap between the current state and the acceptable norm. He also suggests that all objectives are passed through screens that have to do with: physical, social, and philosophical beliefs.

C. What is the Standard’s-Driven Model?

The Standard’s-Driven Model includes steps to plan, do, study, and act. The state of Florida has incorporated this model and applied it to the administration and supervision of reading programs. It begins with the question, what should be taught, which is based on standards and local objectives. How the students should be taught and assessed allows formative and summative decisions to be made on the collected data. The decisions feed back to the original question of what needs to be taught.

D. What is High-stakes testing?

High-stakes testing is a concept that is a result of the consequences to this model. Many of the decisions that are made based on testing results have great impact on students, teachers, and schools. To improve the quality of instruction, data must be analyzed to make quality decisions about instructional change. Based on the data, lists of Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement (OPI) are made. From this information it is determined whether or not progress toward goals can be made using the plan that is in place. Stakeholders, the students, parents, teachers and staff, may make recommendations for gaining success.

E. What is the role of the Reading Specialist?

The role of the Reading Specialist is key to helping any school achieve its goals. By understanding how that role has evolved and by participating at every level of implementation of a school-wide program, the Reading Specialist has an opportunity to deliver instruction, be a resource, and administer reading programs for school-wide literacy improvement for all students.

III. RESOURCES:*REQUIRED READINGS/ **Optional and others:

*Allington, R. L. (Ed.) (2002). Big brother and the national reading curriculum: How ideology trumped evidence. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

*Allington, R. L. & Mc-Gill-Franzen, (2000). Looking back, looking forward: A conversation about teaching reading in the 21^st century. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(1), 136-153.

* Booth, D. & Rowsell, J. (2002). The literacy principal: Leading, supporting and assessing reading and writing initiatives. Ontario, Canada: Pembroke.

*Bracey, G.W. (2003). On the death of childhood and the destruction of public schools: The folly of today’s educational policies and practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

*Calkins, L. Montgomery, K., Santman, D. (1998). A teacher’s guide to standardized reading tests. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

*Smith, N. B. (2002). American reading instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

*Vogt, M., Shearer, B. A., (2002). Reading Specialists in the Real World: A Sociocultural View, Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

AERA

http://www.aera.net/about/policy/stakes/htm

APA

http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/testing.html

International Reading Association

http://www.reading.org Policy statements are on line.

Monitor on Psychology

http://www.apa.org/monitor/may01/detesting.html

National Education Association – Twelve steps teachers can take to prepare students for high-stakes tests. (2000, September)

http://www.nea.org/issues/high-stakes/12steps.html

The School Administrator Web Edition – Doing high-stakes assessment right. (There is an underscore between 2000 and 12.)

