ED 10902 Syllabus

Spring 2012

ED 109-02: TEACHING ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD

Spring 2012 Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00 4:15, Higgins 270 Instructor: Office: e-mail: Jeremy Price 119C Campion Hall jeremy.price@bc.edu

Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:45 2:45 (in Campion 117) or by appointment

COURSE WEBSITE
Readings for the course are available through course reserves - https://www.bc.edu/quest. The website with syllabus, assignments, and resources is at https://ed10912.wordpress.com/.

TEACHER EDUCATION THEMES

Programs in Teacher Education at BC have five unifying themes. Although no single course addresses all five themes in depth and every course has goals and objectives beyond these, each course is in keeping with the themes and addresses some of the five. Promoting social justice: At BC, we see teaching as an activity with political dimensions, and we see all educators as responsible for challenging inequities in the social order and working with others to establish a more just society. Constructing knowledge: At BC, we regard all teachers and students as active agents in their own learning, who draw on prior knowledge and experience to construct new knowledge in interaction with texts, materials, and other learners. Inquiring into practice: At BC, the curriculum is intended to bridge the gap between research, and practice by fostering critical reflection and by treating classrooms and schools as sites for teacher research and other forms of practitioner inquiry. Accommodating diversity: At BC, we believe that one of central challenges of teaching is meeting the needs of all learners, especially as the school population becomes more diverse in race, culture, ethnicity, language background, and ability/disability. Collaborating with others: At BC, prospective teachers are encouraged to collaborate with each of the stakeholders in the educational process (other teachers, administrators, human services professionals, parents, community members) and with fellow students and professors.

COURSE OVERVIEW
This course is designed to increase your confidence and enthusiasm for teaching elementary science. Science can be an essential part of an elementary classroom not only to achieve key science learning goals, but also as a means to engage and motivate students as well as support literacy and mathematics learning.

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The course is structured around the idea of a teaching cycle (Wilson, Shulman, & Richet, 1987), which offers a framework for thinking about the different aspects that go into successful science teaching. Building from the work of Charles (Andy) Anderson, we consider four different stages involved in instruction. Clarifying learning goals: Students knowledge and practices. When teaching, you need to consider what you want students to learn and what you want them to be able to do. In todays high stakes environment there are external forces that influence this decision (e.g. standards and assessments), but there are also forces inside your classrooms (e.g. accommodating diversity and the needs of every learner) and personal beliefs (e.g. promoting social justice) that influence the learning goals that you develop for your students. We will discuss ideas and resources that could influence this decision: scientific literacy, national and state standards, scientific inquiry practices, student misconceptions, student motivation, and understanding diversity. Learning environment: Teacher planning and strategies. After you decide what you want students to know and be able to do, then you need to design a learning environment that promotes that student learning. This stage includes both the planning and the implementation of your plan. Teaching is a design activity in which teachers balance tradeoffs and make choices based on their own resources and capacities as well as those of their students both during planning and the actual act of teaching (Brown, 2004; Simon, 1996). There are numerous resources that teachers can use and adapt to develop innovative and engaging learning environments. One particular focus of this class will be on critiquing, selecting, and adapting curriculum materials. We also purposefully use the term learning instead of classroom environment to stress the importance of drawing from experiences and resources both inside and outside of the classroom. We will discuss a number of ideas and resources that you can use to design effective learning environments: evaluating curriculum, integrating technology, designing lesson plans, developing an inquiry classrooms, using instructional strategies, designing for diversity, and making connections to the environment and students everyday experiences. Assessment, reflection, and revision. Assessment is a critical aspect of being a science teacher. Assessments can be used in a more formative manner to encourage reflection. Feedback to students can encourage student reflection and greater student learning. Assessing your students learning can also help you determine if your learning environment and teaching strategies are helping students achieve your desired learning goals or if you need to revise your instruction. We will discuss how to effectively incorporate assessment in your teaching. Reflection and inquiry on teacher practice. It is important to take a step back and reflect not only on your students growth, but also on yourself as a teacher. Reflecting on your own beliefs, knowledge and skills as a teacher is essential for your professional growth. Furthermore, it can be critical to consider your role in the larger school or community setting to assess whether you are meeting your personal goals. Consider questions such as: What are your goals for your students? Are you supporting students with a diversity of needs? Are you promoting greater social justice? Are you taking an active role in your school culture or the science education community to help change the system?

