MT. PLEASANT AREA TECHNICAL CENTER
PRE-TEACHING
Course Syllabus 11/2008

INSTRUCTOR: Gloria Sowle             

MICHIGAN CAREER PATHWAYS: Human Services

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CAREER CLUSTERS: Education & Training

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Pre-teaching provides students with the opportunity to work with a classroom teacher learning the realities of teaching and teaching skills. Students will be placed in their home communities with an assigned mentor/teacher. Acceptance into the Pre-Teaching class is by application. The students will improve personal characteristics and teamwork skills that enable them to work more effectively with children. They will work at their home school sites, such as an elementary or middle school classroom. In Pre-Teaching, the students will start with their mentor/teacher within the first few weeks and be at their classroom site four days per week throughout the school year. One day per week will be spent with the instructor covering seminar topics such as student progress reports, standardized tests, college and university opportunities, classroom management, portfolio updates, etc.

PROGRAM CIP CODE: 13.0000                                                

TEXTBOOK(S): The First Days of School, Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong, Harry K. Wong Publication, 2005; A Sparkle in Your Eye, Katy Evans, J. Witty Publishing, 1999
REFERENCE TEXT: So You Want to be a Teacher, Janice Koch, Houghton Mifflin, 2009

SOFTWARE: Microsoft Office, Internet

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAM: This program prepares students for the realities of working with children, school systems, and families. Students will obtain approximately 250 hours of field site experience. Employability skills instruction is incorporated into the curriculum. Work-based learning opportunities are available to qualified students in elementary school and middle schools.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES: Opportunities are available for students to improve their occupational knowledge, skills and leadership through CTSO membership, competitions, community volunteer projects, student-led meetings, and/or intra-curricular activities. In a positive experiential learning environment, students develop leadership and management skills, responsibility and self-confidence, communication and decision making skills, good citizenship and respect for other cultures, as well as a basic understanding of parliamentary procedures. These activities help students set and realize their career goals, and instill a sense of the duty and responsibility associated with being a role model, mentor, volunteer and future community leader.

JOB TITLES AVAILABLE                                                JOB TITLES REQUIRING FURTHER

AT MPATC:                                                                        TRAINING/CERTIFICATION/EDUCATION:
Child Care Worker                                                           Day Care Center Teacher/Director
Day Care Provider                                                            School Counselor
Preschool Teacher Assistant                                        Social Worker
Elementary Teacher Assistant                                      Elementary Teacher
Day Care Center Teacher Assistant                            Middle School Teacher
Classroom Paraprofessional                                       Secondary Teacher
Special Education Aide                                                  Special Education Teacher

Link to State Curriculum Standards/Segments:

MICHIGAN CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

Content Standards and Benchmarks by Subject Area

(120 Total Content Standards)

Pre-Teaching

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (12 Content Standards)

   Meaning and Communication:

•  All students will read and comprehend general and technical material.

•  All students will demonstrate the ability to write clear and grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs, and compositions (demonstrate fluency for multiple purposes, recognize techniques, edit texts, select appropriate language structure).

•  All students will focus on meaning and communication as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic contexts.

All students will use the English language effectively.

Voice :

•  All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively and demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written, and visual texts that enlighten and engage an audience.

Skills and Processes:

•  All students will demonstrate, analyze, and reflect upon the skills and processes used to communicate through listening, speaking, viewing, reading, and writing.

Inquiry and Research:

•  All students will define and investigate important issues and problems using a variety of resources, including technology, to explore and create texts.

Critical Standards:

•  All students will develop and apply personal, shared, and academic criteria for the enjoyment, appreciation, and evaluation of their own and others' oral, written, and visual texts.

SOCIAL STUDIES (24 Content Standards)

SCIENCE (15 Content Standards)

Construct New Scientific and Personal Knowledge:

•  All students will ask questions that help them learn about the world; design and

conduct investigations using appropriate methodology and technology; learn from books and other sources of information; communicate their findings using appropriate technology; and reconstruct previously learned knowledge.

MATHEMATICS (13 Content Standards)

CAREER AND EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS (10 Content Standards)

   Applied Skills:

•  All students will apply basic communication skills (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, and listening), apply scientific and social studies concepts, and perform mathematical processes in work-related situations.

Career Planning:

•  All students will acquire, organize, interpret, and evaluate information from career

awareness and exploration activities, career assessment, and work-based experiences to identify and pursue their career goals.

Developing and Presenting Information:

•  All students will demonstrate the ability to combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between see, seemingly unrelated ideas, and organize and present information in formats such as symbols, pictures, schematics, charts, and graphs.

Problem Solving:

•  All students will make decisions and solve problems by specifying goals, identifying resources and constraints, generating alternatives, considering impacts, choosing appropriate alternatives, and evaluating results.

Personal Management:

•  All students will display personal qualities such as responsibility, self-management, ethical behavior, and respect for self and others.

Organizational Skills:

•  All students will identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources (such as time,

money, materials, and human resources) efficiently and effectively.

Teamwork:

•  All students will work cooperatively with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities, and will contribute to a group process with ideas, suggestions, and efforts.

Negotiation Skills:

•  All students will communicate ideas to support a position and negotiate to resolve divergent interests.

Understanding Systems and Using Technology:

•  All students will understand complex systems, including social and technical

systems, and work with a variety of technologies.

Using Employability Skills:

•  All students will integrate employability skills into behaviors which prepare one for

obtaining, maintaining, advancing, and changing employment.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION (8 Content Standards)

Personal and Social Character Traits:

•  All students will demonstrate appropriate behavior (at least 95% of the time) related to selected personal/social character traits that commonly emerge in a physical activity context.

TECHNOLOGY (6 Content Standards)

   Using and Transferring:

•  All students will use and transfer technological knowledge and skills for life roles.

Using Information Technologies:

•  All students will use technologies to input, retrieve, organize, manipulate, evaluate,

and communicate information.

HEALTH EDUCATION (7 Content Standards)

Social Skills:

•  All students will demonstrate effective interpersonal communication and other social skills which enhance health.

ARTS EDUCATION (dance, music, theater, and visual arts - 5 Content Standards)

WORLD LANGUAGES (10 Content Standards)

LIFE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION (10 Content Standards)

   Balance of Work and Family:

•  All students will demonstrate skill necessary to function in family roles and relationships which are transferable to roles and responsibilities within the workplace and community.

Nurturing:

2. All students will demonstrate the characteristic of nurturing.

Human Development:

3. All students will analyze factors which influence human development.

                                                                                                                                      Revised: 2/4/2010