http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2000_12porter.htm

US Dept. of Ed. National Center for Educational Statistics

http://nces.ed.gov/punsearch/pubinfo.asp?pubid=2002483 and an analysis at

http://nces.ed.gov/punsearch/pubinfo.asp?pubid=2002482

Florida Online Reading Professional Development

http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/forpd

IV. Class schedule

Date	Topics/ Assignments Due / Readings for next class
1. 1/7	Topics: Introductions; Diffendoofer Day; Overview: Creating a professional portfolio- Who are you? Setting personal professional goals; What do you need to know to organize and supervise reading programs? Form On-line Teachers’ Book Club groups; For next class- Read Allington-Franzen article and begin to create a timeline for factors influencing twentieth century reading instruction. Read Ch. 1 in Vogt & Shearer (V & S) Read Ch. 1 in Booth & Rowsell- Answer reflection questions 1 and 2 on page 27. Bring this to class.
2. 1/14	Topics: Evolution of the Reading Specialist: (Give your FIU e-mail to Dr. Fine) Due: “Who are you?” part of portfolio. Bring reflection questions to class. For next class: Read Part I and II in Calkins, Montgomery & Santman
3. 1/21	Topics: Portfolios. Standards, Standards model, High-Stakes testing Culturally responsive literacy programs. Literacy Teams Due: Bring portfolio ready to share For next class: Read “American Reading Instruction since 1967” by P. D. Pearson pp 419-471 in American Reading Instruction Special Edition (2002). On-line Teachers’ Book Club reading, Big Brother Ch. I (bring printout to class), Understanding Norm-Referenced vs. criterion referenced Test results
4. 1/28	Topic: Reading programs, bring examples of programs if you have them, Due: Timeline for reading instruction to the present For next class: Chapter 2 in V & S Ch. 2 & 3 in Booth & Rowsell
5. 2/4	Topic: Culturally responsive Literacy Programs, Needs assessment; what needs to be included in reading programs? (Booth & Rowsell) Due: Questions for Jeopardy Game on major events that impacted reading field For next class: Calkins Part III Ch. 4 in Booth & Rowsell and respond to reflection questions # 2, 4, 7 and 10 on p. 85.
6. 2/11	Topic: Read Miss Milarkey by Fintchler; Curriculum for Test Preparation: Due: Bring vision statement from school and district to share, Reflections from Booth and Rowsell. For next class: · Ch 6 in V & S. Addressing Issues of Culture and Language · Ch 11 in V & S Professional Development
7. 2/18	Topics: Addressing Issues of culture and Language; Professional Development Due: Needs Assessment For next week: · Ch 3 & 4 in V & S · Explore a website from the list above
8. 2/25	Topic: Developing a Reading Plan Due: For next week: · Read Calkins Pt. IV Politics of Testing: a Guide to Survival --
9. 3/3	Topic: Politics in Reading; Jigsaw Big Brother with group selection of chapter Due: For next week: · Ch. 2 in Allington’s BB · Ch 7 & 8 in V & S. Ch. 11 Professional Development
10. 3/10	Topic: Politics in Reading; Implementing Reading/Language Arts programs in Elementary School, in Middle and High School; Workshop for paraprofessionals, parents, teachers and /or administrators Due: For Next Week: Ch 3 & 4 in Allington’s BB all, jigsaw for groups on chapters Ch 9 in V & S Technology Resources
11. 3/17	Topic: Big Brother and the National Reading Curriculum by R. Allington, On the Death of Childhood Due: Group presentation of chapters. For next week: Ch. 12 in V & S,
3/24	FIU Spring Break: No Class
12. 3/31	Topics: Plan for Reading Instruction Due:—Presentations of workshops; For next week: Marzano, R. J. (2003). Using Data: Two Wrongs and a Right. Educational Leadership, 60 (5), 56-60.
13. 4/7	Topic: Presentation of Reading Plans; Evaluation of plans using criteria from readings from term. Use content from readings to self-assess how your plan measures up. Due: Handout for each classmate from Reading Plan,
13. 4/14	Last class. Official Exam Week- 4/19 – 4/23

V. CONTENT OUTLINE

Part I The Reading Specialist—Teacher and School Literacy Leader

A. Setting Personal Professional Goals –

1. Portfolio project – Who am I? What are my beliefs? What is my vision? May be notebook or electronic

2. What is my own literacy history? (home language, easy beginning, struggling beginning, memories of being read to, access to books)

3. What is my educational context? What are my goals for professional development? How will I get there?

B. Historical Context for Teaching Reading

1. Allington and McGill-Franzen article,

2. Nila Blanton Smith and P. David Pearson

3. The Development of the role of the Reading Specialist

C. Assessing Literacy Needs and writing a vision statement

1. Culturally responsive literacy programs

2. Establishing a literacy team – developing

3. Interviews of stakeholders

4. Developing a vision statement

D. Standards Model

1. Whose standards? Professional Organizations, state standards

2. Standards model

3. What do we do to survive?

E. Matching Context to Students: Assessment as Inquiry

1. The Reading Specialist’s Role in Assessment

2. Adapting Instruction to Learner’s Needs: Reframing Literacy Intervention

F. Developing a Literacy Plan- School and State resources

Part II The Reading Specialist: Resource Teacher and Curriculum Developer

A. What content knowledge is needed?

B. What skills are needed?

Part III The Reading Specialist: Coach, Supervisor, and Professional Developer

A. Conduct workshop: for parents, paraprofessionals, teachers and /or administrators

B. Advocacy- Groups and issues

Activity	Outcome
Introduction: Respond to Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! By Seuss, Prelutsky and Smith; Overview; What is literacy? What are beliefs and cultural forces that shape and contribute to literacy communities? What do you know about the history of reading instruction? Write a goal or a question that reflects what you want to learn about this topic. Self-Evaluate: “We see things not as they are, but as we are” Anais Nin (writer). “Who Am I?” Begin with name, (age and date of birth), place of birth, ethnicity, occupation, family roles, and physical characteristics. Then write your own literacy History using the prompts in Appendix A in Vogt & Shearer. What is your plan for professional development?	Students will have knowledge of requirements for class. Respond to testing issues. Create Professional Development Portfolio or E-Folio for Master’s in Reading Program with the 12 sections for the Accomplished Practices.