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Spring 2012

ASSIGNMENTS
Below is a brief description of the assignments for this class. We will provide more detailed descriptions before the assignments are due. Class Participation___ _______________________________________________10% We feel that the experiences during class are essential for your own personal growth and for creating a productive ED109 community. We expect that you will attend all classes, arrive on time, and actively participate in classroom activities and discussions. Every unexcused absence lowers your class participation grade by 10%, which translates into a one percentage decrease in your total grade for the class. For example, if your grade would be a 93, but you have 2 unexcused absences it will lower to a 91. If you have 10 unexcused absences, it will lower it to an 83. Over ten unexcused absences may result in your not passing the class. Reflecting on Classroom Collaboration Projects _______________5% You are always encouraged to write reflections and comments on the class blog. However, for five of the class sessions (the curriculum evaluation, the three case studies, and the last day of the long-term inquiry) you will be required to post a 100-300 word reflection comment. Although you may use any structure you would like, you may write a comment addressing one of the following three areas: (1) a question which arose for you based on the class session, and what led to that question; (2) how your thinking has changed based on the class session; or (3) a writeup synthesis or concretization of the class session. Your reflection is due within 72 hours of the end of the class session. Better Know A Student (in terms of science)!_____________ __________________15% What experiences and ideas do students bring to science? How do these influence their thinking through and thinking about science? You will conduct a 20-30 minute interview with a student around these questions. A draft protocol of your interview is due on Monday, February 6. Some ideas for questions in your protocol include: What words come to mind when you think of science? Do you have any questions having to do with science that you have not asked in class? Can you tell me about [some science concept]? You will then conduct your interview and take notes during the interview. Finally, you will write a report summarizing and reflecting on your findings. In writing this report, consider what kind of experience or information you might bring forward to help this student better understand and participate in science. The write-up for your interview is due Friday, March 2. Teaching a Lesson and Reflection _________________________________________20% An important aspect of the teacher cycle is using available resources to design instruction. You and a partner will develop a thirty-minute lesson to teach a science topic of your choice (e.g. motion) for a grade level of your choice (e.g. 1st grade). You can borrow materials from us or from the ERC. You will then teach that lesson to ED109 and we will act as your students. Both partners should actively participate in the teaching. We will also videotape the lesson for you to observe and reflect on. We will digitize the video and burn a movie on a cd that we will provide to you. Two weeks after you teach your lesson you will hand in your lesson plan for the lesson and a reflection on your teaching from watching the videotape. The due date for this assignment will depend on when you teach the class. People will teach the class ranging from February 27April 4 and will hand in their lesson plans and reflections ranging from March 12-April 18.

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Curriculum Unit Design_____________________________________________________50% As a teacher, you develop lessons and entire units to help support your students in learning science. The final project for this class will be to design a curricular unit that would last 6 class days. These could be consecutive class days or it could be a unit that you imagine spread out over a longer period of time (e.g. twice a week for 3 weeks). You can work with one partner to design the curriculum unit or you can create the unit independently. If you do choose to work with a partner, you need to do three aspects independently: 1. Design One Lesson, 2. Reflection for final curriculum unit. 3. Three extensions for the unit (people working by themselves do not need to design the three extensions). Outline (5%) Before developing the entire curriculum unit, we would like you to develop an outline that provides that target learning goals and a description of the instructional sequence. This will allow us to provide you with feedback as you start to think through your complete curriculum unit. The outline is due Monday, March 26. Design One Lesson (10%) Before designing the complete unit, we would first like you to hand in one individual lesson. This must be completed independently even if you are working on the unit with a partner. Ideally, this lesson would be one that you would actually teach in your prepracticum. The one lesson is due Wednesday, April 11. Design One Student Assessment (10%) You will develop one assessment including both the student version of the assessment as well as a rubric or key that you would use to evaluate students understanding. The student assessment can take a variety of forms such as a quiz, presentation, lab report, performance assessment or other written assignment. Again, ideally this assessment is one you will be able to use in your own teaching and that you can include as part of your final curriculum unit. The assessment is due Wednesday, April 25. Final Curriculum Unit (25%) You will design a curricular unit that would last 5 class days (approximately ~45-60 minutes a day) that targets a specific science topic. You will develop detailed lesson plans for the 5 days including any handouts, powerpoints, pictures, etc. that you would use with the students. Ideally, two of the five detailed lessons should already be developed from the lesson you taught in class and the other individual lesson that you handed in. Your unit will also include an introduction & purpose, science standards, science background, possible student misconceptions, and one student assessment (the one you already developed). You will also hand in a reflection that discusses how you developed your unit and a rationale for your particular instructional sequence. If you choose to design your curriculum unit with a partner, you will need to independently write your reflection. You will also need to develop three extensions to the unit discussing possible next steps (each about page long). The final unit is due Wednesday, May 9.

