PLEASE PRINT THIS SYLLABUS FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

Chaminade University of Honolulu				  Course ED 670
Issues of Peace, Social Justice, and Educational Reform
On-line webCT course							(3 Credits)
Fall 2004  (Updated 9/7/04)

Contact Information:
Gale S. Warshawsky, Adjunct Professor
Phone: 262-9924
E-mail: gw_chaminade@yahoo.com
Office hours: By appointment

Course Description:

Focus on issues of positive and negative peace, social justice and cultural change with implications for educational structures and classroom practice as they apply to establishing a more just society.

Rationale

It is important for educators to explore and to understand the paradigm shifts occurring today that are redefining teaching and learning for the 21st century. The paradigm shifts in question refer to transformative change rather than simply reforming existing societal and educational structures. The underlying assumption is that long-term transformation toward a more and just compassionate society is accomplished through cultural change, celebrated and institutionalized in social, political and educational structures.

The exploration of educational structures is intended to identify and to address issues of structural violence in society, in general, and in schools in particular. This exploration leads naturally to the discovery of educational strategies that embody the ideals of a just society. Therefore, this course will focus on analyzing issues of social justice and human dignity as they pertain to schools.

Course Goal:

The goal of this course is to introduce educators to factors of peace and social justice that impact the many efforts being made at all levels of society to enact meaningful educational change.

Student Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course students will demonstrate their ability to:
1.	explain the difference between reform and transformation as they analyze current educational issues,
2.	articulate an operative theory of social justice that includes an understanding of both the dignity and worth of the individual, and of the individual’s responsibility imposed by the needs of the common good.
3.	identify the issues of social justice that educators face in school environments,
4.	develop curricula that address issues of social justice and human dignity.

Computer Requirements:

•	All students will need to be able to access the Internet. If students need to do this from a Chaminade computer, and they do not have a Chaminade account with a user-id and password, they will need to fill out paperwork available the Chaminade Computer Lab. Otherwise it is assumed that the student can access the Internet from their home or school computer.
•	Everyone will need an email address. 
•	All students are to send their name, phone number, and email address to the professor as soon as they register for the course: gw_chaminade@yahoo.com
o	Note that is NOT a space between gw and chaminade.
It is an _ underscore.

Methods

•	Readings
•	Reflection Papers
•	Response Papers
•	Learning Group Discussions
•	Research Paper
•	Presentation of the Research
•	Use of Children’s Literature to integrate issues of peace and social justice in the classroom community

Course Requirements:

Participation in on-line class/Learning Group discussions, reflection papers, response papers, use of Children’s Literature, researching and writing a major research paper, and demonstrating an understanding of issues of peace, social justice, and educational reform are major factors in determining success in this course. Students are expected to submit their work on time. Late submissions will receive partial credit.

1. webCT Reflection/discussion papers by each student 

Students will write a reflection paper based on the assigned readings and post it to WebCT under the weekly discussions area for their Learning Group. (Refer to Learning Groups below.)

These reflection/discussion papers are to be 2 pages in length. Students are advised to type their papers on their computer, spell check and grammar check their work, and then copy their text and paste it into each week’s discussion message in the body of the message. Although, webCT can accept attached files, the professor prefers that all students copy/paste their work for these reflection/discussion papers into the body of the discussion messages on webCT. That way it will not matter if students are using different word processing software to write their papers.

Following are instructions for copying and pasting the text of your reflection paper into the Discussion Area window.
Copy your research paper’s text. 
Before pasting it into the Discussion Area, click on the HTML button. That brings up a Java program. 
Click on Yes. 
Then paste your text into the Discussion Area window. Your formatting should be retained. 
Click on POST.
Note Reflection papers are due on MONDAYS by 11 PM Hawaii time.

2. webCT Response/discussion papers by each student. Each student will respond to the other students’ reflection papers, in their Learning Group.