Readings: See on-line sites for articles, read text books Lecture-information on Curriculum Development and Standards-Driven Model; gather data from articles and websites (AERA, APA) and from their own school to participate in discussion	Become familiar with literacy issues On-line Teacher Book Club- Respond to group by Sunday night before class on the readings that are due. You must make a comment that is connected to the text and respond to others in your group.
Demonstration - Analyze data with models in classes; looking at other school’s scores, analyze and plan changes with a group; analyze your own class and school’s data to make changes, See video of Monroe School District’s plan	Class work project will contribute to class participation; Administration and Supervision of Reading Program Plan- an evaluation of your school’s reading instructional plan following the IRA guidelines including lists of Strengths and OFI’s, make plan for changing reading program design and implementation including materials, strategies and time schedules.
Read Role of the Reading Leader	Create a Reading Instruction plan following directions and using Florida guidelines
Workshops for stakeholders- As a Reading Leader you will need to communicate different types of information to administrators, parents, and paraprofessionals.	Prepare a description/presentation of workshops for each and reflect on the reasons why you have structured the workshop in the particular way.

Course Assignments / Weights for Evaluation of performance.

4% Attend all classes, come prepared having read textbooks and articles, and participate in class discussions/ activities: 1 x _=_

8% Professional Development Portfolio in notebook or electronic: 2 x =

12% Needs Assessment Interviews: 3 x =

12% On-line Reading Response Log: 1 page, single spaced entry for each week’s reading of chapters or articles. Select one to two points that strike you as important. Write the quote from the reading and give source and page number. Explain the quote and it’s meaning to you. Write how you would apply it. Share it with group and have at least one person respond to it. Complete reading by Monday night, print Tuesday, bring to class. Each is 1 point (12 weeks of reading).

12% Presentation of Jigsaw of Book: Big Brother/ On the Death of Childhood 3 x=

12% Reading Instruction Plan: 8 x=

8% Presentation of Workshops (administrator, parent, paraprofessional): 2 x __= ___

12% Final: Self-evaluation of Reading Plan using support from readings- What principles have you learned that you have incorporated in the plan?

Grades

A= 95 - 100%

A = 90 -94%

B+= 87 - 89%

B= 83 - 86%

B- = 80 - 82%

C+ = 77 - 79%

C= 73 - 76%

C- = 70 - 72%

D+ = 67-69%

D= 63 - 66%

D- = 60 - 62%

F=below 60%

Explanation of grades: Grades will be assigned as follows:

Rubric Grading Criteria:

[Developing = less than satisfactory] To earn a Developing, some of the requirement must be met but the assignment is not at the satisfactory level.

[Basic = satisfactory] To earn a grade of Basic, all requirements of assignment must be met and be at a satisfactory level.

[Proficient = exceeds satisfactory] To earn a grade of Proficient, all requirements of assignment must be met and must exceed the satisfactory level. This means that assignments are very well done, with evidence of student effort (thought).

[Distinguished = model quality] To earn a grade of Distinguished, all requirements of assignment must be met and the content and presentation of the assignments must reflect model quality. "Model quality" means that in addition to those attributes for an "exceeds satisfactory" assignment, the work reflects exceptional clarity and precision.

The grade of "IN" (incomplete) will be assigned in accordance with FIU policy.

In order to receive a grade of "DR" (Drop), a course must be dropped before 1:00 p.m. on or before February 28, 2004.

