Course Basics

Course Goals

By the time the semester ends, you will have reflected on and will be able to discuss the following four learning targets with respect to your own personal identity as a future teacher and how your classroom climate can benefit (or disenfranchise) your students. We'll take the whole semester to be able to get to all of these goals, and there will be smaller targets to aim for along the way. The course objectives can be summarized into four overarching themes:

Practice civil discourse within the college classroom and elementary classroom settings.
Analyze traditional classroom management strategies, practices, and classroom structures and how they may prevent the development of student autonomy, freedom, and critical thinking.
Identify democratic and equitable community building strategies.
Support broad social justice aims, the integration of pressing current political issues, and the reframing of classroom management to disrupt deficit thinking.

The course materials we engage with will help us reflect on and address these goals and gain a better understanding and appreciation of the ways in which you can create a community of tolerant, curious, and critically thinking students. You can access our topics on AsULearn along with the course materials and assignments for each module.

What You Can Expect from Me

Preparedness: Each class I will be prepared to guide our discussions and engage alongside you in the content of our class. If I expect you to be prepared, I think it is reasonable for you to expect that of me.
Communication: I'll be sure to communicate promptly. The best way to get in touch is to email me. I am usually able to get back to you in less than 24 hours. If you message me late in the evening, I'll do my best to reply the next morning. While I am not available 24/7, I commit to responding as promptly as I can to your questions and concerns.
Feedback: Our class is predicated on qualitative feedback. You are much more than a percentage or letter grade, and the feedback you receive (verbal feedback in conversations, written feedback on assignments, and feedback in class) is vital to your success. You will receive points on assignments in accordance with rubrics and completing quality work; however, most of your learning will come from reflecting on constructive feedback from me and from your peers. I firmly believe that feedback is much more helpful than points or grades.
Clear Directions: We'll engage in a variety of work this semester. Some will be completed in class, others will be explored outside of class. I'll do my best to make sure directions and expectations for the assignments are clear. If at any point you have questions or if something is not clear, do not hesitate to reach out. I will be happy to point you in the right direction or to explain things in a different way.

What I Expect from You

Be present! Please attend every class. Attendance is required and your grade will be impacted if you have too many unexcused absences. In a class like this, it is really important to be in class not only physically, but socially and emotionally as well. For me, this means that you're participating in discussions, engaging in the content we're exploring, and asking questions. When you're absent, it means we don't get to hear your perspective. It also means your groupmates have to do more work, which may not be fair to them. Being present also means that you're not distracted in class. Please do your best to set aside texts, chats, etc. until after class. If you have something urgent, just step out and then come back.
Be curious! I love it when you ask questions and put yourself out there. You should be able to be curious and enthusiastic without worrying about getting a bad grade or missing points. Part of being a teacher is being a lifelong learner. I think this is something you grow into over time and this class is a good place to practice that. Be curious about your peers' perspectives. You don't have to affirm their beliefs or even agree with them, but be open to learn from them and to be curious about what they have to say.
Be reflective! Throughout the semester, you'll receive feedback on assignments. Assignments in this class aren't static (they are not stuck in time/space). Take time to reflect on and revise your thinking to grow in your learning. You'll also be asked multiple times to reflect on, discuss, and self-assess your knowledge of our course content. Be brave and supportive in class!

Contributions to a Safe Space

The content and structure of this course tend to facilitate discussions concerning differences in personal identities, beliefs, ideologies, and even political positions. These conversations may engender passionate dialogue about issues close to many of our concepts of self and/or styles of teaching. It is crucial that we each take full responsibility for creating a safe environment in which open and respectful dialogue can occur. By safe environment I do not mean that we should not actively challenge each other on important issues because I find this to be, when done respectfully, a powerful learning tool. Remaining respectful of others is not only a request; it is a central requirement of this course to ensure that we are all able to learn! The course will promote the acceptance, respect, worth, and value of individuals and varying educational cultures.

Required Texts

There are two required textbooks for our course and and they are free through the university's rental system. On My Materials (AsULearn):

Cowhey, M. (2006). Black ants and Buddhists: Thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades. Stenhouse.
Free eBook accessible through Belk Library: Shalaby, C. (2017). Troublemakers: Lessons in freedom from young children at school. New Press.
Additional required readings and videos will be made available through AsULearn.

Technology Requirements

Whether we are in person or online, our class will be as paperless as possible, so it is important to let me know if you do not have regular access to the internet and to a reliable device such as a laptop or tablet. I will assume that you have the appropriate technology to complete the course unless you inform me that there is an issue so we can work out a solution. Please bring your charged device to each class, as we will be using them more often than not.

AI use in this class

I expect you to use AI (e.g., ChatGPT and image generation tools) in this class. Some assignments may require it. Learning to use AI is an emerging skill, one that more and more teachers are taking advantage of. We will work together to adapt to this fast-changing technology.

Be aware of the limits of ChatGPT, such as the following:

If you provide minimum effort prompts, you will get low quality results. You will need to refine your prompts in order to get good outcomes. This will take work – we will practice in class.
Don’t trust anything it says! If it gives you a number, fact, or reference, assume it is wrong unless you know it or factcheck it yourself. You will be responsible for any errors or omissions provided by the tool. It works best for topics you have some understanding of.
AI is a tool, and one that you need to acknowledge using. If you use an AI platform (such as ChatGPT) to complete an assignment, you MUST include an appendix at the end of the submitted assignment that contains both the prompt(s) you used and the text(s) that was created. Failure to do so is in violation of academic honesty policies.
Be thoughtful about when this tool is useful. Do not use it if it is inappropriate for the case or circumstance.