Spring 2012
BASIC INFORMATION
Instructor: Alan Colburn, Professor of Science Education
Office: HSCI - 216
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 11-12--right after your class sessions. I am on campus a lot, too, and available by e-mail.
Telephone: 562 985-5948
E-mail: acolburn@csulb.edu
Course Rationale
Many elementary teachers don't teach much science. The fraction of class time devoted to science is less than it should be — even in the minds of many teachers themselves. Part of the problem lies in the fact that teachers don't like science very much, don't feel confident in their science knowledge, and/or don't know how to teach science effectively.
Exemplary elementary school science teachers have at least four important attributes. They like science, have an accurate understanding of major science content and processes, feel confident in their ability to learn science, and teach science using an age appropriate inquiry based approach. This course, like the science education department, exists to help you become an exemplary science teacher. I have centered the class around three major goals. The goals are to help you:
1. like science,
2. better understand the nature of science and what scientists do, and
3. develop your ability to identify, define, and solve problems like
scientists do.
If I'm successful in achieving these three goals, you'll feel more confident in your ability to teach science. You'll also be a more informed and critical consumer of scientific information. This means that when hear or read about a science related study discussed in the media (TV, newspapers, radio ... whatever), you will be better able to evaluate the study and the strength of its conclusions.
Although not taught directly, I will demonstrate inquiry based approaches to science teaching throughout the course. You will have the opportunity to experience science activities similar to those you will, hopefully, teach soon in your own classroom. You will, of course, work through the activities at a pace faster than children would. And you will do more than elementary science activities in our 15 weeks together; I would guess that we will spend about 2/3 of the course doing and discussing these activities, and the remainder of the class discussing ideas related to what science is and how science works (including evaluating studies). However, the centerpiece of the course will undoubtedly be your experiences and understandings of the hands-on activities.
Specific Course Objectives
By the end of the semester you should be able to demonstrate proficiency in the following objectives. The first five objectives are the most important in the class.
1. Generate
researchable science questions.
2. Describe or devise procedures
to answer scientific questions.
3. Discuss limitations of
investigations.
4. Interpret results of
scientific investigations.
5. Describe the nature of science--what
science is, how it works, and how science is different from other ways
of knowing.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of a few
basic scientific concepts in the life, physical, and earth sciences.
7. Describe attributes of elementary
teachers who like science.
8. Explain implications of learning
theory to elementary science.
9. Describe hands-on minds-on science and
explain how multiple goals can be taught with this approach.
10. Demonstrate an understanding of how to use
technology tools and computer software for data analysis and
presentation.
Required Course
Materials and Supplies
The class includes readings, available online via
library e-reserves. Click the link
for e-reserves, and select my name from the drop down list of
course instructors. You will then be able to click a link to open the
course's e-reserves page. I will give you the necessary password in
class. Finally, the course has a course fee of $15 for materials
you'll use during class. This fee is assessed along with your other
university fees. It's difficult to accurately assess how much someone likes
science or their ability to think like a scientist, not to mention the
course's other goals. For example, do I "grade" you on your ability to
think rationally, or the improvement you've shown over the course of
the semester? Do I reward natural talent more than effort? I have come
up with few answers while struggling with questions like these. However, a few principles guide my thinking about assessment.
First, the things that are graded should have some intrinsic value; you
should learn something by doing the assignment, irrespective of grades.
Second, a variety of assignments are a better reflection of your
abilities and development than a small number of similar assignments (e.g.,
three multiple choice tests). Third, effort should "count"--without
discounting natural talent or the need to nevertheless show minimum
competencies to pass the course. Finally, you should have a voice in determining your
grade, a chance to justify what you've done. I generally work with the classical 90+=A, 80-89=B,
70-79=C, etc. I like to give + and - grades, and all these grades are
evenly spaced (3 1/3 pts separates each grade): A 95, A- 91.7, B+ 88.3,
B 85, B- 81.7, C+ 78.3, C 75, etc. Here are the course's assignments. The value of an assignment
toward your final grade is in parentheses. •science autobiography
(5%) Course Policies However, the four hours/week we're together is by far the most
important part of the course. If you miss more than three days of
class, you've missed more than 10% of our time together! This will
unquestionably result in you learning less than you would if present. Upon your fourth and fifth absences, your final grade will be
lowered a grade (3.3%) for each day missed starting with the fourth
(not to mention the effects on your grade from whatever you missed the
other days) unless you can show that all
your absences would be classified by the university as excused. In that
case we can discuss ways for you to try making up the missed classtime,
generally after the regular class is ended, i.e., via an
incomplete. If you miss six times you should consider dropping the
course or, if possible, taking an incomplete. In addition, be on time. Teachers cannot be late to school
without inconveniencing others. Think of this class as practice.
Consistent lateness will be penalized; classtime missed will be counted
toward an absence. In other words, if you're 35 minutes late three
times, you've missed an hour and forty five minutes of
class--an entire class session. Written work: I will deduct 3.3% of the
total grade for each late day. However, papers are still on time if you
give them to me anytime on the date due, put them in my mailbox anytime
that day, or e-mail the file to me that day (even 11:55 pm is OK :-).
