Course Description:

This course will emphasize classroom management strategies, teaching strategies, laboratory techniques and selection of appropriate resources and materials for teaching middle and high school science. Students will be involved in methods/activities designed to portray the teaching of science as a student-centered, hands-on experience. The student will demonstrate knowledge of textbook assignments, submit journal article reviews, and develop lesson plans, a unit plan, and a rationale statement on "why I want to become a science teacher."

Course Objectives:

This course will focus on the following goals and objectives:

1. What are science education standards and why do we need them?

2. What does an active science room look like?

3. What is inquiry-based science and why is inquiry a good tool for teaching science?

4. What are some major theories of learning?

5. How does the science teacher serve the needs of all learners?

Upon the completion of SCED 4904 Methods in Science Education, the student will know and be able to:

1. Reflect upon the new initiatives in science education, i.e., National Science Education Standards, Project 2061, and state science standards.

2. Develop skills and knowledge of how to construct and organize daily lesson plans and a unit plan.

3. Synthesize information from science teaching journals and other materials which pertain to science education.

4. Identify and apply two or three of the currently recognized learning theories which could influence science teaching plans and strategies.

5. Define and describe (using self-evaluation and reflection) the learning environment and evaluation of students as a result of new understanding and expertise.

The prerequisite for this course is acceptance into the Add-On program in chemistry or biology, a program that is part of the Regents Online Degree Program system.

Each module should be completed by order in which they are arranged.

Module One: The Nature of Science

1. What is science

2. How do students learn science

3. Science as a way of investigating

Module Two: Planning to Teach Science

1. Overview--Use and types of lesson plans

2. Examples of Science Lesson Plans

   1. Daily lesson plans

   2. Short-form lesson plan

   3. Long-form lesson plan

Module Three: Long-Term Planning and Assessment

1. Unit planning

2. Learning activities

3. Unit content

4. Grading and reporting

Module Four: Instructional strategies

1. Lecture

2. Discussion

3. Demonstration

4. Group Work

5. Hands-on

Module Five: Thoughts and Actions of Beginning Science Teachers

1. Planning

2. Teaching

3. Management

4. Assessment

Complete, using the appropriate assignment guidelines, the following:

Assignment #1: Knowledge of How Students Learn Science (100 points)

Assignment # 2: Preparing Lesson Plans (100 points)

Assignment # 3: Preparing a Unit Plan (100 points)

Assignment # 4: Reading Cards (100 points)

Assignment # 5: Rationale Statement On Why I Want To Become a Science Teacher (100 points)

 All reading assignments related to the primary texts.

 All threaded discussion assignments (100 points)

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm
Please note, some courses do require additional software. Information about additional software can be obtained from the Virtual Bookstore or your instructor.

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

See grading procedure below.

Active participation in discussion (following the principles of civil discourse), assignments (following the appropriate assignment guidelines), all contribute to the final grade.

Evaluation is designed to provide appropriate knowledge, skills, and strategies for teaching middle and high school science, not merely to audit it.  Assessment is a way to help students systematically to self-evaluate performance.  This form of assessment has two essential qualities: it is anchored in learning the knowledge, skills, and strategies for teaching science, and it provides students feedback and opportunities to revise performances on similar tasks.

Each assignment has a point value.  All assignments are of equal worth.  One-hundred (100) points is allotted per assignment.

90-100 = A                               Clear Excellence

80-89 = B                                 Above Average Performance

70-79 = C                                 Satisfactory Performance

60-69 = D                                 Minimum Passing Grade

59 or below = F                          Failed

Assignment # 1: Knowledge of How Students Learn

Description: Over the past several decades, a great deal of high-quality research on teaching and learning has emerged.  This knowledge base developed as a synthesis of principles of neurobiology and cognitive science, informed by the philosophical and cultural contexts of students, classrooms, and schools.  The teachings of philosopher John Dewey and of cognitive psychologists Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, David Ausubel, Robert Gagne, and others have played an important role in building the knowledge base.  Each student will select any three of these individuals and write a three-page report on the implications of their teachings and research on science teaching and learning.

