IUN Bulletin description: Focus on curriculum decisions teachers make every day.  Specifically, students in this course will examine current learning theories and apply those theories to instructional practices at the middle grades and high school.  Prerequisites: For M446: M437/M301 and 85% of required science courses; for S508: admission to either UTEP’s Option II or IUN’s Transition to Teaching Program and S508 with Middle/Jr. High school field experience.

This course is the second of two science methods courses designed for students who plan to teach science in the middle / junior high and high school.  These two courses emphasize the importance of active- and inquiry-based learning.  Students will have ample opportunities for using these models as they teach secondary children as part of the accompanying field experience program.  Field experiences for this second course will be at the high school level.
 
 

Students taking M446 / S508 will:
 •  become creative, effective, reflective, and caring high school science teachers.
 • realize that teaching science can be fun and rewarding.

 Reflective Professional Model

  • objectives which require analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
  • strategies which address students' various learning styles.
  • a variety of methods of teaching and evaluation including an effective use of questioning skills
  • an effective use of technology, and integration of science with other subjects
  • a strategy for dealing with  probable student misconceptions.
  • a correlation with Indiana’s Academic Standards.

Science Instruction in the Middle and Secondary Schools, 5th Edition, 2002.
    Thomas Koballa, and Eugene L. Chiappetta, Merrill Publishing Company, 2002
Indiana’s Academic Standards: Science, Indiana Department of Education, 2000
     Available on the web at http://www.indianastandards.org/grade2.asp?subj=sci
Standards for Teachers of Science,Indiana Professional Standards Board:
     Available on the web at http://www.state.in.us/psb/standards/teacherindex.html
Invitations to Science Inquiry, Tik L. Liem, NSTA, 1987.   (Optional)
      Available in the Education Curriculum room of the IUN library.

Formal written materials must be typed on a word processor.  Word processing features such as enlarged type size [for the title page], bold face [for headings] and justification should be used as appropriate.  Papers should be double-spaced with a 1 inch margin.  Font size should be about the size used here.  (This is “Times 12.”)  Do not use cute or hard-to-read fonts.  Papers must have a professional appearance and be grammatically, historically, mathematically, and scientifically correct.  (Refer to “Basic Writing Competencies” in the IUN Bulletin)  Citations when necessary must be listed using the APA format.).  For several assignments a single-spaced file copy is also required.

Assignments are due at the beginning of class periods.  Turn in all assignments along with a copy of the scoring rubric.  Due dates may be altered on account of illness or if arranged in advance.  If a student is unable to attend class when an assignment is due, the student must ensure that the assignment is quickly submitted (via another student or US mail), within 24 hrs.  A written assignment submitted late will have points deducted (usually 5% / school day or 25% / week).  Students who have an unexcused absence on the day of a demonstration may not reschedule the demonstration.

 

Redoing assignments: Assignments may be redone if the grade received is a B- or lower and a "Redo Packet" is submitted within one week of the original work being returned. The packet must contain: Both the original and the revised copies, the original assessment form, and a cover sheet which describes all changes made.  Altered materials should be highlighted on the revised copy.  (On long assignments, only revised pages need be reprinted).  Sections of any assignment not done the first time cannot be redone.  • If submitted early: A written assignment may be submitted two weeks early, then redone.  If resubmitted on time, only the second evaluation will be recorded.  • If submitted on time: A written assignment submitted on time may be redone.  The final grade will be an average of the two evaluations, except that no such grade shall be higher than 85%.

P-1. Email account.  If you don't already have one, get an IUN email account and use it for communication in this course.

P-2. Limited History Criminal Background Check.  Update if necessary your limited history criminal background check.  Forms are in the Education Student Services office (HH354).  The State Police charges a fee of $7.00.  (For field, you will also need to have proof of liability insurance.)

P-3. Advising receipt.  When advising begins (after the Spring Schedules are distributed), sign up and participate in an advising session (and discuss student teaching applications), procure an advising receipt, complete the advising evaluation and turn it in to the office, and show the receipt to me.

P-4. Web-site demonstration:  Each student is to show to the class a useful web site that could be used in high school science teaching.

P-5.  Personal web page.  Each student is to create his/her own web page containing science information and links.  See artifact W requirements.

P-6. Leaf collection composed of 15 leaves from local trees, including a silver maple.   All leaves must be pressed and neatly mounted.  Arrange your leaves by some classification system (simple/compound/needles or color or . . . ). Correctly identify the leaves using both the English and Latin names and note which characteristics of the leaf led to its identification.  May be omitted if a leaf collection was turned in last semester.

