Course Description
SCED 360 is meant to provide opportunities for preservice teachers to think about and reflect on the teaching of secondary school science laboratory. Once that process of thought and reflection becomes commonplace, then opportunities for designing and critiquing science laboratory curriculum will be provided. However, in order to design curricula well, one needs to have a firm grounding in the science education community’s current understandings of how we learn science, and how best to support that learning. Thus, the intent of this class is not to simply provide a list of lesson plans and activities. Instead, this class should help the student develop a philosophy and approach to teaching science using laboratory that is informed through current research and understandings of her/his own practice.
Course Goals
The focus of the course is to provide students with an opportunity for:
- familiarity with cognitive principles and guidelines for science instruction
- developing a coherent and informed professional stance toward teaching science using laboratory
- familiarity with planning laboratory experiences that can allow for learning in a group of students
- develop organizational and instructional skills for effective science laboratory
Expectations
In this class we will refine and develop what we know in a social setting, teaching science laboratory at high school level. Your ideas and those of your fellow students are the basis of the meanings we will make from this class. Thus, this is not a lecture class and information cannot be simply obtained by “getting the notes” from a classmate. Therefore, attendance is expected and you are to be professional in your class participation. Professionalism includes, but is not limited to, such things as excellence in class assignments, constructive class participation, being a positive contributor to group work, taking advantage of opportunities to broaden personal knowledge and skills, and going beyond the minimum in all your work and interactions.
Required Texts
- Redish, E.F. (1996). Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite. (Only Chapters 2, 3, 6, and 8.) Available Online at: http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~redish/Book.