Everything you need to know to survive EDSS300C and beyond!
fall 2003

Table of Contents

Program Goals & Outcomes

Checklist for paperwork submission

Course planning matrix

Guidelines for written assignments

Guidelines for field work

Guidelines for program application
 
 

Program information & advising

California Science Standards
National Science Education Standards
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy
California Standards for the Teaching Profession
Professional Science Teaching Organizations

Beginning with the fall 2000 semester, the Science Ed faculty identified a list of outcomes to guide our actions in the courses you take from our department. When you leave the science credential program you should demonstrate beginner level competency in each of the following areas.

1. Be well educated in science

critical consumers of scientific information
have science confidence outside your discipline
be able to read and understand science as reported in popular press (e.g., NY Times)

Preparing lab materials
Lab management skills
Classroom management specifically for a hands-on science class

Assessment
Standards
Knowing the learner

History of science
Historical understandings as it relates to misconceptions

Finding resources (materials and human)
Workshops & inservice opportunities
Professional organizations
Professional journals

The College of Education has adopted the following Mission Statement & Theme. The theme and mission should guide what you do and learn in
education courses.
Theme: Teaching for life-long learning, professional growth & social responsibility.
Mission: Our mission is to foster a learning and teaching community committed to educational excellence. Our community

• promotes intellectual, personal and interpersonal growth for all students;
• prepares socially responsible leaders for a rapidly changing, technologically-rich world;
• values diversity and prepares students for a diverse world;
• serves and collaborates with other educators and the community;
• promotes school improvement for all students; and
• engages in research, scholarly activity, an ongoing evaluation.

• Prepare effective and successful teachers for California public school based on the model of the teacher as a reflective, deliberative practitioner;
• Recruit and retain a culturally diverse student population;
• Prepare teachers who have mastered the content of their specific field and are able to link content and pedagogy;
• Provide professional and career advisement for students in the program;
• Integrated research, theory and best educational practice in the preparation of teachers; and
• Monitor and modify the quality of the program to address the changing needs of a diverse public school community.

Assignments are due at the start of class. Late work will be penalized. Consider this class practice in professionalism. When you teach you must submit grades, assignments and other paperwork on time or risk repercussions. The same is true here! You must also write coherently and demonstrate correct English language usage.

Guidelines for each assignment will be given to you. If you don't understand, ask! You will receive feedback on all written work.

The list below includes the required paperwork/assignments that must be submitted this semester. Feel free to submit things prior to the due dates!

• TB test
• Transcripts turned in & evaluated (some of you have already done this)
• Upper division science course GPA evaluation (form attached)
• CBEST results
• Letters of recommendation (2)
• Autobiography
• Statement of Professional Goals
• Self Evaluation
• Case Study of a School
• Petition for reduced observation hours - must include letter from school (from emergency permit teachers)
• Attitude self assessment (form attached)
• 3 complete microteaching episodes (demo, powerpoint presentation, activity) - lesson plan & evaluation/reflection of videotaped teaching
• Science CD evaluation
• Program Planning Matrix (form attached)
• Advising interview (with Henriques and/or Kisiel)
• 2 completed copies of Program Application (includes: photo, SSA, copies of CBEST, etc.)
• GPA petition (if needed)
• Certificate of Clearance completed/applied for
• Teacher Aide Log (at least 45 hours split between middle & high school) & related assignments
• Evaluation of field work by Student
• Evaluation of field work by School
• Science department interview (to be assigned by our office)
• Exit interview and final exam
• CSTP/Program Outcomes Portfolio - stage 1

PLEASE NOTE: Any time you take courses at an institution other than CSULB you need to submit transcripts to me so that we can acknowledge courses that meet subject matter competency.

mail letters of recommendation to: Laura Henriques, Science Educ Dept, CSULB, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840

Once you have had your transcripts evaluated you will know which courses are required for subject matter competency and credential requirements. Sketch out a plan that will allow you to complete the coursework and student teaching in a timely fashion. This will help you with scheduling purposes as well as help us determine when you will be doing your student teaching. You will need to have fingerprint clearance before you are able to student teach. Do this ~6 months prior to your student teaching semester. Bring your completed matrix with you to your advising session with me.