P-7  Micro-teaching assignment.  Plan a 25-30 minute inquiry science lesson appropriate to teaching high school science.  Get all equipment necessary and teach it to the class. --Not done in 2004.

P-8. Classroom/Laboratory Safety Report.  Discuss safety concerns with your field teacher.  Report on:
                    • general safety rules for the classroom and science laboratory
                    • specific times when special student precautions are necessary
                    • specific times when special teacher precautions are necessary
                    • interesting stories related to safety

P-9.  Long-term science activity: Design and carry out a long-term science activity that requires data gathering for at least 8 weeks.  Examples are:

  • retrieve earthquake information from the Internet and plot on a world map
  • plant seeds under certain conditions and record what happens each week
  • retrieve daily precipitation and barometric information and graph

P-10. Plan and help coordinate a special event for September or October (Mole Day, etc.)
 
 

Kn-1. Concept map with about 18-22 concepts.  Follow the format in the Guide.  Attach to the map a list of Indiana K-12 Academic Standards that your map addresses.  (Please write out the standards, don't just list their numbers.)   For an A in this assignment, it must be done on a computer.  However one may earn a B with a hand-drawn map.

Kn-2. Current issues paper.  Each student is to find a current science-related issue which will serve as the topic for this assignment.  This 8-12 page paper should address the following:

a.  What is the issue?  Why is it important?    Is it current? (i.e. is it still an issue?)
     How is it a global issue?  . . . a local issue?
b. What are the opposing viewpoints?  What evidence does each side cite in its arguments?
c. What are the ramifications for the high school classroom?
d. How do you believe this is best addressed in the classroom?

As in any research paper, support all claims by citing the literature.  Use phrases such as, "In an article published by the Journal of Environmental Biology, Dr. Smith stated that . . . (Smith, 2003)."  All standards of Rubric "A" (Reading and Writing) are to be followed including that citations be listed in APA or MLA format.  Use at least 4 sources published within the last 2 years, at least 2 of these being printed published sources, and at least 2 from reliable Internet sources.  Most papers will require more than this minimum.  References written by those both for and against the issue must be included in your sources of information.  Students are to examine literature from both sides of the issue and write a balanced, non-biased report.

In class, report using PowerPoint and lead a discussion on your topic.

• Name the topic and grade level for which this project was done.
• Describe how you did the interviews.  Include the name of the school you were at and the class the students were members of, the class' teacher, the number of boys and of girls, the physical arrangements, etc.  Also describe how the students were chosen and what arrangements had to be made for them to be interviewed (especially if the interviews were during class or during lunch).
• List the concepts and misconceptions that you were looking for.
        (e.g. Concept:  The earth is a planet;  Misconception:  The sun revolves around the earth.)
• List the questions that you asked
• Note the responses you got from the students.  Be specific.
• Summarize by noting which misconceptions appeared to be common and which were surprising to you,.
• Reflect on each of the questions you asked.  (e.g. Would you ask them differently if you were to do this again?)
• Note how you were affected by the interviews.

Make 2 copies and give the second copy to your supervising teacher.

Kn-5.  Student Learning Report.  See field assignments below
 
 

D-1  Attendance and participation:  Students are expected to attend and participate in all class activities and discussions. Students who cannot attend a class, for whatever reason, should call 980-7766 before class begins and arrange for an alternative assignment.  Students who will be late, should also call.  No student with an unexcused absence will receive an A.  No student with three or more unexcused absences will revieve a grade of B- or higher. 

D-2. Self-assessment of IPSB Standards for Teachers of Science.   Download the IPSB (Indiana Professional Standards Board) Standards and rate yourself by each.  As you did last semester, read each standard and its indicators for performances, knowledge, and dispositions.  For this report, print each standard in full (about a sentence or two) insert your response from last January and then describe your feelings about your own abilities and dispositions at this stage in your preparation.  Use word-processing features such as bold face, color differences, or text boxes to clearly note the difference between the three.  In a summary, compare this assessment with how you rated yourself last January.

D-3. Limited History Criminal Background Check.  Forms are in the Education Student Services office (HH354).  The State Police charges a fee of $7.00.  (For field, you will also need to have proof of liability insurance.) 

D-4.  Proof of membership for two science teacher organizations  (State, national, or subject-area) or two reviews of articles from The Science Teacher or other approved science teacher journals or one of each. 

