Using PBL to Integrate
Content and Pedagogy in an
Interdisciplinary “Science
Semester” for Future
Elementary Teachers
National Research Council (2001)
Educating Teachers of Science,
Mathematics, and Technology
Science...departments should assume greater
responsibility for offering college-level courses
that provide teachers with strong exposure to
appropriate content and that model the kinds of
pedagogical approaches appropriate for teaching
that content.
[C]olleges and universities should reexamine and
redesign introductory college-level courses in
science and mathematics to better accommodate
the needs of practicing and future teachers.
What would such a course
be?
Inquiry-based
Multidisciplinary
Instructors would model instruction
Student collaboration
Science Semester: A
Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Biological Sciences
Geology
Astronomy & Physics
School of Education
Education Research and
Development Center
Mathematics & Science
Education Resource Center
Structure of the Science
Semester
Richard Donham, Mathematics & Science
Education Resource Center
Earth Science
4 Credits
Life Science
4 Credits
Science Semester
15 Credits
Physical Science
4 Credits
Science Education
Methods 3 Credits
Sciences: Five
2-hr meetings/wk
Methods: Two 1½
hr meetings/wk
Science
Science Semester
Semester
Earth, life and physical
science laboratories
each week (6 hr)
Science Semester
Goal: to foster
future teacher’s
understandings of
science, teaching
and learning and
to support use of
inquiry in their own
classrooms
Science Semester Structure
Four PBL problems
Group & Individual
products
Mixed instructional
methods
Science Semester: Instructor
Responsibilities
Lead one of the
investigations
Participate &
collaborate on other
investigations
Attend all class
meetings
The PBL Investigations
Deborah Allen
Department of Biological
Sciences
Conflicting Practices in
Science Education
K-12 reform
Standards-based
content & skills
Inquiry
Integrates
disciplines
Higher education
Textbook- & lecturedriven content & skills
Transmission
Separates disciplines
Characteristics of Ideal PBL Investigations
Complex enough for interdisciplinary themes
Engaging and motivational from student perspective
Allow for college-level exploration of big ideas that
connect to K-6 science education standards
Allow for products that flow naturally
Allow for gradual introduction and building of PBL
skills
Can be integrated with lectures, active learning
activities, and whole class discussions
Overview of the Four
Unit Investigations
Problem Scenarios
Interdisciplinary content themes
Products
Labs and special activities
Unit One - Physical Science:
What is Energy?
Scenario: Students assume roles of 8th
grade teachers. They apply to and attend
a summer curriculum development
institute sponsored by NREL. They learn
about energy as they fill out an extensive
application for the institute, then attend
initial sessions.
Unit One (cont).
Products:
Informal presentation on energy-related topic
Report on standards-based curriculum themes
related to energy
Content themes:
Sources of energy, electricity, environmental
consequences of energy use, flow of energy
through the biosphere, energy in chemical
reactions, global carbon cycle
Unit Two - Biology:
Kids, Chemicals & Cancer
Scenario: A child in Tom’s River,
NJ develops leukemia. Citizens
in the town begin to notice what
seems to be a high incidence of
childhood cancers. They think
they have a “cancer cluster,” and
suspect that a local chemical
manufacturing plant and an
illegal toxic waste dump are to
blame.
Parents of the child
about whom the
problem is written
Unit Two (cont).
Products:
Report on chain of evidence and
inference necessary to establish a
cancer cluster; peer review of 1st
draft
In the role of a teacher in whose
class there is a child with cancer,
design classroom activities that
address children’s questions about
cancer
Unit Two (cont)
Supporting Labs
DNA extraction and structural models
Effects of tobacco on mutation in bacteria
Cluster Busters – computer-based
investigation
Content themes:
Structure & function of DNA; cell cycle;
causes, effects, & treatment of cancer;
cancer clusters; environmental health;
organic chemistry; soils; ground water;
hydrologic cycle
Unit Three - Elementary Science
Education: Did my students learn what
they’re supposed to?
Scenario: Students explore and
evaluate a science curriculum
kit. They write an extensive
report on their evaluation, teach
an activity from the kit (with their
peers as students), and present a
poster to the university and local
science education community.
Unit Three (cont)
Content Themes:
•
Aligning standards,
curriculum & assessment
in instruction
•
Pedagogical content
knowledge
Unit Four – Earth Science:
Limulus polyphemus!
Scenario: Students grapple
with the complex issues
surrounding an ongoing,
heated controversy about
establishment of the annual
catch limit for the horseshoe
crab, an environmentally and
economically important
organism in the Delaware
Bay.
Unit Four (cont)
Products:
Presentation on horseshoe crab
biology, role in Bay ecosystem, and
economic importance
Analysis of evidence from public
testimony on the issues – conclude
with a recommendation based on the
best evidence
Unit Four (cont)
Content themes:
Life cycles & niches of
horseshoe crab and
other Bay organisms;
seasons; phases of
the moon; tides;
coastal geology; water
chemistry; technology
& science
Remaining Questions/Issues
Instructor interpretations of PBL are not the
same – can students make sense of our
differing perspectives in a way that will be
useful to their future teaching?
If initial investigations are more structured by
instructor, will students graciously allow the
instructor presence to “fade away?”
Will “message” be lost with subsequent
courses, particularly if they are science
courses?
Teaching Education in the
Science Semester: Benefits &
Challenges
Danielle Ford
School of Education
Issues with integrating education
Does the Science Semester meet the
needs and goals of the elementary
teacher education program?
Can we achieve a successful integration
of education into a discipline-dominated
semester?
The Education Course in the
Science Semester
Elementary Curriculum: Science (EDUC 341)