A few notes:

• SCED 403 (2 units) As of now, Seminar in Integrated Science course is only offered during the SPRING
• You may not enroll in student teaching until you've completed your science & education courses
• SCED 496 (fall semester) can be used in place of Physics 400I. Check with the science education department

Autobiography

Your narrative autobiographical sketch should describe who you are, how you became interested in science and in teaching. It will include: previous residences or family background, your own schooling , employment history, personal interests and hobbies, experiences with adolescents and leadership roles.
See Grading Criteria for this Assignment

Statement of Professional Goals- what do you want students to get out of your class? What will they know and be able to do after a year of science instruction with you?

As you write, consider the following questions: What are your goals for your science students? Why do you think these goals are important? What teaching behaviors, strategies, and approaches will you use to create a supportive learning environment for all your students? (You do not have to include references for this section. In EDSS 450C you will revisit this paper as you write your own research based framework for effective science teaching.) How will you evaluate your students' learning? How will you evaluate your teaching effectiveness? What is science and the nature of your discipline?

Refer to class activities, readings, standards, and field work as you write this 5 page paper.
See Grading Criteria for this Assignment

Self Assessment

This semester has introduced you to teaching. You have observed middle school and high school science classes, you've taught to your peers, you have written about what you want your students to "get" from your science classes, you've read about urban schools, you've talked to teachers -- do you still want to be a teacher? Reflect on the experiences of this semester and write about them as they impact your decision to continue in this field or pursue another. Be sure to include at least a paragraph about each type of experience (microteaching, observing, reading, class discussions/lectures/activities) and its impact on your decision/desire to be a teacher.
See Grading Criteria for this Assignment

Microteaching - you will need to bring a videotape for these lessons

Classroom Observation Log - due throughout the semester

Your classroom observation log will have several components. The main portion of your note taking is personal. This part of the log will not be turned in. You will have several assignments that will be turned in. Directions and rationale for observation assignments can be found in the course pack.

Sample vignettes
 
 

Teacher's Expectations Too Low? While observing a class in a middle school in Santa Ana I noticed that the students do not do grade-level work because the teacher does not expect them to. The school has a tracking system, thus a student's track depends on his/her academic performance. The track I visited was the substandard track, which meant that most of the kids perform below their grade level. When I visited the LEP science classroom, the teacher came to me and said the 'the kids are underachievers' To my surprise, he did not try to hide his belief from the kids. He said it loud enough so that some of the kids overheard him, but none of them responded to the statement at all. We went to a computer lab where the kids were supposed to learn about air with a particular program. The program was like an encyclopedia that discussed the different parts of the atmosphere. The kids were to read the different parts of the atmosphere but the teacher does not expect them to understand anything. He just wanted them to mess with the program. They didn't have to take notes. Afterward, we returned to the class and the kids were to do their class assignment which comprised mostly of answering questions from the back of the chapter. The teacher turned on the radio and worked on his computer while the kids muttered and giggled until the class ended. Wong says that kids will only perform as high as the teacher's expectations. Question: How do we maintain high expectations for all students? Should we have high expectation for all students or are we setting them up to fail?

 

Ignoring Verbal Abuse In the seventh grade science class I'm observing, the students just finished a large project about weather. The assignment was to design and carry out an experiment that would answer a question about how weather affects their lives. Mr. H. let the students choose their own groups of 1 or 2 or work along. In one group of 3 boys, 2 of the boys (S and M) were not satisfied with the work of the third boy (F). They hurled insults at him whenever he opened his mouth. As I watched them work, through, it was obvious that (F) was the only one who knew what the experiment was all about. He had done the work at home and brought it back to school for the other boys to see. Mr. H. also observed what was happening, but didn't say anything about the problem. (F) was being verbally attacked and he didn't retaliate at all. It was as if he was used to it. QUESTION: What should teachers do when students verbally abuse each other? Should Mr. H ignore S and M in the hope that F will stand up to his tormentors or should Mr. H help F by reprimanding S and M?

