Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 755: Utilizing Literacy Strategies in CTE Learning Environments – Fall B 2015

Credits - 3

Description

This course will examine best practices in utilizing effective instructional strategies to integrate literacy in CTE classrooms, labs and in “live work” situations. Students will examine the opportunities to integrate all aspects of literacy including, reading, writing, speaking, listening, research, critical thinking and information literacy into their own disciplines and CTE instructional settings. Students will evaluate CTE content area lessons and learning experiences for literacy integration and modify and design lesson plans that include a variety of instructional strategies to promote literacy instruction for all students in the CTE classroom.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Students will:

•       Assess their own literacy development and needs
•       Develop an action plan of resources and knowledge necessary to integrate all aspects of literacy into teaching practices in a CTE classroom.
•       Evaluate the demands of reading, writing, speaking, listening, research, information literacy and critical thinking directly related to CTE disciplines and content areas.
•       Revise and design lesson and unit plans to integrate all aspects of literacy into instructional activities in the CTE classroom.
•       Assess literacy skills of students including those who struggle, and design learning experiences that integrate a variety of instructional strategies to improve literacy within the context of CTE.
•       Develop a presentation to teach appropriate research skills and information literacy to secondary students in CTE environments.

·        Articulate the importance for integrating literacy into all aspects of CTE instruction.

Assignments

Major Assignments

1. Weekly Discussion Postings/ Responses: You will respond weekly to a variety of topics relevant to the readings, resources and assignments for this course. In addition to creating your own thoughtful and in depth discussion of the course materials, you will respond to at least 2 of your classmates postings weekly.

2. Information Literacy Teaching Presentation/ Lesson: Develop a teaching presentation to instruct secondary students in the area of information literacy. The presentation will include strategies and methods to teach secondary students the following aspects of information literacy:
   1. to access appropriate and relevant information from a variety of sources effectively and efficiently
   2. to critically evaluate the information and its sources
   3. to select appropriate and relevant sources for topic(s)
   4. to incorporate and use selected information for a specific purpose
   5. to understand the importance of accessing and using information ethically and legally and use appropriate citations (ACRL, 2010).
3. Individual Literacy Profile (case study): You will conduct an individual literacy profile on a struggling reader that you currently work with. 

4. Integrated Unit Plan : Develop a unit plan for your CTE discipline/content area that integrates all aspects of literacy; reading, writing, speaking/presenting, listening, research/information literacy and critical thinking.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Points Each	Total Points
Eight Weekly Discussion Posts and Responses to Classmates' Posts	4	32
Information Literacy Teaching Presentation	18	18
Individual Literacy Profile (Case Study)	25	25
Integrated Unit Plan	25	25
		100 POINTS

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00