edu319-619summer2011syllabus

8/7/2019 edu319-619summer2011syllabus

1/9

1

EDU319/619:ChildrensLiterature:MulticulturalandInternationalApproaches

Summer2011AmericanUniversitySchoolofEducation,Teaching&Health

Instructor:AlexR.Hodges,AssociateLibrarian/Professor

OnlineOfficeHours:OnlineviaGchat&SkypeTuesdays,45pm,andThursdays,46pm

[email protected]@gmail.com;Skype@alexrhodgesPhone:office202.885.3845;cell/text202.210.8850

Email:[email protected]

Classmeetsasynchronouslyonline:May9,2011throughJune30,2011

CatalogCourseDescriptionforEDU319:

Explorationandcriticalanalysisofmulticulturalandinternationalchildren'sliteraturefrom

preschooltoadolescence.Includeshowcontemporaryissuesarereflectedindifferentgenres,

aswellasmarginalization,genderequity,socialinequity,racism,andcensorship.Usually

offeredeveryspring.

CatalogCourseDescriptionforEDU619:

Explorationandanalysisofchildren'sliteraturefromacriticalliteracyperspective,includingan

explanationofsocialissuessuchasmarginalization,racism,andcensorship,asreflectedin

differentgenre.

Textbooks:

Seecourseoutlineforreadingassignmentsbydate.

REQUIRED:Vasquez,V.(2010).GettingBeyondILiketheBook:CreatingSpaceforCritical

LiteracyinK6Classrooms(2nded.).Newark,DE:InternationalReadingAssociation.ONRESERVEattheUniversityLibrary,LowerLevel.CallnumberLB1576.V372010

RECOMMENDED:Jacobs,J.S.&Tunnell,M.O.(2008).ChildrensLiterature,Briefly.4thed.

UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PearsonEducation,Inc.

ONRESERVEattheUniversityLibrary,LowerLevel.CallnumberPN1008.8.J332008

RequiredChildrensandYoungAdultLiterature:

Seecourseoutlineforreadingassignmentsbydate.

ElijahofBuxton,ChristopherPaulCurtisONRESERVEattheUniversityLibrary,LowerLevel.CallnumberPZ7.C94137El2007

TheStinkyCheeseManandOtherFairlyStupidTales,JonScieszka

ONRESERVEattheUniversityLibrary,LowerLevel.CallnumberPZ8.S324St1992

WeetzieBat,FrancescaLiaBlock

ONRESERVEattheUniversityLibrary,LowerLevel.CallnumberPZ7.B6194We1999


2/9

2

CourseGoalsandPurposesforEDU319/619:

Ourworktogetherasanonlinelearningcommunityrequiresreflection,observationand

communication.Togetherwewillexaminebothchildrensandyoungadultliterature.Someof

thetextswewillexaminewillbeconsideredclassics.Otherworksmaybesocurrentthatthey

willincludeallusionstomodernsocialconventionsorcurrentlycontestedterrains.Studentswill

applywhattheylearninthisclasstotheireventualteachingpracticeandtothedevelopmentoftheircriticalthinkingskills.Carefulevaluationoftheliteraturealongwithanengaged,

conversantdynamicwillaidthediscussionofcurriculumbaseddiscoveries.Inordertoachieve

thesemeans,thecoursewillusecriticaltheoryandacriticalliteracyframeworktouncover

meaning,explorelinguisticconstructionsandcritiqueartisticimagery.Asacommunity,the

classwill...

1.Experienceanintroductoryoverviewofthefieldofchildrensandyoungadultliterature.

2.Engagecriticalthinkingskillstoevaluate,discuss,researchandreflectuponreactionstothe

literatureinorderto...

Viewliteracyasasocialpractice, Explorethepossibilitiesofmultipleliteracies, Discoversituatedmeaningswithinindividualworks,and Examinethemotivationsofauthors,illustratorsandpublishers.

3.Usethelensofcriticalliteracyto...

Discussandlearnaboutsocialissuessuchasdiversity,difference,privilege,disadvantage,powerandcontrolasappliedinbookswrittenforjuveniles,

Constructalternateversionsofexistingtexts,and Informthefutureteachingofchildrensliteraturewhilealsoreflectinguponteaching

practiceandcriticaltheory.

4.Develop,discoverandshareresearchmethodsandstrategies.

5.Respectthediversityofcommunicatedthoughts,experiencesandbeliefsystems.

6.Reframetraditionalliteracylearningwithinthemultimodalonlinelearningenvironment.


3/9

3

LearningObjectivesforEDU319/619:

1.Studentswillcriticallyreadtheliteratureinordertounpackthesocialandpoliticalmeanings

thatshowthenonneutralityofjuvenileliterature.Studentswillhavebothassignedreadings

andselfchosenreadings.SomeoftheselfchosenreadingswillcomefromtheInternational

ChildrensDigitalLibrary:

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/

2.Studentswillcreateandmanagetheirownblogsinordertousemultimodalwritingasa

meanstoreflectupon,communicateandsharetheircriticaldiscoverieswiththeclass.