Re-framed response Mr H approaches the small group and speaks quietly to the three students." S & M, I would like you to stop your abusive language. It offends me, it offends F, and it offends the peace of this classroom. Stop it now!

Throughout the single subject science credential program you will learn to use technology. By the end of your credential program you will have demonstrated competency in technology in order to meet the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing standards 20.5 at the Level One proficiency level. In this class you will complete the following tasks:

Send and receive e-mail. This means that you must get an e-mail account and check it regularly. This is the only way I can stay in contact with you as you progress through the program. You may get an account on campus by being showing your student ID card.

Evaluate Science Educational CD-ROM or science teaching website: You will sign out a science CD or website and evaluate in terms of usability and connections to content standards. You will e-mail your evaluation to me for posting on the class website.

Surf the Web: you will find science teaching and learning resources on line.

Power Point Presentation: You will find educational research summaries on-line. You will review one and create a short slide presentation that summarized the research and lists implications of the research for us as future teachers.

Over the course of the semester you will begin collecting data and references to help you meet the CSTP standards and the program outcomes (listed at the start of this packet). I expect by the end of this semester you will have observation data and readings to support specific teaching behaviors to meet CSTP standards. I also expect that you will have demonstrated proficiency in several of the program outcomes. For example, you will have sent and received e-mails, produced a power point presentation and evaluated an educational CD. These all show growth towards meeting project outcome #14 Technology usage at CTC Level 1.

For each item you collect you will want to include reference information and a short description of how the item demonstrates the outcome.

You will continue to collect artifacts and evidence to show your attainment of these program goals throughout your credential program. You will need to demonstrate your attainment of these outcomes before completing student teaching.

The purpose of this assignment is for you to become familiar with a variety of different curricula and teaching materials. While you will not be doing in-depth, thorough evaluations of each curricula you are expected to have more than superficial knowledge of them. You will have time in class to complete this assignment. You will need to review standards, think about goals you have for your own students and get to know material fairly well. You will not be responsible for teaching the materials or completing the activities in the curricula but you will be expected to know what is included. You may complete this assignment in groups of 2 or 3. You may work in different groups for each of the different evaluations if you prefer.

You will be reviewing activities, units, texts from the following list:

Spend time reading through the materials. You will need to address the following points for each of the curricula you review.

1. Title, author, date of publication.
2. What is this about?
3. What standards does it address?
4. How is it organized for students? for you as the teacher?
5. What is included that makes it accessible to all learners? What could be added to make it more applicable for diverse learners?
6. What activities or labs are built in? What sorts of activities would need to be added?
7. Which of your goals does this material help you attain?
8. What management, safety, and material issues are related to this unit?
9. What's your overall reaction to this particular unit/curricula?

Over the course of the semester you must observe 45 hours of middle and high school science teaching. You must observe at least 10 hours at each level. My preference is for you to observe one teacher for at least 15 hours. This is important because you must get an evaluation by at least one teacher from the field. If you are currently teaching science you can petition to have the number of hours reduced but you must still complete observations and the observation assignments.

You will have several observation assignments to complete during your 45 hours of observation.

• Completion of the field work activities checklist
• Map of the classroom (to be done for each classroom you enter)
• Piaget Interviews - protocol & materials to be checked out from me
• Teaching Vignettes - 2 critical incidents which you observe and have questions about
• Questioning strategies data keeping
• Write the teacher's lesson plan (based on what you observe)
• Science Teacher Interview
• At least 3 assignments to be selected from the menu below: (descriptions for each observation are below)
• Gender equity
• Use of manipulatives
• Use of technology
• Distractions
• Developmental Flow
• Interpersonal Interactions
• Type of interaction
• Use of chalkboard/overhead, handouts & tests, use of textbook
• Assignments & grading
• Science as theory or fact (nature of science issues)

You must complete at least 75% of the activities listed below. Be sure to get signatures from the various teachers to show you have completed the tasks.