Students will participate in webCT discussions related to assigned readings. Students are to post their responses to their Learning Groups’ reflection papers in the Discussion messages part of webCT). All students are expected to log into webCT twice a week to read each other’s reflections and to respond to each other’s reflection papers. A response paper is expected to be at least one page in length with a robust paragraph in response to each member of the group. An example follows. The student responding would type his or her name at the beginning of the response. That would be followed by separate paragraphs beginning with the group member’s name the student I responding to. This means that all group members must make every effort to post their reflection paper on time, so that all group members will have ample time to read, and then respond to each of the group members in this manner. 

Note Response papers are due on WEDNESDAYS by 11 PM Hawaii time.

Refer to the Sample Response Paper below.

Your Name – response to group #

Student A:xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx.
xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx.

Student B:xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx.
xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx.

Student C:xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx.
xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx.

Student D:xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx. xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx.
xxxxxxxx.Xxxxxxxx  xxxxxxxxx.xxxx.

Sample Response Paper
The xxxx represent the text the responding group member types in. The Student A, Student B, Student C, Student D, etc., represent where the responding group member types in the name of the group member’s reflection that he or she is responding to. There may be as many as 7 people in a group. Each group member has to respond to each of other group members, in the format shown above.

In addition please be sure to change the subject line for your response messages in the Discussion Area, so it will be obvious who submitted the response paper.

Such as:
Re: Sandy Smartteacher response Wk 1 to group 1
or
Re: Sandy Smartteacher response Wk 2 to group 1

Etc. for each week of the course, substituting your name for “Sandy Smartteacher s” name.

3. One Children’s Literature book that could be used to integrate issues of peace in education and/or social justice into our 21st century classrooms. 

Each student will write a reflection paper about one Children’s Literature book. These papers are expected to be 2-3 pages in length and contain the following information:

•	Book title
•	Author
•	ISBN
•	Brief description of the book
•	A detailed lesson plan of how teachers could use the book to integrate issues of peace in education and/or social justice into our 21st century classrooms.

Examples of books:
Charlotte’s Web (friendship)
And the Doorbell Rang (sharing cookies in equal shares with friends)
The Giver (compassion and empathy)

Students will post Children’s Literature discussions in their Learning Groups. Refer to the schedule for when things are due. All members of the Learning Groups will respond and discuss the use of the books and the lesson plans that their group recommended. Please use the same format for the response to the Children’s Literature assignment, as shown in the Sample Response paper in this syllabus. This exercise is meant to be a brainstorming session for cooperative group learning.

4. One Research Paper 

•	Each student will conduct research on an area of Issues of Peace, Social Justice, or Educational Reform that is of interest to him or her. 
•	Each student will write a paper based on the area he or she selected. 
•	Papers are to be written in APA format. The paper is to be 10 to 12 pages long and include citations in the body of the paper and a separate Reference Page.
•	Each paper must reference at least 5 sources. Sources may be on-line references and/or from professional journals such as the Reading Teacher, published by the International Reading Association (IRA) or Educational Leadership published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
•	Each student will post his or her Research Paper to their group.
•	Each student member of the group will read each group members’ research paper and respond to it. Please use the same format for the response to the Research Paper assignment, as shown in the Sample Response paper in this syllabus. This exercise is meant to be a brainstorming session for cooperative group learning.

Suggested topics for research papers:
•	Bullying
•	Are our school playgrounds really safe?
•	Gender bias issues
•	Constructivism – getting the school on board so everyone teaches in a constructivist classroom
•	Team teaching
•	Teaching to develop all the Multiple Intelligences (the work of Dr. Howard Gardner)
•	Other topics as agreed to between the student and the professor

Learning Groups

Students will be placed into one Learning Group by the professor as of the first class meeting.  

•	Each Learning Group may have between 5-7 members
•	The professor will notify the students via webCT email of their Learning Group number (1, 2, or 3, etc.) for the purpose of the class Learning Group Discussions on webCT.
o	In webCT, click on Mail
o	Click on Inbox
o	Click on the message ED 670 Group Numbers

Each week on MONDAY, students are to please go to the Discussions Section of webCT.
•	Click on Main
•	It will expand to display 10 weeks of discussion sessions that the professor has set up for the course
•	Click on the green triangle. It will expand to show the messages posted by the professor
•	Click on the weekly message from the professor. For example:
o	Week 1 Reading and Writing from Gale Warshawsky
•	Read the message. Print it if you wish.
•	Close the message.

