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Class 1: National and State Science Education Standards: Review
In Class Activities: Read and discuss case studies, critique teaching content and methods
Homework Assignment for Next Week: Write a 3-4-paragraph journal entry on the things related to science teaching that you feel comfortable or uncomfortable with at this point in time. You can address science content, teaching methods, classroom management, etc.
Read: “Defining Inquiry,” and Chapter 1 in Teaching Science
Class 2: Making the Case for Inquiry
In Class Activities: Discuss readings, Conduct Activities using the handout and materials provided.
Homework Assignment: Write a 3-4-paragraph journal entry on the activity you conducted, commenting on how the inquiry standards fit into the scheme of the activity, and how the notion of inquiry played out in the activity.
Read: Benchmarks Chapters 1, 3, 11, 12 (at least intros and K-2, 3-5)
Class 3: Traditional and Non-traditional Science Content: The Scope of the Standards
In Class Activities: Discuss video and non-traditional science content areas. Work in small groups to brainstorm teaching activities for the concepts in Chapters 3, 11, and 12. Record at least one of these in your journal and discuss how it could be incorporated into a science unit on a traditional content topic.
Homework Assignment: Conduct an interview with 1.) an elementary school student and 2.) a middle school student using the handout provided (Assessing students’ ideas about plants). You might want to tape your interview. Write a journal entry to record your experiences as outlined in the article.
Read: Chapter 2 in Teaching Science
Class 4: How Do Children Construct Understanding in Science?
In Class Activities: Portfolio activities 2.3 and 2.5A (Garnetta Chain video), discuss Interviews
Homework Assignment: Portfolio Activities 3.3 and 3.4A
Read: Chapter 3 in Teaching Science
Class 5: Selecting a Science Topic: “Driving Questions” and Standards
In Class Activities: Review and discuss topics handout. Distribute and review unit assignment. Distribute sample unit (invisible inks) and review standards vs. objectives. Discuss resources: trade books and WWW. In small groups, look at texts for preferred grade level for unit assignment, and use these to begin to think about unit topics.
Homework Assignment: Begin brainstorming for your unit. Select 2 topics that you might be interested in using for an inquiry-based science unit. Record in your journal your rationale for selecting these topics. Develop a possible driving question for each topic. Find and list the state standards related to this topic (use the letter/number abbreviations). Also use the national standards or benchmarks, and find the content standards or benchmarks that relate to these topics. Write these out.
Read: Chapter 4 in Teaching Science
Class 6: Developing Scientific Investigations
In Class Activities: Portfolio Activities 4.1, 4.5
Read: Chapter 5 in Teaching Science
Class 7: Using Learning Technologies
In Class Activities: Activity with ibooks
Read: Chapter 6 in Teaching Science
Class 8: Collaboration in the Science Classroom
In Class Activities:
Read: Chapter 7 in Teaching Science
Class 9: Benchmark Lessons: Skill-building and Introductory Activities
In Class Activities: Discuss/explain skill-building and intro activities; look at examples in invisible inks unit. Do the “question search” activity. Watch video: intro activity for geology unit and all of sound unit
Homework Assignment: Develop and record a “skill-building activity” to prepare students for inquiry-based science. The activity can be general, or related to one of the unit topics you’ve been thinking about. Develop and record an introductory activity for one of the topics.
Class 10: Benchmark Lessons: Teacher-directed and Guided Inquiry Activities
In Class Activities: Share student examples of skill-building and intro activities. Look at examples in invisible inks unit of teacher-directed and guided inquiry activities. Watch the video of Kristie Townsend
Homework Assignment: Find a science activity/lesson plan on the Web that relates to one of the topics that you are considering using for your unit. Write a commentary on the extent to which the activity is teacher-directed, and if and how you would use the activity in your unit.
Read: Chapters 8 and 9 in Teaching Science
Class 11: Assessing Students in Science
In Class Activities: Discuss formative/summative assessment, connecting assessment to objectives; review grading rubrics and give example, look at assessment example in invisible inks unit. Review 4th grade ISAT. Watch video on assessment.
Homework Assignment: In your journal, develop/describe one formative and one summative assessment that you could include in your unit. For any type of alternative assessment, include a grading rubric. Find a “trade book” (fiction or non-fiction) related to the topic you’ve selected for your unit, and bring it to class next week
Read: Chapter 11 in Teaching Science
Class 12: Finding Resources; Integrating Science with Other Content Areas
In Class Activities: Review examples of integrated science units and resources to use in identifying integrated activities. Students share trade books and describe how they would use them in their units. Watch video of Sandy Newport.
Homework Assignment: In your journal, draft an example of a lesson for your science unit that represents integration of math, social studies, or art with your science topic.
Read: Case studies on differentiated instruction; write brief responses in your journal for one of the three case studies
DUE NEXT WEEK: Outline of unit
Class 13: Differentiated Instruction in Science
In Class Activities: Discuss case studies, present general guidelines (and resources) for differentiating instruction for gifted, learning disabled, and ESL students. Also, do peer review of unit assignment--Students work in pairs; exchange drafts of units, and provide verbal feedback.
Homework Assignment: Select a specific student in one of your participation classrooms who is learning disabled, gifted, or an ESL student. Describe this student, and then describe how you think that you would modify science instruction to meet the needs of this particular student.
Read: Chapter 10 in Teaching Science
DUE NEXT WEEK: Unit
Class 14: Science Classroom Management
In Class Activities:
Class 15: Curriculum Studies, Course Evaluation
In Class Activities: Discuss and compare local school science curricula, course evaluation
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