PHSC 611:612
SELECTED TOPICS IN SCIENCE
Catalog Entry
PHSC 611:612 Selected Topics in Science
Credit Hours (3-4 each).
A minimum of 45 contact hours per course.
Prerequisite: Graduate student majoring or minoring in science education. A study in depth of one or more science topics.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
Each student chooses a science topic to study in depth. Along with the study of their science topics, students also study the philosophical and psychological bases for various models of science instruction. To synthesize science and pedagogy, students prepare lesson plans to teach science concepts using models of instruction to develop higher level cognitive activity. Students are encouraged to develop inexpensive materials for use with their lesson plans. Each lesson plan includes specific objectives to be met and specifies the Standards of Learning (SOL) which the activity meets. Students share information and materials from their own areas of study, thus widening the scope of all the other students' knowledge and making available to all a wider variety of teaching materials that they can use.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Students do considerable work on their own, in individual sessions with the professor and in small groups with other graduate students, including students who may not be enrolled in the present class. Formal group meetings are conducted at intervals to discuss ideas, share problems, and test certain activities and equipment. A completed set of lesson plans is turned in at the end of the course, copied, and shared with the other members of the class.
Goals and Objectives of Course
1. The student will study a wide range of science topics.
2. The student will study in depth particular science topics.
3. The student will study the philosophical and psychological bases for various models
of science instruction.
4. The student will develop and/or enhance skills in varied models of science instruction.
5. The student will develop and/or reinforce positive attitudes toward the use of
various models of science instruction.
6. The student will be encouraged to incorporate different models of science instruction
into science courses.
7. The student will produce lesson plans and instructional materials for use in classroom
instruction.
Assessment Measures
Assessment in this class is an ongoing process. The instructor assesses a student's progress through personal observation in individual conferences and in group situations. In addition, the materials turned in by each student at the end of the class will be assessed.
Assessment will be based on the depth and quality of the student's understanding of the science topic studied, and the depth and quality of the student's understanding of the philosophical and psychological bases for various instructional models. Lesson plans will be assessed on the basis of grade level appropriateness, the quality of the work, the correspondence between activities, stated objectives and SOLs, and how effectively the student has incorporated activities that encourage higher order cognitive activity.
Other Course Information
None
APPROVAL AND SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS
DATE ACTION APPROVED BY
March 1993 Revised and updated Franklin Jones, Chair Physical Science Department