•	Click on the weekly message for your Learning Group to open it. 
For example: 
o	Week 1 Group 1
•	Then click Reply.
•	Write your 2 page reflection paper using word processing software, such as Microsoft Word. Spell check and grammar check your work please. Then copy your text and paste it into the body of the reply message for Week 1 Group 1.
•	Change the Subject line and type YOUR NAME - Reflection 
•	As everyone in Week 1 Group 1 will do the same thing, the reflections will be threaded and all members in Group 1 will be able to read each other’s reflections.
•	Wait 2 days. On WEDNESDAY, log into webCT again.
•	Everyone in Group 1 should read each person’s reflection and then reply to them with a response message.
•	Again, students may write their responses in word processing software, spell check and grammar check their work, and then copy/paste their text into the body of the reply message.
•	Change the Subject line and type YOUR NAME - Response 
•	Click Post.

Students assigned to Group 2 will do the same thing under Week 1 Group 2.
Students assigned to Group 3 will do the same thing under Week 1 Group 3.

And, so it will continue for all the Reflection Papers and Response Papers within each of the Learning Groups.

On Week 9, the discussions will conclude. 

On the Friday after students have posted their responses to their group’s research papers, please access and print the Course and Instructor Evaluation. It is located in the Course Contents Area of webCT. Students should fill out the Course Evaluation and mail it to Chaminade University of Honolulu. The address is included in the Course and Instructor Evaluation. Thank you.

Total Points for this course:

Week 1
•	Reflection Paper Children’s Literature				5 points
o	Response Paper Children’s Literature			5 points

Week 2
•	Reflection Paper Noddings’ book Chapters 1-6			5 points
o	Response Paper Noddings’ book Chapters 1-6		5 points

Week 3
•	Reflection Paper Noddings	‘ Chapters 7-12			5 points
o	Response Paper Noddings’ book	 Chapters7-12	5 points

Week 4
•	Reflection Paper Palmer’s book Chapters 1 and 7		5 points
o	Response Paper Palmer’s book Chapters 1 and 7	5 points

Week 5
•	Reflection Paper Evans’ book Chapters 1-8			5 points
o	Response Paper Evans’ book Chapters 1-8		5 points

Week 6
•	Reflection Paper Evans’ book Chapters 9-14			5 points
o	Response Paper Evans’ book Chapters 9-14		5 points

Week 7
•	Reflection Paper on the following 3 readings:			5 points
1.	Mechmann’s book
2.	Article: Characteristics of Marianist Education
3.	Article A Marianist Multicultural Approach to Education                         in America Today

o	Response Paper on the above 3 readings		5 points

Week 8
•	Reflection Paper Kessler’s book					5 points
o	Response Paper Kessler’s book				5 points

Week 9
•	Research Paper (APA format)				         15 points
o	Response to Research Papers				5 points
								        Total: 100 points

Below are some useful search engines for conducting on-line research:
•	Copernic http://www.copernic.com/en/index.html  
•	ERIC http://www.askeric.org/Eric/ 
•	Yahooligans www.yahooligans.com
•	Google www.google.com
•	ASCD www.ascd.org

Grading:

93 – 100 = A
85 –   92 = B
77 -    84 = C 	not usable towards graduation credit
69 -    76 = D 	not usable towards graduation credit
68 and below = F 	not usable towards graduation credit

Course Atmosphere:

This is an on-line participatory course. The more you do, the more you will learn. Participation in Learning Group and class discussions, the reflection papers/response papers, mini-papers, and the research paper and presentation should demonstrate students’ understanding of Issues of Peace, Social Justice, and Educational Reform.

Texts:

The following five books are required. Students may purchase the books in the Chaminade bookstore. 