Assignment # 2: Preparing Lesson Plans

Description: There are several motivating strategies for capturing, maintaining, and enhancing students' attention.  Each student will demonstrate his/her ability to design effective learning environments by designing three lesson plans.  The lesson plan typically contains the following sections and characteristics: Title, Purpose Statement, Objectives, Content (alignment with state science standards), Methods, Materials, and Evaluation.

Assignment # 3: Preparing a Unit Plan

Description: Each student will develop a two-week unit plan.  A general outline for the unit plan consists of the following: Title, Purpose Statement, Outline for a two week period, Objectives for the Unit, Weekly Schedule for the Unit, Pretest, Daily Lesson Plans (use a specific model or combination of models), and Posttest.

Assignment # 4: Reading Cards

Description: One of the most important components of an education is the knowledge of how and where to find information.  Teachers, especially, must know about finding information for themselves as well as helping their students learn where to look for facts.  Therefore, each member of the class will be asked to complete ten (10) reading cards from at least four different science education journals.  (A suggested list of journals are listed below.)  Most of the articles in these journals are by teachers and demonstrate a particular teaching strategy.  All reports must be taken from full-length articles rather than from a short news item.  Write a brief summary of the article, at least one-half page in length, double-spaced.  Each review should capture the essence of the article in summary form.  Also, include a complete identification of the author's name, the title of the article, the name of the journal, date and page numbers.  Each report will have a value of 10 points, if accepted, making a total of 100 points.  If all reports are turned in on time (see important dates to remember below), the total value of the reports will be treated as 100.

Articles should come from any of the following journals:

1. The American Biology Teacher

2. Journal of Chemical Education

3.  Science Teacher

4.  Science Scope

5.  The Physics Teacher

6.  Science and Children

Assignment # 5: Rationale Statement on Why I Want to Become a Science Teacher

Description: Each student will write a rationale statement on why he/she would like to be a middle or high school science teacher.  As each student's philosophy emerges, he/she will have an opportunity to "reflect" on his/her personal feelings and concerns toward teaching science.  The paper should be three or four pages, not to exceed five pages, double-spaced.  It should contain at least the following items as you see them.

1. Why you are choosing science teaching as a career.

2. What your goals for science students are.

3. How you will decide what content to provide.

4. What your science curriculum will look like.

5. What you would like for your students to be doing in your classroom.

6. What you will be doing in the classroom.

7. How you will evaluate your program.

8. A list of your references.

Each of these items must include comments justifying why you will do what you describe.  Use research support as much as possible.

Class Participation:

Students must participate in all interactive aspects of the course.  Students must use discussion threads and e-mail to communicate with the instructor and other students. Students are expected to communicate with the instructor as a learning resource, students must check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements, and students must actively participate in threaded discussion events.

Check your Course Calendar for the dues dates for assignments and dates for all examinations. Specific policies will be explained by your instructor.

Cheating and other forms of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, are prohibited. The instructor has the authority to assign a zero for the exercise or examination or to assign an F in the course in the case of academic misconduct.
Students should use the WebCT mail rather than a personal email address. Emails should not be sent to the instructor under another person's name. Please include a subject line when e-mailing the instructor or other class members. Please ask permission before sending e-mails with large attachments.
Students are expected to learn to navigate in WebCT, keep abreast of course announcements, and complete all assignments by the due dates. If, for any reason, a student has a question about an assignment or realizes that an assignment cannot be completed on time, the instructor should be notified immediately. If technical problems arise, they must be dealt with immediately.
The discussion board and chat room are for class purposes only. Please remember to be courteous to other users at all times. They will be monitored. Make sure that you remember that even though you may not mean to be rude or cruel sometimes e-mails and postings can be misunderstood. Please be respectful and mindful of the instructor and your fellow students. Course netiquette should be observed in all communications.
 

• Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
• Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

If you are having problems logging into your course, timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://help.rodp.org