Teaching physical sciences by oc

Teaching physical sciences by ocean inquiry

Syllabus- Spring 2007

SMS 491 and EDW 472

Meeting times: Wednesdays 10:00-11:15

Thursdays: 3:30-4:45

Instructors:

Herman Weller (college of Education): Herman_Weller@umit.maine.edu

Lee Karp-Boss (SMS): lee.karp-boss@maine.edu

Emmanuel Boss (SMS): emmauel.boss@maine.edu

Abby Manahan (SMS): abigail.manahan@maine.edu

TA: Jennifer Albright: Jennifer.Albright@umit.maine.edu

Office hours: by appointment

Course goal: Introduce science majors to a variety of inquiry-based teaching strategies using examples from marine sciences.

Student responsibilities: attend classes, be on time, take active part in laboratory activities, participate in class discussions, present homework, material and ideas in front of the class, maintain an active journal, provide feedback via journal and via discussions with instructors, read reading material, submit weekly assignments and a final project.

Grading

Participation (every class)- 20%.

Homework (weekly) – 30%

Journal (biweekly) -20%. For journal expectation please open the linked PDF.

Final project (last week of class) - design a full lesson plan (presentation and lesson plan document)- 30%

Rubrics: Reflective journal (PDF)

Lesson activity design (PDF)

Lesson activity design + assessment (PDF)

Final project - lesson plan (PDF)

Reading: as a preparation for the labs, reading material will be provided prior to each lab session. It provides the necessary background material for the science concepts addressed in the lab and students are expected to be familiar with the material before arriving to the lab.

Prior to the first class the participating students were requested to complete a pre-class evaluation (PDF) to assess pre knowledge and to provide a background for the evaluation that will follow the class.

Week	date	topic
I	January 17	-Introduction and course mechanics -Introduction to exploration in teaching and learning: visit to the ARC. Homework: generate questions and email them to instructors.
I	January 18	Exploration of Rich Question-Eliciting Environment. Handout - "What is a unit in teaching?" (PDF) Homework: 1. Journal prompt: "What makes a good science question?" Hint: Some questions are useless for science. 2. Design a lesson activity that uses a rich environment to elicit many student questions. Specify what the learning objectives are for the students doing the activity. Readings for next week (from Segar’s book “Ocean Sciences”): Critical concept 1: density and layering in fluids (p. CC1-CC4) Critical concept 6: Salinity, Temperature, Pressure and water density (p. CC16-CC17)
II	January 24	Discrepant event – Density Lab (PDF) Density Lab Explanations (PDF)
II	January 25	“Discrepant Event” as a teaching strategy (PDF) Review "What makes a good science question?" (PDF)
III	January 31	Inductive activity- Pressure Lab Reading (PDF) Pressure Lab Handout (PDF) Pressure Lab Explanations (PDF)
III	February 1	“Student Prediction and Initial Exploration” as a teaching strategy Handouts - "Exploration" in science teaching (PDF) Student "predicting" in science teaching (PDF) Teacher - Asked questions (PDF)
IV	February 7	Generating questions and hypotheses: Buoyancy lab Buoyancy Lab Handout and Explanations (PDF)
IV	February 8	“Generating Hypotheses” as a teaching strategy (PDF)
V	February 14	Measurements and ocean technology (no class)
V	February 15	Methods for teaching measurements (PDF)
VI	February 21	Applications of density, buoyancy and pressure
VI	February 22	Ocean literacy
VII	February 28	Explanation/Invention: Heat and temperature lab (PDF part 1)
VII	March 1	“Explanation/Invention” as a teaching strategy (PDF)
---------------March 3-18 spring break-------------
VIII	March 21	Explanation/Invention: Heat and temperature lab cont. (PDF part 2)
VIII	March 22	“Explanation/Invention” as a teaching strategy (continued) Handouts - Some practical science teaching considerations involving students' math skills - part 1 (PDF) Misconceptions ("Alternative Conceptions") in science teaching (PDF) Examples of science misconceptions ("Alternative Conceptions") and teaching models for dealing/ avoiding them (PDF)
IX	March 28	Applications: global distributions of ocean temperature and consequences (PDF)
IX	March 29	Applications as a teaching strategy Handouts - Using internet sources to help teach science :some ideas and example websites (PDF) Assessing you students' learning (PDF)
X	April 4	The learning cycle: energy transfer and food webs (PDF)
X	April 5	Summary: the learning cycle and lesson plans Handouts - How many "items" can a person handle in working (short term) memory? (PDF) Cooperative Learning (PDF)
XI	April 11	Case study: Elkhorn Slough (PDF)
XI	April 12	Problem solving/case study as a teaching strategy (PDF)
XII	April 18	Deduction: the exponential function in marine science (PDF)
XII	April 19	Deduction-transfer of learning (PDF)
XIII	April 25	Simulations in marine sciences: diffusion (PDF)
XIII	April 26	Simulation and modeling as a teaching strategy (PDF)
XIV	May 2	Combining marine science and education-career opportunities (PDF)
XIV	May 3	Summary and students’ presentations -Mucus, Muck, and More - Kate Jensen (PDF) -Trip to the Beach - Katie Clegg (PDF) -El Nino - Michelle Brodeur (PDF) -Isostacy - Adam Casey (PDF) -Culture of Aquatic Invertebrates - Morgan Fahey (PDF) Culture of Aquatic Invertebrates (explanation) - Morgan Fahey (PDF) -The Ocean Floor - Caitlin Cameron (PDF) -Force of Gravity vs. Buoyancy Force - Gordon Provost (PDF)

List of resources available in the resource room (next to Shibles 216) to the students in SMS 491/EDW 472 [PDF].