Course credit
1 credit hour
Course description
The structure of English grammar and best practices for teaching grammar at the middle level will be examined. This course fulfills Iowa Department of Education Middle Level Endorsement requirements for course work in grammar.
Delivery
This course is available in an online format using eLearning, a Blackboard learning management system requiring Internet access and a web browser. While most students encounter very few technical difficulties, our team of support specialists is available to assist you as needed.
Prerequisites
junior standing
Instructor
Donna S. Douglas, Associate Professor of Education
I received my BA in elementary education from the University of Central Florida (UCF). I taught ten years in Orlando, Florida at the elementary and middle school levels. I taught in self-contained classrooms serving second and fifth graders as well as team-teaching settings with second and third graders. As a result of my team-teaching experience, I chose to work at the junior high school—soon to be a middle school with middle level interdisciplinary teams. My primary teaching assignment was in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade mathematics on an interdisciplinary team. My team mates and I worked to integrate the subject areas so that learning was reinforced in all of the students’ classes. Expressive communication was as much a part of my math classroom as it was in the language arts classroom. During this time, I also worked in a collaborative teaching format with teachers of students with learning disabilities.
I coached the girl’s swim team, advised the Beta and Math Clubs, as well as served as the coordinator of intramural activities for over 1000 students. During my first few years of teaching, I completed my master’s degree at UCF and my endorsements in junior high mathematics and school administration.
I was an active member of the Florida League of Middle Schools and the Orange County Junior High School League. I served on the Executive Board of both organizations and became involved in higher education and certification issues for teachers who wanted to be middle level educators. There was a significant lack of opportunity to receive preparation at the collegiate level for middle level educators; most professional development for middle level teachers was being conducted by school districts.
That was when I was "called" to pursue my doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at Florida State University (FSU). I decided to work at the collegiate setting; helping those who also had a calling to teach at the middle level. I have found that knowledge is power. Teachers who had the greatest understanding of middle level programs and practices had an advantage when helping their students become successful.
On a personal note, I am married to Michael Douglas (the Realtor, not the actor), and together we have four children. Michael’s two older daughters are grown and living on their own, while Joshua (17) and Patrick (15) are home with us. Joshua is entering 12th grade and Patrick is entering 9th grade as of August 2008.
Contacting Donna S. Douglas, Ph.D. "Dr. Douglas"
Email Address: donna.schumacher@uni.edu
Office Address: 656 Schindler Education Center
Office Phone: 319-273-5880
Evaluation
8 assignments, 1 comprehensive final exam
Objectives
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge, application and analysis of the following:
* Concepts and terms of grammar
* Grammatical structures and patterns
* Current theories regarding appropriate methods of grammar instruction
* Strategies for teaching grammar to developing readers and writers
Assignments
Resubmission of Written Assignments
Occasionally written work submitted by a student may be returned with a request for the student to revise and resubmit. Assignments that receive an evaluation lower than 75% of the maximum points, will be considered by the instructor as possible work to be redone. Students should inquire of the instructor if they qualify for a re-write if there is a question on the part of the student. It will be the choice of the instructor as to whether or not an assignment may be resubmitted. The scores of the first submission and second submission will be averaged together for the final score. Students are required to have all resubmissions completed within one week of notification (or the last class, whichever occurs first) or it will be assumed the student is not interested in improving the assignment.
Keeping Assignment Duplicates
Students are responsible for making a copy of all assignments submitted. Students should save their work on a computer disk and make a hardcopy. All graded work is to be organized and saved until the student has verified the correct grade has appeared on their academic transcript.
Assignment Submission, Timeliness, and Quality Required
All work is to reflect proper word usage, spelling, punctuation, organizational style, and clarity of thought. It is important to proofread and edit all papers prior to submission! Points may be deducted from assignments for errors of this type.
Exam
There is a proctored comprehensive Final Exam.
Course Policies
Professional Demeanor: Appropriate school-site teacher behaviors are expected throughout this course.
* Profanity, derogatory comments, slang terms, racial slurs, gender-biased remarks, harassment or words or other actions, which negatively affect others' learning or the professor’s instructional program, are not appropriate.
* Appropriate behavior facilitating the learning process for yourself and others is expected.