3.Studentswilldeviseanalternateendingtoachildrensfairytaleinordertocritiquethe

subjectiveculturalmoresinherentinmoralstories.Thisexercisewillrequireactivatinginquiry

skillsthroughlibrarybasedonlineresearchaswellasactivatingcreativeproblemsolvingskills

intheredesignofaprominent,fossilizednarrative.

4.Studentswillcreateacriticalliteracyanalysisofatopicalorgenreareawithinchildrensor

youngadultliteratureinordertoprovideanindepthlinguisticandillustrativeanalysis,which

showshowteachingthissubjectcaneffectsocialactionorilluminateasocialproblemthat

needsattentionandchange.

5.Studentswillcreateawebbasedscreencastorvideotodisplaythestepsoftheanalysis

(fromlearningobjective#4)inordertodisseminatetheirreflection,newlycreated/researched

knowledgeandmultimodalcommunicationskills.Thisscreencastorvideowillprovideother

studentsintheclasswithnewknowledgeaboutthesocialandpoliticalmessagestoconsider

withtheirownfuturestudents.


4/9

4

COURSEREQUIREMENTSProfessionalismandParticipation(10Points)

Yourparticipationandcriticalengagementarecrucialforyoursuccessespeciallyinacompletely

onlinecourse.Youarerequiredtoparticipatemeaningfullyandcriticallyinallasynchronousdiscussions

aswellascompleteallassignedwork.Studentswhoaccrue12misseddiscussionsmayreceivea one

halflettergradededuction(i.e.anAbecomesaB+)fromtheparticipationgrade.Studentswhomiss3ormorediscussionsmaynotreceiveanyparticipationpoints.

Blog&BlackboardPosts(15Points)

Eachstudentwillblogaboutchildrensoryoungadultliterature,andparticipateinassigneddiscussion

threadsviaBlackboard.Participationintheseforumsiscriticaltoattaininggoalsandobjectivesforthe

course.

BloggerviaGoogle

StudentsareexpectedtocreatetheirownblogsthroughBloggerandjointheclassBloggersite

throughapersonalGoogleaccount(seetheinstructorforaGoogleaccountifyoudonthaveone

separatefromAU),andprovidetheclasswiththeirdiscoveriesaboutchildrensliterature.

Activeparticipationwillbegauged FOURtimesduringthecourse:

May16(gradingdaterangesMay915) May23(gradingdaterangesMay1622) May30(gradingdaterangesMay2329) June13(gradingdaterangesJune612)

Fullpointscanbeearnedweeklybyprovidingaminimumof3weeklysubstantialposts

a)ONEpostmustbeabookreviewblogpostthatprovidesarevieworcriticalevaluationof

aspecificchildrensoryoungadulttitle ,

b)TWOotherpostsmustreflectonandcontributemeaningfully(in23sentences)toother

studentsposts.

CounterNarrativeProject*(Individual35points)

EachstudentwillcreateacounternarrativetextforatraditionalCinderellastory.Thereare

manytextsthatwecouldchooseforthisassignment,butwewillusetheCinderellastoryto

helpgetthepointacrossthattextsaresociallyconstructed,notneutral,andthatgivenasetof

differentcircumstances,everystorycouldbetolddifferently.Yourindividualcounternarrative

basedontheoriginaltextandimagesisworth(15points),andaresearched23pp.description

(worth20points)ofthedifferenceswilldetailthesociopoliticalimpactoftherecasttext,

imagesorcharacters.Moreinformationaboutthisassignmentwillbeexplainedduringthe

semester.


5/9

5

FinalProject(IndividualorGroup40points)

Studentswillcreateacriticalliteracyanalysisofatopicalorgenreareawithinchildrensor

youngadultliterature.Individualsorgroupswillcollectivelychooseonetexttoexaminein

depth;providealinguistic(andimagery,too,ifillustrated)analysisofthistext;researchsimilar

anddifferenttextswithinthegenre;examineandobservethroughfieldresearchinlibraryand

bookstorecollectionsforcoverageofthissubject;developapotentialsocialjusticeprojectbasedonthetextanditsgeneralsubjectaimingtoshowhowteachinginK12curriculaabout

thesubjectcaneffectsocialactionorilluminateasocialproblemthatneedsattentionand

change.

1) Website(worth5points)StudentswilldesignasimpleGoogleSitethatcollectsandorganizesonlinecontent

forthesocialactionproject.

2) Essay5ppminimum(worth25points)Thisessayisanevaluationofyourchosentextandgenrearea.Itwillincludean

annotatedbibliographyorothersources/textswithinyourchosengenre/topicarea.