1.	The Challenge to Care in Schools (Nel Noddings) ISBN 0-8077-31773
2.	The Courage to Teach (Parker J. Palmer) ISBN 0-7879-1058-9
3.	The Human Side of School Change (Robert Evans) ISBN0-7879-5611-2
4.	God, Society, and the Human Person, The Basics of Catholic Social Teaching (Edward T. Mechmann) ISBN 0-8189-0886-6
5.	The Soul of Education (Rachael Kessler) ISBN 0-87120-373-1

Students should download and read the following files from webCT. The files have been placed in the Course Content area. 

•	Characteristics of Marianist Education
•	A Marianist Multicultural Approach to Education in America Today

Administrative Requirements

Attendance/Participation:
Students are expected to log in several times each week to a Chaminade WebCT course and participate in the weekly on-line discussions related to assigned readings, and other topics. Reflection Papers should be posted to webCT for the correct weekly discussions (by Learning Group) by 10 PM on MONDAY of each week. And, the Response papers should be posted to webCT for the correct weekly discussions (by Learning Group) by 10 PM on WEDNESDAY of each week.

In addition to writing and responding to the Reflection and Response papers, students need to log in to view discussions that will assuredly take place as a result of reading each others’ response papers, within your Learning Groups.

Be aware that participating in an online course takes many more hours then participating in a course held in a classroom in a building. Please plan accordingly. Students and the professor typically spend 15-20 hours or more to participate in an online course. And as always, the more you do, the more you will learn. Thank you for your professionalism.

Incompletes:
Incomplete may be given if the student is unable to complete a portion of the work due to circumstances beyond their control. The student and the instructor must sign the incomplete contract. It will specify when the work must be completed. Usually the work must be completed in 90 days. If it is not, then the incomplete will revert to the grade that the student would have earned that is specified on the incomplete contact.

Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism is a serious offense.
Plagiarism is the offering of work of another as one’s own and may include but is not limited to the following:
•	Complete or partial copying directly from a published or unpublished source without proper acknowledgment to the author. Minor changes in wording or syntax are not sufficient to avoid charges of plagiarism. Proper acknowledgment of the soured of the text is always mandatory.
•	Paraphrasing the work of another without proper author acknowledgement.
•	Submitting as one’s own original work (however freely given or purchased) the original exam, research paper, manuscript, report, computer file or other assignment that has been prepared by another individual.

Classroom Deportment (Please refer to the Student Handbook).

Freedom of Expression (Please refer to the Student Handbook):
•	Students are free to express different opinions and views than those presented in the course but these diverse views must be grounded in research. Students are required to know the material presented in the class whether or not they agree with the specific bodies of knowledge set forth in the course.
•	Students are expected to maintain academic standards set forth on the course syllabus.

Chaminade University of Honolulu
Ms. Gale S. Warshawsky, Adjunct Professor
262-9924 
gw_chaminade@yahoo.com

SYLLABUS – Schedule ED 670 

Fall 2004

Issues of Peace, Social Justice, and Educational Reform

Reflection papers are due to be posted to webCT by 11 PM on MONDAY of each week that the class meets. Response papers are due to be posted to webCT by 11 PM on WEDNESDAY of each week that the class meets. Late submissions will receive partial credit. Thank you for your professionalism.

Week 1 Part 1 DUE MONDAY 10/11/04

Email your name, phone number, and email address to the professor as soon as you register for the webCT course.

The professor will then assign a group number to each of the Learning Groups and send a webCT email to inform group members which group number they are in for purposes of our webCT Discussions.

As soon as you know the group number you have been assigned, then proceed to webCT Discussions for Week 1. 

After you post to your discussion group for the appropriate week, please click on the UPDATE LISTING button at the top of the Discussions Page. That will allow you to see that what you just posted has indeed been posted.

Week 1 Part 2 DUE MONDAY 10/11/04

Introduce yourselves. Answer the following 5 questions. 

1.	Name
2.	Where you teach
3.	The grade level you teach
4.	Computer experience
5.	Tell us about something you enjoy doing

AND

Week 1 Part 3 DUE MONDAY 10/11/04.