D-5. Service Learning or Professional development activity. After discussing this activity with your instructor, volunteer your services to assist with some sort of science instruction or educational activity at a Science Olympiad event, a local nature center, a County, State, or National Park, or other appropriate place.  Submit a thank you letter or certificate documenting participation or attend two professional development activities designed for high school science teachers.

D-6. Graduate-student essay (for students earning graduate credit):
       • Urban experience essay. (S508-UTEP)  Write a five-page essay in which you reflect upon the teaching of high school science in
          urban areas.   References to Purkey and Novak's Inviting School Success and reflections of other teachers at your field-experience
          site must be included as part of the essay.   References must be listed in APA format.  
       • Transition to Teaching essay. (S508-TtT)  Write a five-page essay in which you reflect upon the teaching of high school science.
         The essay must reflect upon learning to teach science through the TtT program.  (As part of this essay is to be about the TtT
         “program.”  Students should be forthright in their stated opinions.  The purpose here is to assure graduate credit for students and at
          the same time to improve the program.) 

In addition to being graded, the unit plan will be scored as portfolio artifacts for

N:  Instructional Design and Delivery: Unit Plan
 R:  Assessment and Evaluation:  Planning
W:  Technology:  Integration of Technology and Instruction

Rubrics and score sheets can be found at http://www.iun.edu/~edu/model.htm

•  Observe at least 10 different science lessons taught by at least 3 different teachers.  S508 students who are full-time teachers should talk to Dr. Schoon about ways to meet this assignment.

•  Plan and teach 3 science lessons in science classes of your primary licensure area.  Video tape one of them.

•  One lesson shall be expository (lecture, discussion, direct instruction, etc.)
•  One lesson shall be based on the learning cycle.   (On your plan be sure to indicate its steps.)
•  The third lesson may be any type of guided discovery (lab) instruction.

 •  Student Learning Report:  Create assessment instruments (e.g. pretest and quiz) for each of the above lessons which measures whether students met each of your objectives.  This must include a means to measure students knowledge before you taught the lesson and afterwards.  The report, due towards the end of the semester, should have
    • an overall introduction explaining the context of the teaching,
    • two sections, one for each lesson.  Each containing:
            • an overview of the lesson (about one paragraph)
            • the lesson plan with standards and objectives
            • the pre- and post- instruments which assessed each of the objectives on the plan, (samples of student work is a nice addition)
            • data which document student learning.
    • a summary of your effect on student learning.

Notes:  Assignments marked with an asterisk (*) are not graded for points, but are required for a grade above C.  Semester grades will be lowered for unexcused absences (generally 1 letter grade per unexcused absence after the first); no student with an unexcused absence will receive an A.  Lack of participation (including excessive tardies or lack of attendance, even if excused) may also result in grades being lowered.  Superior ratings (A+) will be given only to assignments which need no improvement and are produced independently with little input from the instructor.  Semester letter grades will be determined using the above and by the following scale:

               90-92%  A-    93-97%  A     98-100%  A+
               80-82%  B-    83-87%  B     88-89%    B+
               70-72%  C-    73-77%  C     78-79%    C+
               60-62%  D-    63-67%  D     68-69%   D+

Amer. Assoc. for the Adv. of Science  (1993) Benchmarks for Science Literacy.  NY: Oxford University.Press.
Freedman, R.L.H.  (1994).  Open-ended Questioning:  A Handbook for Educators.  Addison-Wesley
Funk, J. J., et. al.  (1985).  Learning Science Process Skills, 2nd edition.  Kendall-Hunt, Dubuque, IA
Hart, C.  (1994). Authentic Assessment:  A Handbook for Educators.  Addison-Wesley
Indiana Department of Education.  (2000). Indiana's Academic Standards:  Science
Mintzes, J., Wandersee, J., & Novak, J.  (1998). Teaching Science for Understanding.  Academic Press
National Research Council.  (1996).  National Science Education Standards.  National Academy Press,
National Science Teachers Association.  (1992).  The Content Core:  A Guide for Curriculum Designers.
Novak, J.  (1991). Clarifying with Concept Maps.  The Science Teacher  58 (7), 45-49.

These courses and the School of Education’s  conceptual framework are aligned with the ten principles of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium  (INTASC) .  The following chart shows the ten INTASC principles and the course objectives which apply to them.
 

This course and the accompanying field experience course also help students meet the following Developmental Standards established by the Indiana Professional Standards Board.  Standards below that are followed by an asterisk are particularly emphasized by this course.
 