Rubrics and the conversion to the grading scale:

The grading of individual assignments will be using a rubric with a scale from developing (with a factor value of (1), basic (2), proficient (3) and distinguished (4). The rubric levels do not represent equal intervals of increments. These points along a continuum, from low to high, will be weighted and converted to allow use of the above point scale. Each assignment will be weighted with a factor value such as x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4, etc.

Example: To determine the points earned, if the assignment is weighted with a factor of 2 and the student earns a distinguished (4), then the total number of points for the assignment is equal to (4 x 2 = 8). The point values from all assignments and class participation are added to determine the number of points earned in the class. The sum of points is related to the scale below for conversion to letter grades. See the schedule of topics, assignments, and weights for more explanation.

Student Responsibilities

Materials / Equipment

1. Students must secure Florida International University email addresses, which will be used for course communication. This will be given to the professor by the second class meeting.

2. Students will complete assigned readings and participate in whole-class discussions, small-group discussions, and interactive lectures on the topics listed on the schedule of topics. Students will bring all texts to each class when needed according to the syllabus or discussions.

3. Students will keep a separate journal for on-line response activities. This will be brought to each class session and collected at the start of each class.

4. Students will have access to a computer with connections to the Internet. They will type work using a word processor and save work so as not to have to re-type or re-write assignments.

5. Students will download the Florida Curriculum Frameworks/ Sunshine State Standards, Grade Level Equivalents for all levels of Language Arts (prek-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) from the Florida Department of Education web-page at http://www.firn.edu/doe. These will be brought to class each week and used as the standards in the reading instructional plan.

Quality of Work

Assignments will reflect student=s own thought and effort. Plagiarism will result in an F grade for the assignment (this includes exams or major projects). The professor may take further action as described in the Academic Misconduct section of the current FIU Student Handbook.
Each assignment will be ready to be turned in no later than the beginning of the class meeting at which it is due. In the event of an absence, the student must make arrangements to have the assignment delivered to class on time. Grades will be lowered one rank on the rubric for each week that the assignment is late.
Assignments which have been turned in on time and which have earned a DEVELOPING may be re-worked and resubmitted once for re-evaluation no later than one class after it is returned. Assignments submitted on the last day the course meets are excluded from this option. The maximum grade possible for a resubmitted assignment is a Proficient.
All assignments should reflect professional quality – They ideas should be expressed clearly using correct grammar and spelling, and neat in appearance.

Attendance/ Attitude

Students will arrive on time and stay the entire class session unless prior arrangements have been made with the professor. Students are expected to abide by the student code of conduct and policies as published in the FIU 2003-2004 Student Handbook. Beepers or cellular phones must be turned off prior to class. There will be a deduction of 2 points from the final grade for any interruption that disrupts the flow of the class. If there are extenuating circumstances for which the communication device must be left on, the candidate must tell the professor prior to class. The student must take the call out of the classroom.

2. Students will attend ALL class meetings. For each absence from class missed after the first one there will be a 1 point deduction from the total grade. Any absences must be cleared with the instructor prior to the class meeting missed. After an absence, students are responsible for obtaining class notes, information, and/or instruction from classmates. Students may then request clarifications from the instructor.

3. Because much of the learning in this course is built around interactive sessions with classmates, if a pattern of absences and/or lateness and/or leaving before class concludes is established, a student will be have 1 point deducted from the course total for each instance.

4. Because professional behavior is expected, for each incident of unprofessional behavior on the part of the candidate when interacting with peers, with the professor, or with any FIU personnel, there will be a deduction of 10 (ten) points. Such behavior COULD result in the student not being allowed to continue in the class. A meeting with individuals involved must take place in the professor’s office prior to the next class session.

Assignment: Professional Development Portfolio

Purpose:

To prepare a professional portfolio or efolio for interviewing including a current resume
To reflect upon your own literacy history to better understand yourself
To provide evidence of your professional development in terms of the 12 Accomplished Practices at the accomplished level
To develop the concept of yourself as a Literacy Advocate/Reading Specialist

Procedure:

Write in response to question “Who am I?” and a personal literacy history using Appendix A in Reading Specialists in the Real World by Vogt and Shearer and questions in syllabus.

Create a portfolio notebook with 12 dividers, one for each of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices or an electronic folio.
Label each divider or area with one of the FEAPS and a description of the FEAP
Select materials from your program that fit each category. Put them in the notebook or add to your e-folio.

