Welcome to Education 280! Below you’ll find links to download the course syllabus and Chapter 1 of the course text. You’ll also find the course schedule and description. We are excited to have you in this class and look forward to working with you in April 2017!
Teresa Dobson and Joash Johannes,
Course Instructors
Download the Course syllabus
Download the Course Text, Chapter 1
Course Schedule
Monday, April 10, 1-4pm
Tuesday, April 11, 8:30am-4pm
Wednesday, April 12, 8:30am-4pm
Thursday, April 13, 1-4pm
Saturday, April 15, 8:30am-4pm
Tuesday, April 18, 8:30am FINAL EXAM
Course Description
This course about teaching literature in secondary school proceeds from the assumption that teachers are expected to be able to create lively and engaging learning activities for a range of students and to support their understanding and interpretation of a variety of texts in print, oral and multimedia forms. The Kenyan Secondary English curriculum states that literature is important because it “1) provides genuine and expressive samples of language in context; 2) provides a rich context in which learners can acquire new vocabulary and knowledge of the rich possibilities of language use; 3) increases communicative competence of readers; 4) develops learners’ critical thinking; 5) gives a window on life (values, conflicts, human nature); and, 5) is a good avenue to providing suggestions on how to resolve life challenges” (KCSE English Syllabus).
In this course, we will consider these benefits while pursuing the following course objectives:
Course participants will review, consider, and discuss topics such as the following:
• Literature selection and justification of literature selection
• Curriculum design, focusing particularly on the KSCE English Syllabus
• Planning for instruction
• Approaches to teaching literature, including cultural, language-based, personal-growth, and reader-response models
• Strategies for engaging students in responding to literature
• Strategies for supporting struggling readers
• Approaches to assessment and evaluation in English literature classrooms
Reading
The full content of this course is compiled in the course textbook:
Dobson, T.M. (2017). Some Approaches in Teaching Reading and Literature. Vancouver, BC: FutureBook Printing, Inc.