* Appropriate conflict resolution strategies should be employed. If difficulties arise with another student or the instructor (personal or academic), students are expected to discuss the issue privately and calmly in an appropriate setting and at an appropriate time with the other party.
Ethical behavior is expected for all members of the classroom community (see UNI Academic Ethics/Discipline at (http://www.uni.edu/pres/policies/301.shtml) Note: In cases of serious ethical violations, the instructor maintains the right to file a notification of concern with the Teacher Education Program and to impose other sanctions such as lowering the professional demeanor grade. See the UNI Academic policy.
SPECIAL NOTE: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) provides protection from discrimination for qualified individuals with disabilities. Students with a disability, who require assistance, will need to contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) for coordination of academic accommodations. The ODS is located at 213 Student Services Center. Their phone number is 319-273-2676.
Grading
Please note that UNI Guided Independent Study requires that you complete all assignments and the Final Exam to pass the course.
Clarifying Grading Criteria: Additional information about grading criteria may be shared throughout the course. If you are unclear about the grading criteria for this course, please contact the instructor at an appropriate time for clarification.
Graded Assignments: Each assignment will be assessed according to its relationship to the relevant course goal(s) and to the specific objectives for that assignment.
Written Assignment 1, 45 pts
Written Assignment 2, 80 pts
Written Assignment 3, 80 pts
Written Assignment 4 (Interactive Activity Folder), 50 pts
Written Assignment 5, 100 pts
Written Assignment 6, 60 pts
Written Assignment 7, 50 pts
Written Assignment 8, 40 pts
Final Exam – comprehensive, 70 pts
575 TOTAL POINTS
Final Course Grade: At the completion of this course, total points earned will be divided by the total points possible with the result being the final percentage on which your grade will be based. No rounding-up will be used. For example, if your final points total 488 out of 575, then you earned a percentage score of 84.86 which will be a B-, not a B.
Graduate Credit:
Students seeking graduate credit for this course will be required to complete a 6-10 page research paper using at least 4 scholarly documents. The topic of the research paper should be a subject related to the teaching of grammar or writing in the middle school classroom and be approved by the professor in writing via eLearning or email, prior to work on the paper. In addition, active and accessible URLs or scanned copies of at least three of the resources cited in the paper must be provided upon submission of the paper. Use of APA writing and citation guidelines are required. The research paper will be scored based on a maximum of 50 points possible. The final grade for students seeking graduate credit will be based on 625 points.
Letter Grades: After assessing an assignment, the instructor will assign a point score which will be translated into percents for the final grade. Letter grades have the following values:
A = 96% minimum
A- = 93% minimum
B+ = 89% minimum
B = 85% minimum
B- = 80% minimum
C+ = 76% minimum
C = 72% minimum
C- = 69% minimum
D+ = 65% minimum
D = 63% minimum
D- = 61% minimum
F = Below 61%
Textbook(s)
GLAT - Calderonello, A., Martin, V. S., Blair, K. L. (2003). Grammar for language arts teachers. Massachusetts: Longman. ISBN 0-205-32527-0
IF - Dressel, M. (199x). Grammar: 100 reproducible activities. Grand Rapids, MI: Instructional Fair. [IF8732Grammar] ISBN 1-56822-137-1
SW - Strunk, W., & White, E.B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). New York: Longman. ISBN 0-205-30902-X
Scholastic -Terban, M. (1993). Scholastic guides: Checking your grammar. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0-590-49455-4
School House Rock. (1995). Grammar Rock. Burbank, CA: Scholastic Rock. ISBN 0-7888-2925-4 (VHS tape).
Texts are available from www.bookfinder.com
University Book and Supply carries most books used in guided independent study.
To search for textbooks by course, click on "Select a Campus Term" and select Univ.Northern Iowa - Guided Independent Study
Visit the store at 1009 West 23rd Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Phone: 319-266-7581 or 800-728-7581
Fax: 319-277-1266
E-mail: bookstore@panthersupply.com
To enroll
ONLINE
GIS enrollment information
IN PERSON
UNI Continuing and Distance Education
2637 Hudson Road (corner of 27th St. and Hudson Rd.)
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0223
Campus map (Look for Building 31)
For more information
Diane Tournier
Guided Independent Study
UNI Continuing and Distance Education
319-273-2123 or 800-772-1746
gis-program@uni.edu