Choose a science (not health) topic which may incorporate another discipline (such as mathematics, language arts, or social studies) and which may be one which you plan to teach this semester or when doing student teaching.  Be sure that the subject chosen allows you to meet all the requirements listed below.  Create a three- or four-week unit plan for the teaching of that subject.
The Plan should consist of six parts:

1)  The unit overview
2)  The lessons
3)  Annotated lesson plans
4)  Supplementary materials
5)  Assessment
6)  Resource List

    • Title page with course name and grade level indicated.
    • Unit Goals.  (written in general terms; see page 1 of the syllabus for an example.)
    • Bulletin board ideas or other classroom displays.
    • Concept map incorporating main concepts from the unit    (Include this even if it's already been assessed.)
    • Likely misconceptions that students might have.   Explain how you know that they are "likely."  (In other words synthesize the results from your action research report.)  For each of the misconceptions, note where (in which lesson) it will be addressed.
    • Indiana Science Academic Standards:  Include all those that apply to your unit and grade level.   For example:  “3.1 The Universe: Students should know that:   The patterns of stars in the sky stay the same, although they appear to move across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in different seasons.”  Look through all the sections to find appropriate standards.  Do not just write the standard number; [copy and] include the full standard.
    • Indiana Academic Standards of another discipline: Include all those that apply to your unit and grade level.

2.  The Lessons

Unit Schedule.    Assume that science will be taught every day.  The schedule must have lessons presented in a logical sequence.  Each lesson must have objectives and a short description  (Some objectives may be used more than once, as necessary.)  Each lesson should address visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners and be of an appropriate length.   A lesson may extend for more than one day (If so it needs just one set of objectives).  The lesson descriptions may be short, but they must specifically address what will be done to prepare children to meet the objectives or to overcome the misconceptions (from the unit overview).  Do not count review days or exam days as "lessons."

Lessons should not be based on a text-book although a textbook may be used as a classroom resource.  Students are not to take turns reading from the text in class, but text readings may be given as homework.

Lesson Objectives.    For each lesson, write an average of 2 cognitive  objectives.  Also write at least 5 affective or psychomotor objectives (5 for the whole unit, not 5 per lesson).  All objectives should reflect unit goals.  Identify each objective by type and level.  (e.g. Cognitive:  Synthesis)  Be sure to write them in behavioral terms (so that they can be measured) unless you believe that another form is better (and then specify why).  Be very careful not to list classroom activities as objectives.  Objectives are what students should know, or be able to do, as a result of your lesson, not what they will do during the lesson.  (Psychomotor objectives are usually part of guided discovery lessons.  Affective objectives are attitudes or values that students will learn as a result of your lesson.  Your text must show how you will prepare your students to meet  all objectives (cognitive, affective and psychomotor).  All objectives must be assessed.

Lesson types:
    • Guided discovery activities.  A 3-week unit should have at least 3, but preferably 6 or more guided discovery activities including at least one learning cycle activity.   Note:  Art or craft activities are not guided discovery.  Type in a description of the activity or (if possible) refer to a photocopy of the activity.  (Any extra materials can always be placed in an appendix.)

    Each of the following should be incorporated into at least one lesson:
    • Direct instruction following a teaching model such as Borich’s or Hunter’s.
    • Tech/Prep or STS.  Tech/Prep lessons are very applications-based; students should know why certain material is to be learned and who, in business or industry, needs to know it.  STS (Science/Technology/ Society) refers to the interrelationship of these three areas.  For this lesson (may be more than one), be sure to note specifically how the relationship is made.
    • A multicultural or international scope to reflect other’s contributions or viewpoints.
    • At least 1 lesson which integrates the instruction of another discipline(e.g. social studies in the science lesson). (This is in addition to the multicultural and literature-based or TechPrep / STS lessons described above.)  State standards for the other discipline must be referred to.
    • Electronic media  (computers, laser discs, videos)  Include the name, publisher, and time required for any vido or software.  If the Internet is used, give the Internet address of each source to be used.

Include 2 of the following 5 attributes:   (More than 2 will earn extra credit.)
    • 3 extra guided discovery activities (referred to above)
    • a field trip or a guest speaker (For field trip, give the name and address of location + time spent.  For guest speaker give name of speaker, topic of "speech" and amount of time he/she is to take.)
    • a discrepant event demonstration  (Describe the activity)
Any or all lessons may incorporate more than one of the above criteria.  However please be sure that you indicate which criteria are included in each lesson.  All resources must be given complete citations.