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Spring 2012

Grading Procedures Your grade for each assignment as well as your final grade will be determined by the following scheme: A 92-100 C 74-76 A- 88-91 C- 70-73 B+ 86-87 D+ 67-69 B 83-85 D 64-66 B- 80-82 D- 60-63 C+ 77-79 F below 60

POLICIES
a) Students will be expected to attend all classes and to be punctual. As mentioned above, class attendance and participation is an important part of the class. b) Please turn off cell phones as they disrupt the class and the students around you. c) If you know you are going to miss a class, please let us know in advance. Unexcused absences result in a 10% decrease in your participation grade. Allowances will be made for medical or family emergencies. The instructor may request written documentation for these emergencies. d) BC Academic Integrity: the pursuit of knowledge can proceed only when scholars take responsibility and receive credit for their work. Recognition of individual contributions to knowledge and of the intellectual property of others builds trust within the University and encourages the sharing of ideas that is essential to scholarship. Similarly, the educational process requires that individuals present their own ideas and insights for evaluation, critique, and eventual reformation. Presentation of others work as ones own is not only intellectual dishonesty, but also undermines the education process. Plagiarism, that is, failure to properly acknowledge sources written or electronic, used for verbatim quotations or ideas, is a violation of academic integrity. Each student is responsible for learning and using proper methods of paraphrasing and footnoting, quotation, and other forms of citation to ensure that the original author, speaker, illustrator, or course of the material used is clearly acknowledged. Suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be brought to the attention of the Deans office. See http://www.be.edu/offices/stserv/academic/rescourses/policy/#integrity for additional details about Academic Integrity. e) BC Students with a Disability or Suspected Disability: If you are a student with a documented disability and will be requesting accommodations, please register with either Kathy Duggan [Kathleen.duggan@bc.edu], Associate Director, Academic Support Services, the Connors Family Learning Center (learning disabilities and ADHD) or Suzy Conway [Suzy.conway.1@bc.edu], Assistant Dean for Students with Disabilities (all other disabilities). Advance notice and appropriate documentation are required for accommodations. f) If you have trouble meeting a due date, please notify us at least 24 hours before the due date via e-mail or phone, providing a reason and negotiating a mutually agreeable alternate date. g) Assignments are due on their due date by 3:00pm (class time). Late papers will not be accepted without prior arrangement with the instructor. Unauthorized late assignments will forfeit 10% of the total assignment score per day.

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Spring 2012

WEEKLY SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS

Class Class 1 January 18 Topic Introduction to the course Goals and expectations What is science? What is Science? Science Is Magic: Experiencing the World with Your Senses, Wonder, and Empathy Readings (Due) None (first day of class) Assignments (Due) None (first day of class)

Class 2 January 23

Constructing Science in Elementary Classrooms, Chapter 1: What is Science? Beyond Ecophobia

(http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/educatio n-for-life/803, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/63jwGs8QZ)

Nobody Likes Soap In Their Eyes

(https://www.wou.edu/~girodm/soap.pdf, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/63jwHNnr7)

From Phenomenon to Concept: Designing Phenomenological Science Education (http://www.umb.no/statisk/larerutdanning/fr

om_phenomenon_to_concept.pdf, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/64KL1q7vt,

Class 3 January 25

What is science?

pp. 125-126) Ready Set Science, Chapter 1, A New Vision of Science in Education (pp. 1-16). Constructing Science in Elementary Classrooms, Chapter 2: Why Teach Science?

