CONT771: Senior English
Teaching English is an increasingly complex task in a world where students engage with a wide variety of information and communication technologies. Encouraging students to read texts from cultures and contexts outside of their own experience, or supporting them to write more deeply in different modes while developing critical skills of discernment presents an exciting challenge for any English teacher. The CON 771 Senior English course begins by asking you to reflect on the subject of English and the role of the teacher. The course content considers the strands from the English curriculum (for Grades 11–12) and explores theories and issues that underpin those strands. At the end of the course, you will bring together theory and practice in culminating activities designed to prepare you for teaching Senior English. In addition to the five thematic modules (introduction, language, reading, writing, media studies), at the core of Senior English 771 is engagement in work that will deepen your professional expertise in areas such as exceptionalities, learning theories, and assessment.
Throughout, you will be reading scholarly articles and reviewing excerpts from Bridging English (Fifth Edition) by Milner, Milner, and Mitchell. These course readings offer a blend of theory and practice to support you in your future work as a Senior English teacher. Central to this course is an emphasis on online collaborative learning. Collaboration and community will be developed through asynchronous and synchronous discussions. Another key component will be your personal and professional growth through self-reflection.
Learning Outcomes
What You Will Learn and Do
In this course, you will have the opportunity to
- reflect on your own bias, assumptions, mindset, and privilege, and understand the importance of taking an anti-racist and anti-oppression lens for curriculum planning and assessment practices
- learn how to embed 21st-century competencies and critical thinking skills in English curriculum
- learn how to facilitate critical dialogue with your students regarding power and privilege, colonialism, racism, and students' lived experiences
- research contemporary FNMI perspectives and culture and reflect on best practices for Indigenizing the English curriculum
- deepen your understanding of the adolescent learner and how you can help nurture the development of students' voice and identity through effective literacy programs
- develop an asset-based mindset and value all students' unique strengths, funds of knowledge, and lived experiences
Assessments
Module 1
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Module 2
Reading and Critical Literacy
Progress Update 1
Module 3
Media Literacy
Module 4
Voice and Identity
Progress Update 2
Module 5
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Curriculum
Module 6
Assessment and Equity
Progress Update 3
Module 7
Culminating Task—Wrap Up
Final Report