Florida Atlantic University College of Education Department of Teaching and Learning

SCE 4350 – 004   Summer 2009 Principles and Methods: K-9 School Science  INSTRUCTOR:  Dr. Ronald C. Persin, Ed. D. Phone (561-251-1479)   Email: rpersin@fau.edu   Website: www.Lnk2Lrn.com

Course Description

3 semester hours. A review of concepts in science and a study of methods

and materials related to elementary and middle school science teaching.

CLASS TIMES and LOCATION

Tuesday & Thursday 1:15 PM to 4:25 PM,   June 23 to August 4

Room ED 313 – Boca Raton Campus.

COURSE CONNECTION TO CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

As a reflective decision-maker the student will make informed decisions,

exhibit ethical behavior, and provide evidence of being a capable professional

by demonstrating abilities to conduct science inquiry and teach science through

an inquiry-based approach and developing lessons plans and integrated units

that show respect for the developmental characteristics of children and needs

of diverse student populations.

Required TextS

Sciencesaurus: A Student Handbook. (2002). Great Sources Education Group,

Inc. Wilmington, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. (Green Text)

Carin, A., & Bass, J. Methods for Teaching Science as Inquiry. (10^th ed.)

Pearson Prentice Hall. Website: http://www.prenhall.com/carin

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Students will be able to analyze and discuss the advantages and limitations

of modern approaches to teaching science in the elementary and middle school

settings. (EAP 5.1, 7.1, 7.2, 9.1) (ACEI 1.0, 2.2)

2. Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of various

hands-on discovery approaches to science teaching/learning, especially guided

discovery teaching/learning. (ESOL 5.4), (EAP 1.1, 4.1, 4.2, 9.1 10.1, 10.2)

(ACEI 3.1, 3.3, & 3.4)

3. Students will be able to identify skills and strategies important for the

development and assessment of thinking skills, problem solving skills, and

effective questioning techniques. (ESOL 16.2), (EAP 1.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 7.1, 7.2,

9.1) (ACEI 4.0)

4. Students will be able to develop skills necessary for effective lesson-planning

including incorporation of hands-on science instruction, and locating/preparing

necessary resources and materials. (ESOL 8.4, 8.5,11.5, 16.2, 20), (EAP 1.1, 4.1,

4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1,7.2, 8.1, 8.2, 9.1, 10.1, 10.2, 12.1, 12.2) (ACEI 3.1, 3.3,

3.4, 5.1, & 5.2)

5.  Students will be able to demonstrate their proficiency in the knowledge and

understanding of basic science concepts, scientific principles, the nature of

science, and goals/objectives of science education in accordance with national

and state science education standards. (FSMCS: ELE 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 19.1, 19.3,

19.4, 19.5, 19.6, 19.8, 19.9, 19.10, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5, 20.6, 21.1, 21.2,

21.3, 21.4, 22.1, 22.3, 22.4, 22.5,22.6, 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 24.1, 24.2, 24.3,

24.4, 24.5, 25.1, 25.2) (EAP 4.1, 4.2, 8.1, 8.2, 9.1, 10.1) (ACEI 2.2)

6. Students will be able to describe ways of incorporating the various forms of

technology into science instruction and lesson planning) (ESOL 17.5) (FSAC 26.1,

26.2, 26.4) (EAP 12.1, 12.2) (ACEI 2.2)

7. Students will be able to describe ways of assessing what students know and

are able to do. (ESOL 17.5) (EAP 1.1, 8.1, 9.1) (ACEI 4.0)

8. Students will be able to plan ways of integrating science with mathematics,

arts, social studies, music, and language arts. (ESOL 8.4, 8.5, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5),

(EAP 4.1, 4.2, 7.1, 8.1, 10.1, 10.2) (ACEI 2.8)

9. Students will be able to develop an understanding of the importance of

teaching science to students with disabilities, including students of all social

and cultural backgrounds. (ESOL 6.5, 6.6, 6.10) (EAP 5.1) (ACEI 3.3 & 3.4)

KEY: Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (EAP), Association for Childhood

Education International (ACEI), Florida Subject Area Competencies (FSAC),

Subject Matter Content Standards for Florida Teachers (FSMCS), English for

Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

 

CLASS Content Outline

Day	Topic(s)
1   6/23	Course Introduction/Overview, Student Information Sheets, Syllabus Discussion of Assignments, Instructional Resources Assignment – Science Philosophy Paper (Due 6/30) Discussion of What is Science?, Inquiry, Scientific Method Assignment – Journal Article #1 (Due 6/25) Concept Mapping Methods for Teaching Science as Inquiry Text – Ch. 1 & 2 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
2   6/25	Competency Assessment – Designing Science Fair Projects (Requirements) Science Fair Project Ideas Sign-up for Competency Assessment Science Project Presentation (Due 7/14 & 7/16) Journal Article #1 Due Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 1 & 2 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Assignment – Journal Article #2 (Due 6/30) Methods Text – Ch. 3 Overview (Follow-up and Read)