Turn in: Bring to class to show others. Include rubric.

Rubric for Assignment: Professional Development Portfolio

Characteristic	Developing	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
All sections in correct format	Each section labeled with Accomplished Practices with little or no examples from coursework or other areas meeting each with consistently ineffective statement of relationship	Each section labeled with Accomplished Practices with evidence from coursework and other areas with marginally and inconsistently stated statement of relationship	Each section labeled with Accomplished Practices with evidence from coursework and other areas meeting each with mostly clearly stated statement of relationship	Each section labeled with Accomplished Practices with multiple examples of evidence from coursework and other areas meeting each FEAP with clearly stated statement of relationship
Has written “Who am I?” and an updated resume with professional development activities and goals	Composed of no stated, or easily identified reading related activities, related to IRA or FEAP standards	Composed of some identified reading related activities related to FEAPS or IRA Standards	Composed of mostly clearly stated, identified reading related activities showing some examples related to FEAPS or IRA standards	Composed of clearly stated, easily identified reading related activities showing many examples of creativity related to FEAPS or IRA standards
Professional Quality	Appearance, grammar, flow of words are of poor quality for professional level	Appearance, grammar, flow of words are of marginal quality of professional level	Appearance, grammar, flow of words are of mostly high quality of professional level	Appearance, grammar, flow of words are of highest quality of professional level

Self-Evaluation ____________________ Dr. Fine’s _____________________________

Assignment: Needs Assessment

Purpose:

Describe the community, school, students and families, and classrooms in your educational setting
Provide a self-report on your reading program—this will help you develop your new reading instruction plan

Process:

1. Demographics: What are the demographics of the school and community?

Philosophy: What is the district and school’s philosophy statement for Reading/Language Arts?
Literacy Team Members: Is there a literacy team/ committee? Who are the members?
Analysis of School Literacy Programs: What do each of the following components of the schoolwide literacy program look like? Developmental, Content, Intervention and Recreational? What programs exit for English Language Learners? How are the needs of Special Education students met?

Resources:

Describe the print and non-print resources in the media center and classrooms.
When, how and where are technology resources used by students and teachers?
What formal and informal assessments are used to guide instruction? How was the school rated by (the state or other) for the last few years?
Are teachers included in decisions about professional development?
Who are all the stakeholders in the literacy process (e.g. school psychologist, media specialist, teachers, resource teachers, special education teachers)?
What is their involvement in the schoolwide literacy program?

Using the Reading/Language Arts Needs Assessment Survey in Appendix D of Vogt and Shearer, interview in Appendix D to interview three teachers. These could be teaching at different levels. Include the protocols and aggregate the data from the survey on an additional copy of the survey. Then incorporate your analysis in the summary of findings.
Interview stakeholders: a parent, a paraprofessional, and an administrator to capture their responses as related to the following questions: Tape and transcribe their answers to each question exactly as they have answered it. Type the questions and then each stake holder’s response under each question.

How are parents and community members involved in literacy endeavors (activities)?
How do the community members feel toward the school/ classroom as far as meeting the literacy needs of the students are concerned?
What kind of professional development do you think the teachers need?

7. Analyze and Write Summary of findings following sample in Appendix E.

Turn- in: Needs Assessment Paper for the school with each question addressed, tape and transcribed interviews, surveys with a copy with the data aggregated, and the analysis and written summary of findings.

Rubric for Needs Assessment

Characteristic	Developing	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
Has interviews for a parent, a paraprofessional, and an administrator and has taped and transcribed the exact answers.	Has not included interviews for a parent, a paraprofessional, and an administrator, or has not taped and transcribed the exact answers for all three types of stakeholders.	Has interviews for a parent, a paraprofessional, and an administrator and has taped and transcribed the some answers.	Has interviews for a parent, a paraprofessional, and an administrator and has taped and transcribed the mostly all of exact answers.	Has interviews for a parent, a teacher, a paraprofessional, and an administrator and has taped and transcribed the exact answers.
Has written answers to the self-reported information	Has written vague answers to the self-reported information	Has written marginally adequate answers to the self-reported information	Has written mostly developed answers to the self-reported information	Has written fully-developed answers to the self-reported information
Has analysis and written summary of the data	Has made many errors in analyzing and summarizing data	Has some accurate analysis and written summary of data	Has mostly accurate analysis and written summary of data	Has accurate analysis and written summary for each aspect
Professional Quality – Appearance, grammar, flow	Professional Quality – Appearance, grammar, flow do not meet professional level	Professional Quality – Appearance, grammar, flow are marginal level	Professional Quality – Appearance, grammar, flow are mostly high level	Professional Quality – Appearance, grammar, flow are all highest level

