Lynn and Rebecca,
The two of you ROCK! There is so much information here! Lynn, I knew that Rebecca would love all the websites and textbooks you have in your files; what a great list with which to start! Rebecca, I am so grateful for the EOs you have posted because now I have a framework for thinking about all of this. Sincere thanks to both of you!
A few initial thoughts: Because Lynn has taught some of these classes, I am inclined to take her advice on textbooks for those classes. I have taught Intercultural Communications in the past (and I think Lynn has too?) and I have a real interest in that topic. Is this the same course with a different name? I would like to do some research around that one because I think there are some good books available through a website John Christiansen suggested, which would be less expensive than conventional textbooks. I will look that up and share what I find. Diversity, multicultural education, and teaching tolerance have all been showing up in all of my classes more frequently and I want to find resources to use around this topic in all my classes.
I also have an initail thought about the assessments class. There is so much buzz these days about the issues of NCLB and the inherent problem in the sometimes test-driven classroom environment, I want to take some time to research where all of that stands. I am apprehensive about developing materials that are more in keeping with this current problematic system and less about helping new teachers understand that they can be part of the solution. Lynn, you and I have encountered this dilemma in the discussion board as our students become frustrated by learning that creativity, flexibility, and open-ended projects are considered best-practice, only to learn within the same week that the tenets of NCLB can and do seriously imapct a teacher's ability to implement this best-practice. In light of this, I would really like to look at how we might use materials to address both sides of the coin with the ultimate goal of empowering new teachers to get involved with changing things for the better.
And, at the risk of stating the obvious, I will sign off by saying that I sometimes get fired up, but that is when I do my best work!
Again, thanks to both of you for all your hard work thus far!
Suzanne