Florida Atlantic University College of Education Department of Teaching and Learning

SCE 4350 – 010   Spring 2010 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

Wednesday 7:10 PM to 10:00 PM,   January 13 to May 5, 2010

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

Settlage, J. & Southerland, S. (2007). Teaching science to every child: Using

culture as a starting point. New York: Routledge. ISBN: 0415956374

Sciencesaurus: A student handbook. (2002). Great Sources Education Group,

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

ISBN-13: 9780669481921

LIVETEXT Requirement

All students must connect to LiveText. Helpful information and LiveText

tutorials are available on the College of Education website: 

http://www.coe.fau.edu/livetext/default.htm

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)

View FAU Academic Calendar

CLASS Content Outline (Professor reserves right to modify and inform students)

Day	Topic(s)
1     1/13	Course Introduction/Overview, Student Information Sheets, Syllabus Discussion of Assignments, Instructional Resources Assignment – Science Philosophy Paper (Due 1/20) Discussion of What is Science?, Inquiry, Scientific Method Concept Mapping Inquiry Activity #1 Teaching science Text – Ch. 1 & 2 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
2     1/20	Science Philosophy Paper – Due Competency Assessment – Designing Science Fair Projects (Requirements) Science Fair Project Ideas Inquiry Activity #2 Assignment – Journal Article #1 (Due 1/27) Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 1 & 2 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Teaching science Text – Ch. 3 & 4 Overview (Follow-up and Read)

3     1/27	Journal Article #1 Due Assignment – Journal Article #2 (Due 2/03) Inquiry Activity #3 PowerPoint Assignment Sign-up (Due 2/10, 2/17, 2/24) Sign-up for Competency Assessment Science Project Presentation (Due 3/24, 3/31, 4/07) Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 3 & 4 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
4     2/03	Competency Assessment – Designing Lesson Plans (Requirements)   Lesson Plan Ideas Sign-up for Competency Assessment Lesson Plan Presentation (Due 4/14, 4/21, 4/28) Inquiry Activity #4 Journal Article #2 Due Sciencesaurus Handbook – Review Sections 1 to 4
5   2/10	PowerPoint Presentations Due Assignment – Journal Article #3 (Due 2/17)
6     2/17	PowerPoint Presentations Due Journal Article #3 Due Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 5 & 6 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
7   2/24	PowerPoint Presentations Due Review for Mid-term Exam Assignment – Journal Article #4 (Due 3/17) Teaching science Text – Ch. 5 & 6 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
8        3/03	Mid-term Exam
9        3/17	Inquiry Activity #5 Journal Article #4 Due Journal Article Presentations Due Teaching science Text – Ch.7 & 8 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
10        3/24	Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 7 & 8 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Science Fair Project Presentations Due Teaching science Text – Ch. 9 & 10 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
11        3/31	Teaching science Text – Ch. 11 & 12 Overview (Follow-up and Read) Science Fair Project Presentations Due
12        4/07	Science Fair Project Presentations Due Teaching science Text – Ch. 13 & 14 Overview (Follow-up and Read)
13   4/14	Lesson Plans Presentations Due
14 4/21	Lesson Plans Presentations Due Review I for Final Exam : Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 1 to 4 Teaching science Text – Review Ch. 1 to 7
15 4/28	Lesson Plans Presentations Due Review II for Final Exam : Sciencesaurus Handbook – Sections 5 to 8 Teaching science Text – Review Ch. 8 to 14
16 5/05	Final Exam

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Full participation in classroom activities/reading assignments/discussions,

one (1) science philosophy paper, 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) lesson plan and presentation,

several weekly in-class assignments, and 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.

View Student Topics and Dates.

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 the Scoring Sheet. View Student Topics and Dates.

View the Abstract Format.

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

Students will demonstrate understanding of science content based on the

planning of activities and assessment of 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,

the lesson will be presented to the class along with a student activity. 

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

the presentation will be discussed in class. Objectives must relate to the

standards.

View Sunshine State Standards. View FCAT Science Specifications.

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

View a Sample Lesson Plan.   View Lesson Plan Scoring Rubric.

View Student Presentation Dates.

6. Weekly In-class Assignments: Several inquiry activities will be done in

class. Also, handouts will be given to you to complete in class dealing with

the content in the Sciencesaurus Handbook as well as the Teaching science

Text. Therefore, make sure that you are always caught-up on all of the

reading assignments, and you are contributing to the class. Attendance will

be taken.

View Settlage text slides: Chapter_1    Chapter_2&3    Chapter 4

Chapter 5      Chapter_6    Chapter_7    Chapter 8   Chapter 9

Chapter 10    Chapter 11

View Settlage Foreward and Chaps. 1-2-3 Reading Questions.

View Settlage Chaps. 4&5 Reading Questions.

View Settlage Chaps. 6-7-8 Reading Questions.

View Settlage Chaps. 9-10-11 Reading Questions.

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 Intro. Slides from Day #1.  View Slides on Scientific Inquiry.

View FCAT Science Exam.  Check Answers for FCAT Science Exam.

Mid-term Exam Review (Word Format). 

Mid-term Exam Review (PDF Format).

Final Exam Review Part 1.   Check your answers to Part 1.

Final Exam Review Part 2.   Check your answers to Part 2.

TEACHING METHODOLOGIES:          

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