Introduction to teaching science in the
elementary school. Includes the study of
current elementary school programs,
instructional materials, teaching strategies,
lesson planning and implementation and
the appraisal of pupil achievement.
Practicum included.
Goals for EDUC 341
Develop an understanding of the nature
of science
Gain familiarity with current research on
children’s learning of science and their
conceptions of science content
Explore the concepts of community,
identity, diversity, equity and relevance
Goals for EDUC 341
Become familiar with the current theoreticallybased practices in science instruction,
including inquiry instruction, alternative
assessment
Gain experience in planning, conducting, and
analyzing science instruction
Become familiar with the tools used in
science instruction, including science
curricula, science talk, science texts and
technology, people, and places
Challenges in the Traditional Version
of EDUC 341
Uneven science content prior to
curriculum course
6 concurrent education courses to
compete with
ETE culture
Science Semester Benefits
Model of content
Shows students what integrated science
curriculum looks like
 Provides specific content examples, can be
coordinated precisely with education theory
and pedagogy

Model of pedagogy –

PBL and other science teaching strategies
– “practicing what we preach”
Science Semester Concerns
Would education issues be lost in the
emphasis on science content?
Meta level understanding of
pedagogical models too conceptually
challenging for sophomores?
Conflicting pedagogical models across
faculty?
What actually happened
Students were clearly focused on
education, wanted more
Content concurrent with education
course sometimes worked, but
sometimes didn’t
Capitalized on differences in pedagogy
to explore multiple models of instruction
Remaining Questions/Issues
Supporting learners post-science
semester
Field experiences
Sustainability
Project Evaluation & Research
Steve Fifield
Education Research &
Development Center
Questions
Research
methods
How do students’ science &
pedagogical understandings
develop in response to this
PBL-based experience?

How do students make sense
of unfamiliar approaches to
learning & teaching?

Content assessments
 Coursework
 Student writing
 Interviews
 Classroom
observations
Surveys
 Student writing
 Interviews
Preliminary Findings
Science content & pedagogical knowledge
Science Semester impacts students’
views of:
Knowledge sources
Knowledge contexts & connections
Learning processes & products
Preliminary Findings
Responses to unfamiliar approaches to
learning & teaching
Science Semester challenges students’:
beliefs about the roles & responsibilities
of teachers & learners
criteria for knowing & learning
self-understandings as learners &
future teachers
An Administrator’s
Perspective
George Watson
Associate Dean, College of
Arts and Sciences
Administrative support for
innovative teaching
Promoting interdisciplinarity within a
discipline-based organization
Achieving sustainability of innovative
practices
Striving for scalability from a pilot
project
Benefits accrued
To the students
To the faculty
To the institution
To the public