Reading/Writing
Choose one Children’s Literature book you like and write your Children’s Literature reflection paper including your lesson plan. Post it to your week 1 discussion group (based on your Learning Group’s number). 

Two days later log into webCT and write response papers to your group members’ Children’s Literature papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 10/13/04.

Week 2  

Read The Challenge to Care in Schools (Noddings) Chapters 1-6.
Write your reflection paper. DUE MONDAY 10/18/04.

Two days later, log into webCT and write your response paper to your group members’ reflection papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 10/20/04.

Week 3  

Read The Challenge to Care in Schools (Noddings) Chapters 7-12.
Write your reflection paper to this book. DUE MONDAY 10/25/04.

Two days later log into webCT and write response papers to your group members’ reflection papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 10/27/04.

Week 4 

Read The Courage to Teach (Palmer) Chapter 1 and Chapter 7
Write your reflection paper to these 2 chapters. 
DUE MONDAY 11/1/04.

Two days later log into webCT and write response papers to your group members’ reflection papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 11/3/04.

Week 5  

Read The Human Side of School Change (Evans) Chapters 1 – 8
Write your reflection paper to these 2 chapters. 
DUE MONDAY 11/8/04.

Two days later log into webCT and write response papers to your group members’ reflection papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 11/10/04.

Week 6

Read The Human Side of School Change (Evans) Chapters 9-14
Write your reflection paper to this book. DUE MONDAY 11/15/04.

Two days later log into webCT and write response papers to your group members’ reflection papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 11/17/04.

Week 7 

It is important for students to know that the topic of Marianist Education will be included on the comprehensive exam for M.Ed. candidates. So, while it is a small portion of this course, students need to be familiar with this week’s readings in preparation for the comprehensive exam, as part of the requirements for being awarded a M.Ed. degree from Chaminade University of Honolulu.

Read the following:
1.	God, Society, and the Human Passion The Basics of Catholic Social Teaching (Mechmann’s book)
2.	Characteristics of Marianist Education (This assigned reading is in the Course Contents Area of webCT)
3.	A Marianist Multicultural Approach to Education in America Today (This assigned reading is in the Course Contents Area of webCT)
As you write your Reflection Paper to these 3 readings, keep the following questions in mind:
•	How has Catholic Social Teaching influenced development of Marianist characteristics?
•	How do Marianist characteristics make a Marianist education unique?
Write your reflection paper to these 3 reading assignments. DUE MONDAY 11/22/04.

Two days later log into webCT and write response papers to your group members’ reflection papers. DUE WEDNESDAY 11/24/04.

SUGGESTION TO STUDENTS:
•	Please begin to work on your APA formatted Research Paper 
•	Please plan ahead. It takes time to conduct research, and write a 10-12 page paper.
•	If for any reason, a student foresees not being able to deliver his or her research on time, the student must notify the professor by email or telephone before the due date. Thanks for your professionalism in this    on-line course.
•	Late submissions will receive reduced points.

Week 8

Read The Soul of Education (Kessler).
Write your reflection paper to this book and post it to your Discussion Group. DUE MONDAY 11/29/04.
Two days later, log back into webCT and read your group members’ reflections and write your response to those reflections. DUE WEDNESDAY 12/1/04.

Week 9 

Post your research paper to your group. DUE MONDAY 12/6/04.
Everyone in the Learning Group must read each other’s research paper.

Everyone in the Learning Group must write a response paper about their group members’ research paper. DUE WEDNESDAY 12/8/04.

Week 10  

DUE MONDAY 12/13/04. Please do this after you have posted your week 9 response paper about your group members’ research papers.

Download the Course Evaluation which may be found in the Course Content area of webCT. Please print the file and fill it in. Then mail the hard copy filled in form to:

Chaminade University of Honolulu
Education Division
3140 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816

Thank you for your participation in our course.
_______________________________________________________________
Syllabus will be adjusted to meet the needs of the class.