Self-Evaluation _________________________ Dr. Fine’s evaluation_____________________

Assignment: Create a Reading Plan

Purpose:

To apply the knowledge gained from a needs assessment of your community, stakeholders, and school data gathered
To analyzed for your school and classroom data using multiple indicators
To demonstrate your knowledge of research and best practice in the field of literacy
To apply creative thinking and problem-solving to create a reading program that puts students first and depends on a highly trained reading professionals to deliver

Procedure:

Use the information from your needs assessment and your knowledge of research and best practice to create a sample reading plan following the format from Appendix F in Vogt and Shearer.
Explain recommendation for each area
Prepare the Florida Department of Education guidelines for reading plans. Include this in report.
Prepare the outline of workshops for paraprofessionals, parents, and administrators using the information that they would need to become informed and active supporters of your reading plan.
Make a presentation of the delivery of at least one of these workshops (Separately worth points (3 X __= __ )

Turn in: written presentation of Reading Plan, (worth 9X __= __), FL DOE materials for evaluation, and presentation of workshop materials, rubric for evaluation

Rubric for Reading Plan and Workshop

Characteristic	Developing	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
Has used the information from the needs assessment to explain the social, physical, and philosophical screens for the plan	Has used the information from the needs assessment to insufficiently explain the social, physical, and philosophical screens for the plan with Little or no support from research and best practice	Has used the information from the needs assessment to minimally explain the social, physical, and philosophical screens for the plan with some support from research and best practice	Has used the information from the needs assessment to mostly explain the social, physical, and philosophical screens for the plan with a convincing rationale from research and best practice	Has used the information from the needs assessment to thoroughly explain the social, physical, and philosophical screens for the plan with a strong rationale from research and best practice
Has gathered data from classroom analyzed it and indicated strengths and Opportunities for Improvement	Has gathered little data from sources within the classroom, analyzed it incorrectly and/or determined a an insufficient number of strengths and Opportunities for Improvement	Has gathered some data from sources within the classroom, analyzed it minimally correctly and determined a minimal number of strengths and Opportunities for Improvement	Has gathered data from multiple data sources within the classroom, analyzed it mostly accurately and determined some strengths and some Opportunities for Improvement	Has gathered data from multiple data sources within the classroom, accurately analyzed it and correctly determined strengths and Opportunities for Improvement
Has written goals and objectives based on State Standards for the grade level	Has written goals and objectives that do not match State Standards for the grade level	Has written goals and objectives that minimally match State Standards for the grade level,	Has written goals and objectives that mostly match State Standards for the grade level	Has written goals and objectives Standards that closely match the State Standards for the grade level
Has given adaptations for special needs	Has given ineffective or no description for adaptations for special needs, ESE and ELL	Has given minimal description for adaptations for special needs, ESE and ELL	Has given some description for adaptations for special needs, ESE and ELL	Has given thorough description for adaptations for special needs, ESE and ELL
Has written outline of workshop for paraprofessionals, parents, and administrators but the planning is vague, many parts are missing. May not have both handouts and evaluations.	Has written inaccurate, poorly developed outlines of workshops for paraprofessionals, parents, and administrators with some parts missing from the planning. Has handouts and evaluation for a workshop.	Has written minimally accurate, somewhat developed outlines of workshops for paraprofessionals, parents, and administrators with some parts (goals, agenda content activities and evaluation) mentioned. Has handouts and evaluations for one completed workshop.	Has written mostly accurate, developed outlines of workshops for paraprofessionals, parents, and administrators with most parts (goals, agenda, content, activities and evalution) described. Has activities and handouts and evaluation from one completed workshop.	Has written accurate, well- developed outlines of workshops for paras, parents, and administrators with all parts (goals, agenda, content, activities, and evaluation) fully described. Has handouts of materials to share and evaluations with aggregated data for one completed workshop to share with each classmate.
Has delivered a stakeholder workshop	Has not delivered a stakeholder workshop at his or her school or other public place for stakeholders and has not collected a sign-in sheet which identifies role	Has prepared a stakeholder workshop, but was unable to follow through with delivery.	Has attempted to deliver a stakeholder workshop at his or her school or other public place for stakeholders, but no one came to sign-in	Has delivered a stakeholder workshop at his or her school or other public place for stakeholders and collected a sign-in sheet which identifies multiple roles of participants
Presents plans and artifacts (photos, etc.) from the workshop to group	Does not present plan of workshops to group	Presents plans of workshop to group	Presents plans of the workshop to Master’s group with visuals	Creatively presents plans and artifacts (photos, etc.) from the workshop to Master’s class
Professional Quality- appearance grammar, level of language,	Professional Quality- poor appearance grammar, level of language,	Professional Quality- minimal- appearance grammar, level of language,	Professional Quality- mostly high- appearance grammar, level of language,	Professional Quality- highest -appearance grammar, level of language,