______  Take attendance
______  Collect data while observing and reflect upon it (in writing) after leaving the classroom
______  Work individually with students who may be different from you (students with learning difficulties, minority students, handicapped students, full inclusion students, the gifted, etc.)
______  Complete at least one classroom procedure such as taking roll, preparing seating charts, setting up lab equipment
______  Help during laboratory sessions
______  Use office, lab and/or AV equipment
______  Tutor students in small groups
______  Assist in test preparation and the grading of papers
______  Prepare and present one or more short science lessons, demonstrations or activities
______  Design and prepare bulletin board or other displays
______  Attend faculty meetings school assemblies, back to school night, or other activities as your schedule permits

With that in mind, here are some of the kinds of things one might look for in a classroom observation: (Please note due dates for these observations on the syllabus. We will use data you collect during your observations in class.)

Map of The Room: Draw a map of the classroom. This is especially important to do in the middle school science classroom as the room might not be a dedicated science room.

How is it (or is it not) conducive to learning? What kind of a learning environment is it? What "signs" do you see in the room that science is taught & learned here? comfortable learning environment? seating arrangements? What does what you see in the room tell you about what usually happens there? How valid are your inferences?

Safety Issues: Where are is safety equipment in this room? (fire extinguishers, sinks eye wash, fire blankets, hoods) As you look around the room what are the danger points in the room?

These questions are ones you should consider whenever a teacher does a demonstration or students are doing a lab. What things that happen are potentially of danger to students? What does the teacher do to help prevent accidents?

External Factors: How many interruptions during the class period?For what? By whom? How much instructional time becomes "non-instructional" time? How does the teacher deal with these unasked for interruptions?

"Discipline" What things does the teacher say or do to establish the "tone" of the classroom? What factors contribute to making the classroom an effective learning environment? If an "event" occurs-- how did it develop? What did the student(s) do? What did the teacher do? Not do?

Use of Questions: What types of questions were asked? By whom? Who responds? How often? Were they of variable difficulty? What happens to the responses of the students? Responses of the teacher?

Some uses of questions in instruction: recall data/facts; establish the student's background of information; focusing instruction; summarizing; to arouse interest; to increase student involvement; curiosity; to punish; to embarrass; to evaluate . Notice the use (or lack of use) of "Wait Time" (see the paper by Mary Budd Rowe for an understanding of this)

Gender Issues in the Classroom: This observation form will help you become more aware of gender and racial biases in the classroom. Most teachers are unaware of difference in treatment of their students because they don't analyze what they say/do. Are all students treated equally? Are there patterns to how a teacher interacts with the students? Is sexist or racist language used? What effect might that have on students in the class?

"Developmental flow" of the Lesson: What components are present, and what is their sequence of occurrence? For example:

1. lesson usually begins with some sort of introduction, the aim of which frequently is to motivate, or to "grab" the students' interest.
2. early in the lesson, one often attempts to provide a sense of direction; aims of the lesson; focus for what will follow; objectives.

• lesson activities are sometimes interspersed with "medial summaries"

• at end of activities, does the teacher summarize (overall summary)?

• does the teacher do something to find out how well students have learned the material of the lesson? (lesson "appraisal")

• assignments and/or "enrichments" are often used to round out the lesson; some teachers use some sort of a "generalizing experience" which helps students to broaden their understanding of a concept or skill.

What is the role of the teacher in this lesson? (i.e., source of all the information? facilitator? or what?) What evidence is there to indicate the degree to which students are actively involved in learning?

Type of Interaction: Lecture, lab or workshop, lecture-demonstration, supervised study, discussion, review lesson are examples of categories (this is merely a broad classification; therefore, not particularly useful, except to "label" the lesson).

Use of Learning Aids and Manipulatives: audio-visual materials?demonstration materials? models? charts/maps? live/preserved specimens? How effective do the materials seem to be? Evidence? How else might these materials have been used? Might some others have been used with greater impact?

Use of Chalkboard/Overhead Projector: Legible? Visible? Make sense? What might have been done differently? Does the teacher follow the 'rules & guidelines' suggested in the handout I gave you?

