FREEMAN SEMINAR

The unit may represent either a portion of a broad overview plan (a three week thematic and resources outline, part of a course on world history, devoted, for example, to an examination of linkages between dress and social status in several different historical periods in several different locations around the globe) or a detailed several day plan for a single portion of a much larger unit of study (perhaps an investigation of ties between geography and diet in China tied into a unit that would later move on to make comparisons with similar interactions in Nigeria and Pakistan).

The first approach would center on identification of the broad thematic, comparative or chronological interactions to be considered together with the resources (for both teacher and student) to be utilized in instructor preparation / classroom sessions / homework assignments over the course of the portion of the unit devoted to an East Asian culture; the second, on the session-by-session playing out of the highlighted portion of the larger course of instruction (incorporating all the resources and detailed implementation plans needed to present the unit in the classroom).
In either case, the developed unit must be placed in the appropriate theoretical and practical context -- the larger themes discussed with reference to the particulars involved and vice versa. Only the emphasis should differ within the macro or micro approach undertaken in the study unit.
Your goal should be the development of a teaching unit any instructor could pick up and take into the classroom once the goals, objectives, methods, materials, instructional strategies, lesson plans and evaluative criteria spelled out in the unit plan as described are understood.

The several units developed should incorporate a separate and specific explanatory list of instructional resources necessary to implement the lesson plans, including at least one instance of each of the following if at all feasible:

The appropriate and effective use of a specifically identified locally-available resource (museum exhibit, site visit, performance viewing, expert presentation, artifact collection or workshop session) tied to the subject matter being taught;
An internet-based resource -- a web site developed for student or teacher use directly supporting your teaching unit, a list of useful web sites assigned for student research (with an indication of the associated assignment might be), a gallery of reference images, an independent study assignment using web resources, a teaching resource archive, a map collection.

The larger TEACHING PORTFOLIO containing the lesson plans should be accompanied by an overview INTRODUCTION outlining and explaining the larger subject matter context, student population and grade level at which the lessons will be implemented. The specific instructional goals, themes, assumptions, pedagogical approaches and standards used in the lesson creation and evaluation process should also be clarified and explained. .

As part of this discussion, you should explain how / what you have taught about East Asia in the past with respect to your chosen teaching topic and what new elements/resources you will use in the future as a result of what you have learned in the seminar program. . It should reference as well the opportunities you will have to teach about East Asia during the course of the next school year in general, both in the instructional context itself and within the larger community of colleagues, school and neighborhood. The discussion also should include a consideration of the principles and insights derived from the seminar itself that you hope to pass on to your students through these specific classroom activities.
For those enrolled in the seminar for graduate level credit, the TEACHING PORTFOLIO must also contain an annotated resources list of between fifteen (two credits) and twenty-five (three credits) items suggesting books, articles, web sites, films and / or other materials useful as (1) background reading for an instructor unfamiliar with the subject matter involved, (2) guides to the teaching methodology employed and (3) supplements to the lessons themselves for student use.

These annotations should incorporate basic bibliographic information sufficient to locate the resource easily; an indication of where and how to obtain the material, if appropriate; a brief note clarifying the larger context from which the resource is drawn; an extended overview description and evaluation of the resource’s educational content and / or utility; and suggestions for use.

TEACHING UNIT EVALUATION CRITERIA: Your completed PORTFOLIO will be evaluated with reference to the following standards: (1) the intelligence with which the instructional objectives of the unit are stated, supported and achieved; (2) the quality and effective utilization of incorporated instructional resources; (3) the organization and presentation of the completed instructional unit.