Students will sometimes e-mail me a paper on time, and then give me a
hard copy the next day. Students sometimes ask about whether spelling, punctuation,
and mechanics "count" in written assignments. They do! Teachers need to
be able to communicate clearly with a wide ranging audience, including
parents. You are the model! I expect you to write well wherever you
go--and you can expect the same of me. In addition, I think EVERY
college graduate should be able to write clearly and it's one of my
duties as a professor to encourage good writing by my students. Don't forget to proofread your work. You can avoid
many writing errors by simply reading your
work carefully, out loud. And don't rely on spell check! It doesn't catch everything.
Make-up work, Extra credit:
Generally, there isn't any. Liberal
Studies Plagiarism Policy Statement: Liberal
Studies students are held to a high standard of academic integrity and
will pursue their academic and scholarly activities free from fraud and
deception. Plagiarism and cheating are serious
offenses that will not be tolerated by the Department of Liberal
Studies. Such offenses are violations of university regulations. Plagiarism is defined in the University
Catalog as “using the ideas or work of another person or
persons as if they were one’s own, without giving credit to the
source.” Cheating is defined as “the act of obtaining or attempting to
obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by use of
dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means.” In Liberal Studies courses, actions of plagiarism
or cheating will be subject to disciplinary action no matter the scale
of the infraction.A single instance of plagiarism or cheating will
result in a failing grade for the course (without the opportunity to
withdraw), and a memo to this effect will be placed in the student’s
file.If a second infraction occurs, the student’s case will be
submitted to the University Office of Judicial Affairs.If students have
any questions about academic integrity, they should consult the University
Catalog or speak with their instructors. Course Schedule NOTE: The activity part of the schedule is tentative
and will change. For example, you'll be raising a butterfly
from a caterpillar. The caterpillars may not arrive on schedule. We'll
start working with them as soon as they get here--whenever that might
be! Similarly, some units might go a little more time than scheduled,
some a little less. I'll alert you as the schedule changes. Major
due dates, though, are unlikely to change. Students with disabilities who
need reasonable modifications, special assistance, or accomodations in
this course should promptly direct their request to the course
instructor. If a student with a disability feels that modifications,
special assistance, or accomodations offered are inappropriate or
insufficient, s/he should seek the assistance of the Director of
Disabled Student Services on campus.
•interviewing children
(10%)
•consumer product testing
(20%)
•long term research project (LTRP)
(25%)
this assignment will include periodic progress reports due during the
semester
•notebook (5%)
•article reviews(10%)
•quizzes (probably 3-5 total) (25%)
Attendance: Put simply, come to class and arrive on
time. Being hands-on oriented, it's difficult to make up what's missed.
If you must miss, try to let me know ahead of time. I know unavoidable
things happen; it's not my goal to be an ogre. If you are sick, a
family member is ill, your car breaks, you need to appear in court,
etc.--don't come to class. These kinds of things happen all the time. I
allow three absences before I begin to penalize you. I don't check to
see whether your absence is "excused" or "unexcused." If you were not
in class, I know you had a good reason. 
Read
about each day's lesson plan
Week
Date
Activity
Student
Work Due Today
1
Jan 23
Course
introduction; begin Pendula
Pendula
(cont'd); read safety sheet
Transcript Evidence
2
Jan 30
Pendula
(cont'd); graphing with Excel
Hazen; Graika; Keys
Pillbugs
Autobiography Assignment
3
Feb 6
Electricity
& Magnetism
Electricity
& Magnetism (cont'd)
Article 1
4
Feb 13
Electricity
& Magnetism (cont'd)
Rosenberg
Electricity
& Magnetism (cont'd);
Marsa
5
Feb 20
Quiz
(Pendula, Pillbugs, Electricity)
Introduce
Consumer Product Testing Assignment
Rosenzweig
6
Feb 27
Plant Expt (part I); Caterpillars? Sampling
activities?
Carey
Mystery
Powders
Article 2
7
Mar 5
Mystery Powders
(cont'd); graphs, tables, expt. design
Gott
& Duggan 62-85 (tables, graphs)
Mystery Powders (cont'd)
Article 3
8
Mar 12
Mystery
Powders (opt.); Discuss readings
Kotar
quiz
(Mystery Powders)
9
Mar 19
Discuss interview assignment + ?
Swanson (pp
17-32)
Cat's
Meow activity, operational questions; discuss
LTRP, generate Q's
Shiland; Swanson (pp
33-44
10
Apr 2
Student
Presentations
Consumer
Product Testing paper)
Demo LTRP (database option) + yeast activity?
Braude
11
Apr 9
Skull
Activity; check activity (NOS)
Begin Plants
II; [geology activity]
LTRP
Question?
12
Apr 16
Oil
Spills; Searching
the ERIC database;
Howard
TBA
Interviewing Children paper
13
Apr 23
Sinking
& Floating
Backhus
Sinking
& Floating (cont'd)
Chiapetta & Koballa
14
Apr 30
Structures
Student Presentations
Long Term Research
Project paper
15
May 7
Curriculum Materials,
Science Processes & This Course
Ca Dept of
Ed....maybe
Final quiz
Article 4