Handouts, Test, etc. How helpful are they? How do they contribute to learning? Legible? Understandable? (get copies for possible future analysis)

Use of the Textbook: Does it "dominate" what happens in class?How is it used? For what purposes? How often? How helpful is it? Do students appear to like it? Does the teacher share strategies for success with students?

Assignments: When given? What? Why? What happens to it afterward? Clear purpose? How does it relate to enhancing learning? Realistic expectations? Student reactions?

Grading: How is it handled? Student reactions? How does the teacher feel about his/her grading procedures?

Science as theory or fact?: Is theory presented as theory, or as fact? Is there an "investigative" mood in the classroom (let's find out!)? Is there a focus on doing science (as opposed to reading about it, talking about it, etc)? Is the focus on "product" or "process"?What proportion of effort on each? Is this class consistent/at odds with the Nature of Science?

OBSERVATION SHEET: USE OF LEARNING AIDS AND MANIPULATIVES

COURSE NAME: DATE:

Are audio-visual materials used? How?

Are demonstrations done? When in the lesson? How easy are they to see? Do they help make ideas clearer?

Are any models used?

Are charts/maps in evidence? Used to enhance the lesson?

Are there live/preserved specimens?

How effective do the materials seem to be? What evidence do you have?

How else might these materials have been used? Might some others have been used with greater impact?

Keep a list of all the learning aids you see being used (i.e., lab equipment - be specific, rulers, scales, burners or hot plates, computers, microscopes or magnifying glasses, chemicals - be specific). Make notes about their effectiveness at aiding in student learning.
 

Learning Aid	Perceived Effectiveness

POINTS TO PONDER:

1. List observations that lead you to think that the use of these teaching techniques with learning aids was beneficial to the students:

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. List observations that caused you to think that the use of some or all of the learning aids may not have been helpful:

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Imagine yourself teaching the same lesson some time in the future. What would be different and/or the same when YOU do the teaching?

OBSERVATION SHEET: USE OF QUESTIONS

PART ONE

INSTRUCTIONS: Make a list of all the questions a teacher asks in a 20 minute period. Try to record them verbatim. Try to do this observation during a section of the lesson when the teacher will be asking lots of questions. Do this observation before doing parts 2 & 3.

PART TWO

INSTRUCTIONS: To complete this exercise, you will need to observe the same teacher and the same class during a 2-3 day interval. If possible, complete one set of observations in a high school and another set in a middle school. [if you are teaching - audio tape yourself for 3 consecutive days and analyze the tape]

Make a seating chart for each class to be observed. Use the chart(s) to keep track of which student(s) are called on. Simply tabulate the data for a given period of time (15 minutes for each observation, for example) for each class, and then do the following:

1. Create a chart or some other informative way to display the data;

2. Write a short summary of your observations; what patterns did you notice?

3. List at least three (3) inferences based on your observations. Can you predict who will get called upon for different types of questions?

PART THREE

Instructions: Classroom questions can be categorized in a variety of ways and different types of questions serve different goals. You will learn more about his during the course of the single subject program. For now, consider just three fairly broad categories of questions: (1) those which are knowledge-based, (2) those that deal with applications of knowledge, and (3) those which require analysis. In this part of the observation assignment you are asked to keep track of the types of questions asked during a given period of time -- a 15-20 minute segment of a lesson. Simply tally the questions asked according to the three categories. [if you are teaching - audio tape yourself for 3 consecutive days and analyze the tape]
 

TYPE OF QUESTION	TALLY
Knowledge-based questions
Questions requiring applications
Questions requiring analysis

MAKING SENSE OF THE DATA:

Under what circumstances, and for what purposes/goals, might you, as a teacher, choose to use questions of the following types:

Knowledge-based questions:
 
 

Questions requiring applications:
 
 

Questions requiring analysis:

Instructions for completing the chart: at three different times, for a twenty-minute interval, tally and calculate the mean number and kinds of responses observed.
 

