Relationships+between+TE+402+&+TE+801

= = =TE 402 & TE 801=

The teacher preparation program at Michigan State University is a five year program. As seniors (students in year four), students enroll in TE 402, which is designed as a course that introduces these students to elementary mathematics methods which includes numbers & operation, building a base-ten system, and introductions to elementary algebra topics (such as patterns and solving for simple unknowns); students in the senior year are required to attend two 3-hour seminars per week (one based on literacy and the other based on mathematics) and observe a classroom for four hours per week. After the students have graduated, they are enrolled in Master’s level courses (designated as TE 801, 802, 803, & 804) where the students spend four days per week in a field classroom and one day a week in seminars. During the fall of the school year, the students are engaged in literacy and mathematics seminars, while in the spring they enroll in social studies and science seminars.

This TE 801 course is not the sole section of TE 801 that is offered. The year this course was taught there were ten sections taught by ten different instructors (including graduate students and members of faculty). There was latitude as to what assignments and assessments would be considered for the course, which a common set of three assignments that each section was to have the students produce. These three common assignments (Lesson Study Project, The Unit Plan, and The Discussion Lesson) were used as a part of the accreditation from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for Michigan State University. Other course assignments and projects were left to the instructor. These core assignments were to have similar weights across all of the sections.