Self-evaluation __________________ Dr. Fine’s Evaluation ______________________

On-line Teacher’s Response Log

Purpose:

To read in the area of literacy, specifically related to organization and supervision of reading programs
To respond in a community of teachers to the ideas while developing your beliefs and commitment to teaching students

Procedure:

Read the chapters and assigned articles that are on the schedule and write a single spaced one page response in which you select a point or two, write the quote and the source page, explain the meaning of the quote, and then write how you would apply the ideas to your teaching. Post for the class by Monday night before class.
Respond to someone else in the community’s written response and print.
Print the responses to each assignment for your notebook and bring to next class

Rubric

Characteristic	Developing	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
Responses- understanding and engagement	Has developed a short response showing minimal or no understanding and engagement in the ideas	Has response showing some understanding and engagement in the ideas	Has mostly developed response showing general understanding and engagement in the ideas	Has fully developed response showing full understanding and engagement in the ideas
Professional Quality/ all responses done and printed in a timely fashion with appearance and level of communication appropriate for Master’s level	Personal response to reading and a response to another student’s written work is not done. Appearance and quality are of consistently ineffective level of communication	Personal response to reading and a response to another student’s written work is not complete. Appearance and quality are of marginal professional level of communication	Personal response to reading and a response to another student’s written work is mostly complete. Appearance and quality are of mostly high professional level of communication	Personal response to reading and a response to another student’s written work is complete. Appearance and quality are of highest professional level of communication

Self-evaluation _______________________ Dr. Fine’s evaluation ____________________

D. What is High-stakes testing?

AERA

APA

International Reading Association

Monitor on Psychology

National Education Association – Twelve steps teachers can take to prepare students for high-stakes tests. (2000, September)

The School Administrator Web Edition – Doing high-stakes assessment right. (There is an underscore between 2000 and 12.)

US Dept. of Ed. National Center for Educational Statistics

Florida Online Reading Professional Development

Date

Topics/ Assignments Due / Readings for next class

Last class. Official Exam Week- 4/19 – 4/23

Activity

Outcome

Course Assignments / Weights for Evaluation of performance.

4% Attend all classes, come prepared having read textbooks and articles, and participate in class discussions/ activities: 1 x _=_

8% Professional Development Portfolio in notebook or electronic: 2 x __= __

12% Needs Assessment Interviews: 3 x __= __

12% Presentation of Jigsaw of Book: Big Brother/ On the Death of Childhood 3 x__= __

12% Reading Instruction Plan: 8 x__= __

Explanation of grades: Grades will be assigned as follows:

Rubrics and the conversion to the grading scale:

Quality of Work

Assignment: Professional Development Portfolio

Purpose:

Rubric for Assignment: Professional Development Portfolio

8% Professional Development Portfolio in notebook or electronic: 2 x =

12% Needs Assessment Interviews: 3 x =

12% Presentation of Jigsaw of Book: Big Brother/ On the Death of Childhood 3 x=

12% Reading Instruction Plan: 8 x=