University of South Florida College of Education SCE 6456: Teaching Secondary School Physical and Earth Sciences Spring 2017 Prof. Allan Feldman Office: EDU 308I Phone: 813 956-3473 e-mail: afeldman@usf.edu Office hours: Thursday 3:30-4:30 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to enhance secondary science teachers understanding of the physical and earth sciences commonly found in school curricula with a focus on pedagogical techniques that are in keeping with current science education reform. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, students will have: Improved understanding of key physical and earth science concepts An understanding of the need for and skills in support of reflective teaching An awareness of the peer reviewed literature in the sciences and science education Calendar Date Readings, Assignments, Topics 1/12 No Class ASTE Meeting Begin reading Kuhn 1/19 Introduction to the course Naked eye astronomy 1/26 Electricity & Magnetism Paradigms 2/2 Electricity & Magnetism (cont) Copernican Revolution 2/9 Copernican revolution (cont). The sun and using NASA data 2/16 Kinematics, dynamics, and universal gravitation; Journal Clubs 2/23 Kinematics, dynamics, and universal gravitation (cont) Readings: Continue reading Kuhn Assignments: Reading questions due 3/2 Physics Peer Lessons Physics Peer teaching Readings: Continue reading Kuhn; Assignments: Reading questions due Readings: Continue reading Kuhn, PP Unit 2 Ch. 5 http://www.archive.org/details/motioninheavensp00fjam Assignments: Reading questions due Readings: Finish reading Kuhn, PP Unit 2 Ch. 6&7 Readings on Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo Assignments: Reading questions due; Naked-eye astronomy update; Paper presentation Readings: LeeFeldman2015, TallmanFeldmanASTE2015; Readings on Galileo and Newton Assignments: Reading questions due; Physics peer teaching lesson plans due Readings: Milne; Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog (1982); Scott, Asoko & Driver (1991) Assignments: Reading questions due, Paper presentation
3/9 Chemistry and thermodynamics 3/16 No Class Meeting - Spring Break 3/23 Chemistry and thermodynamics January 18, 2015 Readings: The Invention of Air (Excerpt) Assignments: Reading questions due; paper presentation; Physics peer teaching reflection due Chemistry peer teaching lesson plans due Readings: Habitable Planet Unit 2: Atmosphere http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/index.html; WeatherWorld2010 Meterology http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(gh)/home.rxml FOSS Weather and Water Book https://www.fossweb.com/delegate/ssi-wdf-ucmwebcontent/contribution Folders/FOSS/multimedia_ms_1E/WeatherandWater/men u.html Assignments: Reading questions due; paper presentations 3/30 Chemistry Peer Lessons Chemistry Peer teaching Assignment: Naked Eye Astronomy; Curriculum review topics 4/6 Weather and climate Readings: TBA Assignments: Reading questions due; Paper presentation; Climate change peer teaching lesson plans due; Chemistry peer teaching reflection due 4/13 Climate Change Readings: Assignments: Reading questions due; Paper presentation 4/20 Final Class Climate change peer teaching Climate change peer teaching Course Materials The required text is The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn. All other readings will be available either through Canvas or the Internet. Grades Your grade in this course will be determined by your level of completion of all assignments and your participation in the class. Your participation in class, including preparedness to discuss readings and attendance, is an important component of your grade. Read the syllabus carefully and see the instructor if you have any questions about what is required of you. The final grades will be calculated based on the percentage of points accumulated by the student compared to the total number of points. A+ 100 Plus C 74-76 A 95-100 C- 70-73 A- 90-94 D+ 67-69 B+ 87-89 D 64-66 B 84-86 D- 60-63 B- 80-83 F Below 60 points
C+ 77-79 All course work must be completed and handed in to the instructors by April 26, 2017. If for some reason this cannot happen, the student must make arrangements with the instructor. All written assignments should be prepared electronically and submitted via Canvas. Make sure to bring a copy with you to class, either on paper or on your device. 1. Weekly reading assignments or quizzes. Most weeks you will need to complete a reading assignment that relates to the readings for that class session. All reading assignments should be completed and submitted via Canvas before the class begins. There may also be short quizzes related to the readings or the previous week s class. 2. In-class work. During most class sessions there will be a science activity with a written component that will be due either at the end of the activity or the beginning of the next class meeting. 3. Presentation of a research or theory paper: In groups of two choose an article from a research journal in science education (e.g., JRST, Science Education, Journal of Science Teacher Education, Cultural Studies in Science Education, or International Journal of Science Education) to present to the class. You will need to have the article selected at least two weeks before the class period that it is to be discussed so that it can be distributed to the rest of the class. Class members will sign up for specific class sessions during the second class meeting. Please read Tallman and Feldman to learn about how a journal club operates. Also review the descriptions of journal clubs at other universities that are available on the Canvas site for the course. The day of your presentation hand in via Canvas a document that includes the following: 1) Bibliographic information for the paper. 2) A terse explanation for why you chose the paper (~500 words). 3) A description of how you are structuring your presentation and at least two questions about the thesis of the paper that can guide class discussion. 4) What is the thesis of the paper? Does the author support the thesis with a logical argument? With empirical data? Give a brief sketch of the argument. 5) Does the thesis make sense? What points do you agree with? Why? What points do you disagree with? Why? 6) How does the paper relate to the themes addressed in this course? How does the paper relate to the world of teaching practice? What are its implications for teaching and learning science? Do the implications follow from the thesis? One week following your class session hand in via Canvas a document that includes the following: 1) Bibliographic information for the paper. (From previous assignment)
