Classroom Policies for Ms Brewster’s Class:
Blandina Brewster
English Department
INTRODUCTION
“Education either
functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the
younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about
conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and
women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to
participate in the transformation of their world.”
Participating
in a democratic classroom involves constructing guidelines for conduct. I firmly believe that students should
participate in constructing their own classroom communities. This year, we will all be responsible for
creating and maintaining our own classroom community. In our democratic
classroom, public policy is meant to
support everyone’s right to feel safe, to share ideas, and to learn as much as
possible. To this end, I have identified four major areas of classroom policy.
¨ Attendance and
Lateness
¨ Academic dishonesty
(cheating)
¨ Plagiarism
¨ Classroom behavior
How
can we understand the root causes, the incidents, and the ramifications of these
issues? This web quest will guide you as
you research, create, revise and implement policies for our classroom.
TASK
The
goals of this project are to improve our school community by:
¨ providing clarity and support for
all students and the teacher
¨ decreasing the incidents of classroom problems
¨ managing consequences for students who do
break rules
You will
work in groups. Each group will be
assigned to one of the above four topics. Your group will produce the following:
¨A classroom policy on your topic
¨A brief and organized presentation
to the class of this policy
¨A brief question and answer period
with the class defending your policy
¨A revised (if necessary) policy for
classroom implementation
PROCESS
Step One:
Create
your own definition for your classroom policy issue. Try out some of the web links below, just to
get you thinking.
Remember
to keep a record of the resources you use to create your definition. You will need to cite these later.
Step Two:
Research
the policies of different schools, high schools and universities. Ask friends, interview parents, teachers, and
Keep
organized notes and citations for your findings.
To do this quest you must follow the following steps:-
¨
Identify the problem.
¨
Gather
evidence that this is indeed a problem.
¨
Identify the causes of this problem
¨
Evaluate the
existing policy by ours schools and
others that deal with this problem
¨
Develop possible solutions that the
classroom may adopt
¨
What, in your opinion, would be the best solution for the classroom to adopt? Your decision must take into account
effectiveness and feasibility.
¨
Assess the costs and benefits of this solution.
Use the TIPS
Public Policy Analyst web site to guide you through these steps. www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal
Step Three:
Your group will write
a classroom policy on academic dishonesty and plagiarism. The policy will contain the following parts:
1. Definitions of the issue
2. A clear list of rules of conduct
3. Strategies to prevent the problem
4. Methods of reporting an incident
5. Consequences
Your policy should
contain any citations necessary.
Step Four:
Create a brief (5min.)
presentation to the class on your policy. You may want to use visual resources available
(chalk board, overhead, posters, powerpoint, etc.) You will need to let Ms
Brewster know of any resources you will need at least two to three days before
the presentation.
After you present your
policy to the class, there will be time for questions and answers. Classmates may wish to debate some of the
issues in your policy. You should be
prepared to defend or amend your policy.
Step Five:
Revise the policy in
light of the classroom presentation.
Submit this policy to
Ms Brewster and your classmates for revision and implementation.
RESOURCES
Attendance and Lateness
¨Interview teachers, students, administrators
¨Ask your parents what they think of this issue
¨
¨Check out these school’s lateness
policies
http://www.newutrechths.org/tn_policies_03.asp
http://www.geocities.com/bloodsweatandtea/COURSEREQUIREMENTSBTL.htm
Academic dishonesty
(cheating)
¨Interview teachers, students, administrators
¨Ask your parents what they think of this issue
¨Introduction to the concept of student academic conduct
http://class.fst.ohio-state.edu/fst736/736%20Course%20Manual.doc
¨Educators perspectives
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/osu_and_ohio/essays/cheat-altschuler.html
http://www.bsu.edu/web/00bewhitley/Books/chtbook.htm
¨ Policy at Stony
Brook (
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/ajc.nsf/pages/info
Plagiarism
¨For starters, take the following
quiz. See how much you already know, and
start to determine your own opinions on the subject of plagiarism.
¨Interview teachers, students, administrators
¨Ask your parents what they think of this issue
¨Check for any existing school policies
¨ Look at what other schools say about
plagiarism
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/robeson_lib/flash_presents/text_plag.html
http://www.nhvweb.net/nhhs/English/cheatingplagiarismpolicy.htm
Classroom behavior
¨Interview teachers, students, administrators
¨Ask your parents what they think of this issue
¨Check out what our school policies may be on the topic
¨Look at what other schools say about classroom conduct
http://www.humboldt.edu/~judicial/html/attendance_behavior.shtml
http://www.westga.edu/~bcluskey/ClasRmBeh.htm
http://www.east-china.k12.mi.us/sch/staff/dseddon/classroom_policy_page.htm
EVALUATION
|
|
A |
B
|
C |
Redo |
|
Research |
*Problem
well identified and thoroughly researched *All six
steps of the PPA are thoroughly
addressed *Evidence
of notes and action research |
*Problem
identified and reasonably well researched *All six
steps of the PPA are addressed, |
*Problem
identified with limited research. *All
steps of the PPA are addressed, |
*Problem
identified but research is lacking *Incomplete
work |
|
Written Proposal |
*Well
organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure *Thoroughly
addresses each of the six different parts (see Task) |
*Well
organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure. *
Addresses each of the six different parts |
*Well
organized, but illogical sequencing and sentence structure. * Barely
addresses each of the six different parts |
*Weakly
organized. *Does not
address each of the six different parts |
|
Presentation |
*Social
problem introduced with authority based on information *Utilizes
clear and helpful visual aids *Generate
and field questions and responses from audience around their topic of
discussion. *Every
member in group participates in presentation. |
*Social
problem introduced with some authority *Visual
aids used *Generate
questions and responses. *Most
members of group participate. |
*Students
state the social problem *Students
require prompts to generate questions *Limited
participation within the group |
*Teacher
generates discussion |
|
Group cooperation |
*Group
establishes and maintains an equal distribution of labor among all
participants. *Differences
are dealt with maturely and students exercise listening skills, leadership
skills, and compromise skills |
*Group
makes attempts to maintain an equal distribution of labor among all
participants. *Almost
all differences are dealt with maturely and students exercise listening
skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills |
*Groups
make unsuccessful attempts to maintain an equal distribution of labor among
all participants. *Only
some differences are dealt with maturely as students attempt to exercise
listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills |
*Group is
unable to equally distribute work. *Differences
are not dealt with maturely |
CONCLUSION
"The philosophy
in the classroom of this generation is the philosophy of government in the
next."
-Abraham Lincoln
Thank you for your efforts on this
Web Quest. Taking responsibility for
your own learning is part of becoming an active member of adult society. The policies that you will create together
through this web quest will be in place in our classroom for the year. Moreover, the process that you have followed
here (PPA) will be one that we can apply to many other tasks, both in
literature and in life. Critical
thinking skills guide us to improve ourselves and our worlds. Thanks again!
State Learning
Standards (English) met through this activity:
Standard 1: Language
for Information and Understanding
Standard 2: Language
for Literary Response and Expression
Standard 3: Language
for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Standard 4: Language
for Social Interaction
Standard 5 (Social
Studies): Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Acknowledgements
¨ Process and Evaluation adapted from
Elma Reingold’s TIPS website: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t4prod/reingoldwq1.html
¨ Many thanks to the TIPS program, NYC
Dept. of Education
¨
Plagiarism
quiz adapted from the following website:
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/cyberplag/PlagiarismQuiz.rtf