3   6/30	Science Philosophy Paper – Due Journal Article #2 Due PowerPoint Assignment Sign-up (Due 7/7 & 7/9) Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 3 & 4 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Methods Text – Ch. 4 & 5 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Work on Science Fair Project
4   7/2	Competency Assessment – Designing Lesson Plans (Requirements)   Lesson Plan Ideas Sign-up for Competency Assessment Lesson Plan Presentation (Due 7/28 & 7/30) Review for Exam #1: Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 1 to 4 Methods Text – Ch. 1 to 5
5   7/7	PowerPoint Presentations Due Exam #1. Assignment – Journal Article #3 (Due 7/14)
6   7/9	PowerPoint Presentations Due Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 5 & 6 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Methods Text – Ch. 6 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
7   7/14	Science Fair Project Presentations Due Journal Article #3 Due Assignment – Journal Article #4 (Due 7/21) Methods Text – Ch. 7 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
8        7/16	Science Fair Project Presentations Due Methods Text – Ch. 8 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
9        7/21	Journal Article #4 Due Journal Article Presentation Sign-up (Due 7/23 or 7/28) Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 7 & 8 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
10        7/23	Methods Text – Ch. 9 & 10 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Journal Article Presentations Due
11        7/28	Journal Article Presentations Due Lesson Plans Presentations Due
12        7/30	Lesson Plans Presentations Due Review for Exam #2 (Final): Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 5 to 8 Methods Text – Ch. 6 to 10
13   8/4	Exam #2 (Final)

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Full participation in classroom activities/reading assignments/discussions,

one (1) science philosophy assignment, four (4) journal article reflection

papers, one (1) journal article presentation, one (1) PowerPoint

presentation, one (1) Competency Assessment (CA) science project and

presentation, one (1) Competency Assessment (CA) developed lesson plan

and presentation, several weekly in-class assignments, two (2) exams.

 

DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS FOR SCE 4350

1. Science Teaching Philosophy Assignment: This two-page minimum,

double-spaced, font-size 12 paper requires you to describe what kind of

science teacher you aspire to be. Are a Traditionalist or a Progressive?

(Or maybe something in-between?) Just think, if someone asks you about

your philosophy during a job interview, how would you respond? 

Here is a link to John Dewey's Philosophy.

2. Journal Article Reflection Papers: Your paper should include a one-page

summary of the content from the journal article.  You should follow with a

one-page reflection consisting of your own ideas and examples that relate to

the relevance of the content you summarized on your first page. You will

present one of your articles to the class. Please use a different journal for

each article. Click here for Sample Reflection Paper.

3. PowerPoint Presentation: This 12-slide minimum PowerPoint covers

benchmarks that improve student proficiency on the Florida Subject Area

Test in Elementary Education. You will select your benchmark from a list

that will be given in class, or you can see the list by clicking below.

Elementary K-6. Middle Grades 5-9. View Sample PowerPoint.

4. NCATE Competency Assessment (CA): Science Fair Project.

Students can work individually or with a partner to design and conduct a

science experiment. Present your experiment to the class with results

displayed on a science fair board. More guidelines will be provided in class.

View handbook. View Lab Safety Guidelines.

View When You Present Your Project. View the Scoring Sheet.

5. Competency Assessment (CA): Science Concept Lesson Plan.

Students will demonstrate understanding of science content based on planning

activities and assessing learning outcomes via a lesson plan format. You need

to make sure that your lesson plan is inquiry-based and developmentally

appropriate to the various needs of the students, including ESOL strategies and

accommodation for students with disabilities. A detailed format of a lesson plan

will be given to you as a guide. Then, either individually or with a partner, a

lesson will be presented to the class and include a student activity.  This

presentation must last a minimum of 25 minutes. A scoring guide for the class

presentation will be discussed in class. Objective must relate to a standard.

View Sunshine State Standards. View FCAT Science Specifications.

View Summary of Goal 3 Standards. View Detailed Goal 3 Standards.

View a Sample Lesson Plan.  

6. Weekly In-class Assignments: Handouts will be given to you to complete in

class dealing with the content in the Sciencesaurus Handbook and the Methods

For Teaching Science as Inquiry Text. Therefore, make sure you are always

caught-up on the reading assignments, and you are coming to class with the

knowledge of the day before. View the Review Handout #1.

7. Two Exams (Mid-Term and Final): These exams consist of some open-ended

questions, traditional items questions (multiple-choice, matching, true-false),

and critical-thinking essay questions. Please avoid “cramming”, but rather,

maintain your work on a daily basis. View Final Exam Review #1.

View Final Exam Review #2.

CLASS LESSON PLAN REPOSITORY

Water Cycle	Properties of Matter
Genetics	Solar System
Phases of the Moon	Solar System  with  Planet Brochure
Newton's Laws	The Force of Friction

TEACHING METHODOLOGIES:          

Modeling, Guided practice, Research, Simulations, Lecture, Discussion,