2) A description of how you intended to structure your presentation. (From previous assignment) 3) A description of how the presentation went in class. 4) Changes that you would make in the way that you presented the paper in order to, for example, encourage more participation, deeper conceptual understanding, promote its use in classroom teaching. 4. Co-teach two peer-lessons. You will work with a partner to teach two lessons. The lessons will reflect the HCPS physics, chemistry, earth sciences curricula, astronomy, or physical science component of the marine science course. Lessons should include pre- and post-lesson assessments to both demonstrate what students learned and to use as formative assessment for lesson improvement. The teaching methods should reflect those being studied in the MAT science education program. A detailed lesson plan is due two weeks before your peer teaching. A detailed critical reflection of the lesson is due one week after you teach the lesson. 5. Naked-eye astronomy: 1. Decide on a celestial object that you will observe through Spring Break. 2. At least twice per week measure and record its altitude and azimuth in degrees. Make sure to record the time and date of the observation. 3. If you are observing the moon or a planet make a record of its position relative to the "fixed" stars. 4. Prepare a report due on March 30 that a. Describes what you did, b. Includes the data that you recorded, c. Presents that data in graphical form, and d. Tells how the data and graph correspond to the actual motions of that celestial object. 5. An update is due on February 9. 6. Curriculum Review: Along with 2 or 3 other students, critically review one of the physical science curricula being used in Hillsborough County Public Schools or from a nearby district. You will need to prepare a paper that describes the curriculum and presents some sort of evaluation of it. This evaluation can rely on research reports found in journal articles, but should also include the results of conversations with key players or stakeholders (e.g., teachers, administrators, parents, students). The emphasis of this paper is on what the curriculum looks like in practice and its effects. The paper is due during the last class session. In addition, each group will be required to make a presentation about the reform effort during the last class sessions. All of the HCPS secondary science curricula can be found at this site: http://secondary.mysdhc.org/science/home page The appropriate secondary science courses include: Astronomy Regular and Honors Chemistry Regular and Honors Earth & Space Science Regular and Honors Forensic Science Regular and Honors Marine Science I and II Regular and Honors
Physical Science Physics Regular, Honors and Advanced Placement You may also choose to review the physical science component of one of the middle school science courses. The HCPS middle school science curricula can be found at this site: http://middleschool.mysdhc.org/msscience/ Course Policies Attendance: Participation with others through the course content is a critical component of the course. Attendance is mandatory and students are expected to demonstrate punctuality and engagement with the assigned readings in class discussions and reflections. Missing more than 30 minutes of a session constitutes an absence. I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. However, students will have the opportunity to complete a significant alternative assignment in consultation with the instructor for 2 sessions that are missed. If a student misses more than three classes, excused or not, then the present course requirements are cancelled and the student must renegotiate her/his class requirements. The instructor should be informed of any reason for missing a session of the course. Students are excused for observance of religious holidays (see Accommodation below). Accommodation: All students have a right to expect that the University will reasonably accommodate their religious observances, practices and beliefs. Students are expected to notify the instructor by email by the second class if they intend to be absent for a class or announced examination, in accordance with this policy. Plagiarism is defined as literary theft and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as one s own, segments or the total of another person s work. Punishment for Academic Dishonesty will depend on the seriousness of the offense and may include receipt of an F with a numerical value of zero on the item submitted, and the F shall be used to determine the final course grade. It is the option of the instructor to assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course. E-mail: Please use your USF e-mail account, or have your USF e-mail forwarded to your preferred address. I will use this e-mail address to communicate with you. Digital devices and computers: Please turn off cell phones, tablets and close laptop computers during class. However, there will be times when you may use them for in-class activities. Recordings: All recordings in class are prohibited unless expressly authorized by the instructor. Recordings that accommodate individual student needs must be approved in
advance and may be used for personal use during the semester only; redistribution/dissemination is prohibited. Collaboration, Academic Excellence, Research, and Ethics/Diversity are key tenets in the Conceptual Framework of the College of Education. Competence in these ideals will provide candidates in educator preparation programs with skills, knowledge, and dispositions to be successful in the schools of today and tomorrow. In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Canvas, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It s the responsibility of the student to monitor Canvas site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information. USF is committed to providing reasonable support for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are responsible for registering with Students with Disabilities Services in order to receive academic accommodations. Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable notice (typically 5 working days) prior to requesting an accommodation. The SDS website is located at http://www.sds.usf.edu. USF has a commitment to the safety and well-being of our students. Please be aware that educators must report incidents of sexual harassment and gender-based crimes including sexual assault, stalking, and domestic/relationship violence that come to their attention. I am required to report such incidents in order for the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities or the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity can investigate the incident or situation as a possible violation of the USF Sexual Misconduct/Sexual Harassment Policy and provide assistance to the student making the disclosure. If you disclose in class or to me personally, I must report the disclosure and will assist you in accessing available resources. The Center for Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention, the Counseling Center and Student Health Services are confidential resources where you can talk about such situations and receive assistance without the incident being reported.