3.  Annotated Lesson Plans
Write annotated lesson plans for the days that the learning cycle and the direct instruction lessons are given.  These two plans are to be far more detailed than the lesson plans that you would write as a teacher.  They must include many suggestions for specific open-ended questions throughout the lessons as well as plans for presenting the material and assessing student progress. Good lessons often begin with, end with, and incorporate many forms of questions.

The preparation and introduction:
    Objectives (Copied from the schedule above.)
    Set up (what needs to be done beforehand) and Materials needed:  (how much) --including AV materials.
    Science process skills taught   (Such as measuring, inferring, etc.)
    Introduced vocabulary and/or concepts.  (Then bold-face the words as they appear in the lesson.)  Be sure to appropriately introduce the new words within the lesson.

The lesson:
    • Learning cycle lesson / Direct instruction lesson(+ time allotted):  How are you going to teach it?  Label and describe each step of the model you chose.
    • Questions:  Use lots of questions / List the questions you will ask the students.
    • Modifications of the plan for students with exceptionalities.  Be specific here.  What is the exceptionality, what modification is necessary, why do you believe that this modification is helpful.
    • Homework assignment, if given.
    • Attach supporting materials if used.  (worksheets, transparencies, assessment).   Materials must include several levels of cognitive objectives.

4.  Supplementary materials
The transparancy and worksheet below may be placed with the annotated lesson plans or in this section.
    •  Sign or banner:  A self-made, computer generated sign or banner related to the topic of the unit.  (Could be a safety poster if lab activities require safety guidelines.)
    •  Overhead transparency or PowerPoint segment:  At least one self-made overhead transparency.  (A sufficiently large font must be used for all text  (16 pt is OK.)  For transparancy, include your name at the bottom in small type  Enclose the “master” that you used to create it.  If a PowerPoint presentation, print it out and include it.  Color is great but not necessary.  (Be sure to include reference to your sources.)
    •  Worksheet:  At least one self-designed worksheet which contains computer “clip-art” (or other type of illustration if more appropriate) and several levels of cognitive objectives.  Include your name at the bottom of the worksheet in small type.
 

5. Assessment   (All materials must be self-made.)
Assessment Plan:  Design an assessment plan with both formative and summative components.  The plan must include more than just quizzes and/or exams and it must show how a student's final grade will be determined.  (i.e. what percentage of the unit grade comes from each item, including homework.)
    • The assessment instruments must assess whether students met each of the stated cognitive objectives.
    • Assessment must include some tasks.  (in addition to cognitive tasks)
Rubric:  Include at least 1 performance or science skill assignment and rubric.
Quizzes and the Unit Exam
    • Each exam or quiz must include several levels of cognitive objectives  (See the Bloom handout)
    • There must be a summative assessment instrument.  (Usually a unit exam.)
 (A guideline for the number of questions on an elementary-level unit exam might be 5 x grade level +  5.  However, the number may be much lower if several higher-order thinking questions are asked.)
    • Multiple choice questions may be used for part of an exam, but only if there is a good mixture of upper-level questions (such as application and analysis, etc.)
    • No true-false or matching instruments may be used.
    • Provide a key for all tests.
Objective / Assessment Match.  Create a chart showing each of your objectives and how it is assessed.
Alternative assessment may be used if discussed and approved in advance by the instructor.

6. Resource List
List all materials that you used for this plan:  Textbooks, workbooks, videos, software, etc..
General Notes
    • All materials in the unit plan should be appropriate to the content and intended grade level.  You may assume that your school owns equipment and supplies normally found in public schools.  Do not confine yourself to the room where you are conducting field experiences now.
    • Format:  The unit plan must have a professional appearance and it should be bound.  A 1/2" or 1" looseleaf notebook is preferred because it can be easily altered in later years. Please, no thicker than 1".  The preferred format is Times-12 font, single spacing--skipping lines between sections, and bold-facing headings.  You may, of course, use professionally-made worksheets or transparencies in addition to those you create.
    • The plan should not:
            Include extraneous materials.    (More is not necessarily better.)
            Use hard-to-read, cute, overly large or small fonts,  or be printed with poor quality  ink.
            Be typed in all capital letters, except for occasional emphasis.
            Have pages enclosed in plastic sheets.
            Include posters, books, films or videos--but citations for these should be included if they are needed.
Turn in:
    • 2 copies of the unit plan, one following these requirements and a file copy (may be very small, single-spaced text).
    • the Unit Plan Rubric with parts 1-4 and the totals section completed.
    • the Portfolio Artifact scoresheets for artifacts N and R.

And as always, all must be grammatically, historically, mathematically, and scientifically correct.