Forthosewhochosetoworkinagroup,itmustbecollaborativelywritten.More

informationaboutthisassignmentwillbeexplained.

3) OnlinePresentation(worth10points)Thisoverallprojectandyourrationaleforitscreationwillbepresentedtotheclass

viayourchoiceofanonlinevideoorscreencast.Moreinformationaboutthis

assignmentwillbeexplained.

COURSEPOINTS/GRADINGSCALE:Assignment/Project PointsValue

Professionalism&Participation 10points

Blog&BlackboardPosts 15points

CounterNarrativeProject 35points

FinalProject 40points

TotalAvailableCoursePoints: 100POINTS

CourseGrade %Value

A 10094

A 93.990

B+ 89.987

B 86.984

B 83.980

C+ 79.977

C 76.974

C 73.970

D 69.960

F 59.900


6/9

6

CLASSSCHEDULESUMMER2011EDU319/619.E01LNote:Thesedetailsaresubjecttochange.Beawareofonlineannouncements.

Date

Lecture/DiscussionTopics&Activities

Assignments/ReadingsDue

Week1

May915

IntroductiontotheCourse

IntroductiontoChildrens&YALiterature Reviewsyllabusandcourseoverview Developcommunicationsstructure

o Blackboardo Blogsetup

ReadingDUE:Tunnell&Jacobs,Ch.1,57

Assignments:

Introductions

ChildhoodFavorites

Week2

May

1622

CriticalLiteracy&EvaluatingLiterature

Lecture/ClassDiscussion

ReadingDue:

Vasquez,Ch.12

ReadingDue:

Tunnell&Jacobs,Ch.24

Week3

May

2329

Multicultural&InternationalBooks

ClassDiscussion:ElijahofBuxton

ReadingDue:

ElijahofBuxton

Tunnell&Jacobs,Ch.1215

Week4

May30

June5

FairyTales,FolkTales&Fantasy

Lecture&ClassDiscussion

ReadingDue:

Tunnell&Jacobs,Ch.9,10

TheStinkyCheeseManandOther

FairlyStupidTales,Scieszka&Smith

Week5June

612

FocusingonSocialIssuesLecture&ClassDiscussion

CounterNarrativeProjectDue:EmailbyMonday,June6,11:59pmNameattachment:lastname_edu319_narrative.doc

ReadingDue:

Vasquez,Ch.3,4

Week6

June

1319

BannedandControversialBooks

Lecture&ClassDiscussion:WeetzieBat

ReadingDue:


WeetzieBat

Week7

June

2026

CriticalLiteracyasaCurricularFramework

Lecture&ClassDiscussion

ReadingDue:

Vasquez,Ch.5,6


Week8

June

2730

FinalProjectPreparations

Activity:Worktimeandtroubleshooting

sessionforfinalproject&courseevaluations

FinalProjectDue&Presented

Emailandpostonline

byThursday,June30,11:59pmNameattachment:lastname_edu319_narrative.doc


7/9

7

AcademicIntegrityCode

StudentsareexpectedtoconformtotheregulationsoftheUniversityinregardtoacademic

integrity,especiallyinregardtoplagiarism,inappropriatecollaboration,dishonestyin

examinations,dishonestyinpapers,workforonecourseandsubmittedtoanother,deliberate

falsificationofdata,interferencewithotherstudents'work,andcopyrightviolation.The

studentacademicintegritycodeislocatedhere:http://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/regulations/reg80.cfm

ResearchAssistance

TheUniversityLibraryfacultyprovideassistancewithdevelopingsearchstrategiesforAUs

onlineresearchtools.Youcanseekhelpbyvisitingthereferencedesk,bycalling(202)885

3238,orbyinstantmessagingaskaulibraryviaAIM/GTalk/Yahoo!/MSN.

UsingAppropriateDocumentationFormats

TheSchoolofEducation,Teaching&HealthendorsestheuseofAPAorMLAstyleforresearch

citations,footnotes,listofreferences,andlayout,andallwrittenwork.Allstyleguidescanbe

foundinprintinthelibrarynexttothereferencedesk.

AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.(2010).PublicationmanualoftheAmericanPsychological

Association,SixthEdition.Washington,D.C.:AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.(At

ReferenceDeskCallnumber:PN147.A72010)

Gibaldi,J.MLAHandbookforWritersofResearchPapers.7thed.NewYork:ModernLanguage

Association,2009.(AtReferenceDeskCallnumber:LB2369.G532009)

CenterforResearch,Teaching&Learning(CTRL)

CTRLoffersstudentsassistancewithadvancedtechnologysupportservices.Discovertheirofferingshere:http://www.american.edu/teachingcenter/index.htm

EmergencyPreparedness

Intheeventofamajoremergency,AmericanUniversitywillimplementaplanformeetingthe

needsofallmembersoftheuniversitycommunity.Shouldtheuniversityberequiredtoclose

foraperiodoftime,wearecommittedtoensuringthatallaspectsofoureducationalprograms

willbedeliveredtoourstudents.Thesemayincludealteringandextendingthedurationofthe

traditionaltermscheduletocompleteessentialinstructioninthetraditionalformatand/oruse

ofonlinelearning.Intheeventofadeclaredpandemicorotheremergency,studentsshould

refertotheAUWebsite(http://www.american.edu/emergency/)andtheAUinformationlineat(202)8851100forgeneraluniversitywideinformation,aswellascontacttheirfaculty

and/orrespectivedeansofficeforcourseandschool/collegespecificinformation.


8/9

8

ProtectionofHumanSubjectsCatalog

Anyresearchinvolvinginterviewing,surveying,orobservinghumanbeingsissubjecttoreview

andapprovalbytheUniversityInstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB)andinformationaboutthe

universitysIRBprocessisoutlinedathttp://american.edu/irb/index.cfm.TheuniversityIRB

[email protected].

AcademicandDisabilitySupportServices

Appropriatemodificationstoacademicrequirementsmaybenecessaryonacasebycasebasis

toensureeducationalopportunityforstudentswithdisabilities,andindividualfacultymembers

mayneedtomodifyspecificcourserequirementstopermitequalparticipationbystudents

withdisabilities.Awiderangeofservicesisavailabletohelpyoumeetcourserequirements:

AcademicSupportCenterhttp://www.american.edu/ocl/asc/index.cfm

DisabilitySupportServiceshttp://www.american.edu/ocl/dss/index.cfm

CounselingCenterhttp://www.american.edu/ocl/counseling/index.cfm

IncompleteGrades

Facultymembersmustapprovestudentrequestsforanincompletegrade,andmustdoso

beforetheendofthesemester.StudentsmustcompleteandsubmitanIncompleteContract

Formtothefacultymember.Incompletesaregivenonlyincasesofsevereemergencies,or

special,welldocumentedcircumstances,etc.

AdditionalInformationforstudents

AmericanUniversityAcademicRegulations

http://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/regulations/academicreg.cfm

TheStudentHandbook

http://www.american.edu/ocl/upload/student_handbook.pdf

StudentEvaluationofTeaching

Neartheendofthecourse,youwillhavetheopportunitytoevaluatethisonlineclassandyour

learningexperiencebycompletinganonlineStudentEvaluationofTeaching.Theevaluation

containsthesamesetofquestionsusedinassessingclassroombasedcourses,withthe

additionoffourquestionsspecificallyapplicabletoonlinelearning.Aswithanyotherfaceto

facecourse,youarestronglyencouragedtoparticipateinthisevaluationofyoureducational

experience.AhighparticipationrateiscriticaltoAUsabilitytocontinuallyimproveand

strengthenthequalityoftheUniversityslearningopportunities.


9/9

9

PhilosophyoftheSchoolofEducation,Teaching&Health(SETH)

ThefacultyoftheSchoolofEducation,Teaching&Healthiscommittedtoexcellencein

advancingeducationaltheoryandpracticethroughtheinitialandcontinuingdevelopmentof

reflective,dedicatedandproficientteachers,administratorsandresearchers.Graduatesare

equippedtomeetindividualneeds,tonurturethestrengthsandtalentsofthoseindividuals,

andtoinitiateandprovideleadershipinclassrooms,educationalinstitutions,andinthepublicpolicyarena.ThemissionoftheSETHisderivedfromthefaculty'ssharedconvictionthatthe

fundamentaltaskofschoolinginAmericaistheadvancementofthewelfareofchildren.The

SETHfacultywantsourteachereducationprogramstobeknownforpreparingeffective

teacherswhounderstandandmodelacommitmenttoexcellence,equity,communityand

diversity.

TheSETHfacultyandstaffarecommittedtocelebratingdiversityandbuildingacommunityof

learners.Asweworkincollaborationinandoutoftheclassroom:

Webelievethatrespectingeachother'sdifferencesandopinionsleadstoapositiveandopenenvironment,

Webelievethatopendiscoursepromotesreflectiveandthoughtfuleducators, Webelievethatequitabletreatmentofeachotherisnecessaryforapositive,sustained,

andworkingcommunity,and

Webelievethateachandeverymemberofthecommunitycanmakeavaluablecontributiontothecommunity.

Thesebeliefsinactionprovideforallstudents,staff,andfacultyasafe,productive,andpositiveeducationalcommunity.

*N.B.:PortionsofthissyllabushavebeenadaptedfromprevioussyllabicraftedbySETHsVivianVasquez(fall2009),BrecCooke(spring2009),andAlexHodges

(spring2010).

edu319-619summer2011syllabus

Documents