DaVinci Practicum

DaVinci Academy Practicum

Instructor: Eric Amsel	Email: eamsel@weber.edu	Office: 370a SS
Office Hrs. TTH 11:00-12:00		Phone: 626-6658

CHECK FOR A NEW MESSAGE 1/9/12 about our first formal meeting

Course Objectives: There are three major objectives for the practicum

Students will have first hand experience working with students in high school, witnessing different aspects of the processes of learning.
Students will reflect on their experiences at the school, through journal writing and reading research to gain insight into the nature of the process tutoring and learning process and their role in supporting it.
Students will gain an appreciation of the applying academic research to the process of tutoring and students' learning.

Readings: A set of reading will be available on the web site in Readings page

Grading: Your grade will derived from three sources of assessments. First and foremost is the site assessment of your work on site by the DaVinci staff and faculty. This will include your involvement and attendance as a volunteer. The second will be your performance in the practicum discussions with me, your supervisor. This will include your involvement, attendance, and engagement in the weekly discussions with me during which time we the review of relevant research. Finally, your grade will depend on two written assignments. The first assignment is to keep a journal reflecting your weekly experiences at the DaVinci. The second assignment is a final paper, due at the end of the semester, which involves applying the reading and discussions to your actual experiences.

Distribution of Grades:
Site Assessment.............................40%
Practicum Meetings..........................20%
Papers......................................40%
Journal..................10%
Final Paper..............30%

Practicum Structure: The over-arching question which will be a theme running throughout the practicum, is, "How do students learn in school and how can we promote their learning?" Your practicum experience and course readings will be geared for you to experience and think about this question. One focus of our energies will be to address the role of professional school counselor and the development of academic, interpersonal, and cognitive skills in DaVinci students. We will read and discuss research on the the nature of charter schools, the philosophy and practice of mentoring/tutoring, the role and activities of professional guidance counselors, the development of planning skills in adolescents, and the impact of project based curriculum on learning. At these meetings, you will first be asked to discuss your activities over the past two weeks highlighting issues you have recorded in your personal journals. Then we will address the reading(s) assigned for the week. Before the end of the meeting, we will discuss the issues to focus upon readings for the next meeting. At first, these meeting will be very structured with specific readings. But by the 4th or 5th meeting, students' particular interests in the practicum will be the source of discussions and readings.

Class Policies: To read the policies of the class, click here.