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Spring 2012

Class Class 4 January 30

Topic Scientific Inquiry Science Standards

Readings (Due) Ready Set Science, Chapter 2, Four Strands of Science Learning (pp. 1736). Read Mass Frameworks for K-5 science
(http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitec h/1006.pdf).

Assignments (Due)

Look through NRC National Science Education Standards (Ch. 6,

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id =4962&page=103) and AAAS

Benchmarks (Chapters 1-6 & 12,

http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/ online/index.php) to get a sense of what

Class 5 February 1

Class 6 February 6 Meet in ERC

What Students (and Teachers) Bring to Science: Resources, Preconceptions, and Lies to Children, Oh My! Evaluating Curriculum The Science Teaching Experience

science content is in the national standards. Ready Set Science, Chapter 3, Foundational Knowledge and Conceptual Change (pp. 37-58).

Case Studies in Elementary Science, Chapter 1, Cases as Guides to Learning to Teach Science (pp. 1-11) Case Studies in Elementary Science, CHOOSE ONE: Case 2.1, Kaboom, Kaput! (Lower Grades, pp. 15-19) Case 2.6, Surfing into a Science Research Quandry (Upper Grades, pp. 35-38) AAAS article - The Trouble with Textbooks
(http://www.project2061.org/publications/arti cles/articles/asee.htm, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/64K8vFIzT)

Class 7 February 8

Evaluating Curriculum

Class 8 February 13 Class 9 February 15

Designing Science Lessons Designing Science Lessons

Ready Set Science, Chapter 5, Making thinking visible: Talk and Argument (p. 87-108). Ready Set Science, Chapter 4, Organizing Science Education Around Core Concepts (p. 59-86).

Draft of Interview Protocol Visitor Interview Protocols with Comments Returned

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Spring 2012

Class Class 10 February 20

Topic Designing Science Lessons Scientific Inquiry

Readings (Due) Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, Chapter 2 (pp. 13-37,
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id =9596&page=13)

Assignments (Due)

Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, Chapter 3 Images of Inquiry in K-4 Classroom (first 1/3 of chapter,
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id =9596&page=39)

Class 11 February 22

Designing Science Lessons for Diverse Students

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the Science Classroom (this will be provided to you) UDL Guidelines Educator Checklist
(http://udlonline.cast.org/guidelines, http://www.webcitation.org/64JwXySig)

Visitor

Class 12 February 27

Designing Science Lessons for Diverse Students (1st Lesson Taught) Scientific Inquiry (2nd Lesson Taught) Spring Break Science and Literacy (3rd Lesson Taught)

Linking Science & Literacy, Chapter 11: Using Diversity as a Strength in the Science Classroom (pp. 305 319)

Teaching a Lesson (first day to teach)

Class 13 February 29 No Class March 5 & 7 Class 14 March 12

Interview Report

Linking Science & Literacy, Chapter 5: Comprehension Strategies and the Scientists Notebook (pp. 127-148) Linking Science & Literacy, Chapter 6: Writing to Learn (chapter itself is optional, pp. 149-159. Required the appendix pp. 159-160).

Class 15 March 14 Class 16 March 19

Science and Literacy (4th Lesson Taught) Science and Literacy (5th Lesson Taught)

Science as inquiry in the secondary setting, Chapter 11, Inquiry and scientific explanations: Helping students use evidence and reasoning (pp. 121-134). Outline of Unit

Class 17 March 21

Science and Literacy (6th Lesson Taught)

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Class Class 18 online March 26 & March 28

Topic Instructional Strategies and Field Trips

Readings (Due) Suggestions for Success: Museum Field Trips

(http://cumuseum.colorado.edu/Education/su ggestions.pdf, http://www.webcitation.org/64KBPk5of)

Museums and Learning: A Guide for Family Visits

(http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/Museum/index.ht ml)

Assignments (Due) Class Discussion Via VoiceThread - Jeremy at National Association for Research in Science Teaching conference

The Absolute Awesomeness of Field Trips (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/fieldtrips-absolute-awesomeness-elena-aguilar)

Class 19 April 2 Class 20 April 4

Instructional strategies (7th Lesson Taught) Assessment (8th Lesson Taught)