Observation	GIRLS			BOYS
Number	Responses Noted			Responses Noted
	Number of responses	About Behavior	About Learning	Number of responses	About Behavior	About Learning
1
2
3

 

During each observation interval, note if the instructor uses, or does, any of the following (record in your log):

1. Comments that suggest gender-role stereotyping (examples: "be neat like a girl", "what would your father say?")
2. Apparent assignment of any tasks or lesson activities according to student gender.
3. Use of sexist (or non-sexist) language in class, in handouts, or in tests. As possible, provide examples of any observed. [refer to handout from class]
4. How encouragement of out-of-class science and/or math activities is given.
5. Use of sexist humor. If observed, list examples. Also list any instances where a teacher might correct another person's use of sexist humor.
6. Any instances of support which a teacher might receive for doing something different or special for girls (i.e., support from another teacher or an administrator)

1. Variety and types of learning materials.
2. Bulletin boards: information about science careers? Are students grades publicly displayed? Any information about the role of women and/or minorities in science?
3. Student lab or other work groups: are they single-gender or mixed? If mixed, to what extent are the girls involved in setting up experiments and/or collecting data? In group problem solving, what role(s) are taken by girls & boys? Members of different racial or ethnic groups? How are group tasks assigned ? by teacher? by students?
4. Observe the seating arrangement of the class. Make a seating chart which displays where girls & boys sit, where members of various racial or ethnic groups sit. Are their patterns? What implications do those patterns have for you as the teacher?

As a group we will come up with interview questions to ask the teachers you’ve observed this semester.

THE SCHOOL:
How many students? Teachers? Others?
How would you describe the school:

THE STUDENTS:
What are some ways you would describe the students:
What proportion finish high school?
What proportion continue school after graduating?
Where do they live?
What is your perception of their life at home or in their neighborhoods?
What strategies do you use re: discipline/management that are most effective?

THE CLASSES YOU TEACH:
Number of classes and subjects taught (both # of classes and preps)
Ability groups of your students?

SUPPORT IN THE SCHOOL:
Who do you turn to with questions?
Describe the role of your department chair, principal, AP, science coaches, etc.

THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM IN THIS SCHOOL:
Courses offered
Enrollment in those courses
Textbook(s) used
Any special courses offered
Enrollment of boys and girls in science courses
Changes in courses / curriculum during the past 5 years

SCIENCE EDUCATION TODAY
What do you see as important trends or issues in science teaching?
Changes in enrollments and/or enrollment patterns?
Professional organizations and their activities

YOUR CONCERNS
Facilities?
Materials?
Budgets?
Whatevers?

LIKES AND DISLIKES
What do you like most about science teaching?
What do you like the least about science teaching?

You will be submitting 2 completed copies of the program application to me during the semester. I have a copy of the application on disk if you would like to type in your responses. Let me know and I will get you a copy of the file.

Be sure you include:

Remember that once you've applied to the program you still need to keep in contact with your advisor. Any time you take classes at an institution other than California State University, Long Beach you must submit transcripts to the Science Education Office. You will want to get 2 official copies of transcripts when you are finished taking classes at institutions to submit to the Credential Processing Office.

Remember that applying to the program and applying to the university are not synonymous. You must apply to both. It is feasible that you will be accepted to the university (GPA for graduate level credential program is 2.50) but not accepted to the program. See the credential information page to find out more about this and to apply on-line. <http://www.csulb.edu/~lhenriqu/credinfo.htm>
 
 

Science Credential Advisor - Dr. Laura Henriques, FO5-131 985-5949 <lhenriqu@csulb.edu>

Single Subject Credential Coordinator - Dr. Steve Turley, ED1-45 985-5642 <hsturley@csulb.edu>

Credential Processing ED1-042, 985-4109 <credentials@csulb.edu>

Science & Science Teaching Standards

• California Science Standards < http://www.cde.ca.gov/board/>
• National Science Education Standards <http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/index.html>
• Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy < http://www.project2061.org//tools/benchol/bolframe.html>
• California Standards for the Teaching Profession < http://www.sfsu.edu/~seconded/castandards1.html>

All organizations host conferences (national and/or regional), are involved in textbook publication and have member benefits which include receiving a journal, discounts on purchases, etc.