Ready Set Science, Chapter 7, Learning from Science Investigations (pp. 127-148). Assessment in science: Practical experiences and education research, Chapter 2: Developing assessment items: A how-to guide (pp. 15-30) Classroom Assessment and the National Science Education Standards, Chapters 2 (pp. 11-21,
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id =9847&page=11)

Teaching a Lesson (last day to teach)

No Class April 9 Class 21 April 11

Easter Monday The Science Teaching Experience Case Studies in Elementary Science, SIGN UP FOR ONE: Case 4.1: Spider! Creating an Interdisciplinary Web to Support Science Inquiry (Lower Grades) Case 4.3: Building Castles: Redesigning Simple Machines (Upper Grades) Case 4.5: Hands of Surgeons, Minds of Scientists! (All Grades) OR Case 4.6: Haz tu Tarea (Do Your School Work) (All Grades) One Lesson for Final Unit Case Study Round Robin (In Class)

No Class April 16

Patriots Day Vacation

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Class Class 22 April 18

Topic Assessment

Class 23 April 23

Modeling and Story Telling in Science

Readings (Due) Assessing Science Learning: Perspectives from Research and Practice. Chapter 6, Assessing middle school students content knowledge and reasoning through written scientific explanations. (pp. 101-116) Ready Set Science, Chapter 6, Making thinking visible: Modeling and Representation (pp. 109-126) Creating with Scratch
(http://scratched.media.mit.edu/sites/default/f iles/Creating-with-Scratch.pdf, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/64K3zDwJC)

Assignments (Due)

Visitor

Learning with Scratch

(http://scratched.media.mit.edu/sites/default/f iles/Learning%20with%20Scratch.pdf, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/64K46JtBy)

Getting Started with Scratch

(http://scratched.media.mit.edu/sites/default/f iles/GettingStartedGuidev14.pdf, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/64K47AZ9D)

Class 24 April 25

The Science Teaching Experience

Case Studies in Elementary Science, SIGN UP FOR ONE: Case 5.1: Barbaras Mother (All Grades) Case 5.3: Father Knows Best (All Grades) Case 5.6: Setting Children Up for Failure (All Grades)

Assessment Case Study Round Robin (In Class)

Class 25 April 30 Class 26 May 2

Engineering Simple Machines/Other Content Areas Using the outdoors in science teaching

Ready Set Science, Chapter 8, A System that Supports Science Learning (pp. 149-166). Science and Children article, Outdoor Classrooms Planning Makes Perfect (pp. 44-48,
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/200704/sc0607_44.pdf, archived at http://www.webcitation.org/64KAzvnT5)

Wednesday May 9

FINAL UNIT DUE

10

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Spring 2012

REQUIRED BOOK
Michaels, S, Shouse, A. W. & Schweingruber, H. A. (2008). Ready, set, science! Putting research to work in k-8 science classrooms. Board on Science Education, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

OTHER READINGS
All other readings can be found on Blackboard Vista under the appropriate week. These readings come from the following books. If you would like to purchase any of these books, they are available online, but it is not necessary for the class. American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press. Coffey, J., Douglas, R., & Stearns, C. (Eds.) (2008). Assessing Science Learning: Perspectives from Research and Practice. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press. Douglas, R., Klentschy, M. P., Worth, K., & Binder, W. (Eds.) (2006). Linking science and literacy in the K8 classroom. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press. Fatham, A. K. & Crowther, D.T. (Eds.) (2006). Science for English language learners: K-12 classroom strategies. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press. Howe, A. C. & Nichols, S. E. (2001). Case Studies in Elementary Science: Learning from Teachers. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Luft, J., Bell, R. & Gess-Newsome, J. (Eds.) (2008). Science as inquiry in the secondary setting.. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press. McMahon, M., Simmons, P., Sommers, R., DeBaets, D., & Crowley, F. (Eds.) (2006). Assessment in science: Practical experiences and education research. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the national science education standards: A guide for teaching and learning. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. National Research Council. (2001). Classroom Assessment and the National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP

You may want to consider joining NSTA. NSTA has a special membership for preservice and new teachers that costs $32 - http://www.nsta.org/pdfs/MembershipApplicationStudent.pdf.

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