Education 3601
Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction
Science
• Instructor: Paul Stevenson
Class 1 – Orientation to Ed 3601
• Outline for January 8, 2007
– Welcome and a Puzzler
– Introductions
– Science Teaching Inventory
– Great Science Teachers I have
Known (Brainwrite)
– Course Outline
• Resources
• Schedule
• Assignments
– Placements
• Information Sheet
– Nature of Science
Education 3601
Science Teaching
Inventory/Discussion
Ed 3601: Science Teaching Inventory
Informed Science teaching:
1. B
7. B
2. B
8. B
3. B
9. A
4. A
10. B
5. A
11. B
6. B
12. A
Multiply No. out of 12 X 8.33 = Approx % of how informed you are.
( From Chiappetta and Koballa, p. 11)
Education 3601
• Brainwrite:
What are the
characteristics
of the best
science
teachers I
have known?
Education 3601
• Course Outline
• Assignments
– Web Quest Assignment
(handout)
– Science mini-lesson
(handout)
– Unit Plan (handout)
– TPGP
Education 3601
–Nature of
Science
• What is
Science?
• Define in
your words –
(a useful start for
students)
Education 3601: Towards a definition of Science
What statements would you use to fill the boxes?
Science
Education 3601: Towards a definition of Science
Discover
nature
Observing
and
describing
reality
Organizing
facts into
theories
A method
of
discovery
Science
The search
for truth
A study of
the
universe
A body of
organized
knowledge
Problem
Solving
Logical
reasoning
A process
of finding
out
Education 3601
• Science is a particular way of knowing
about the world. In science,
explanations are limited to those based
on observations and experiments that
can be substantiated by other scientists.
Explanations that cannot be based on
empirical evidence are not part of
science.
– National Academy of Sciences, 1999
Education 3601
• Scientific Knowledge
– “Students will construct
knowledge and
understandings of concepts
in life science, physical
science, and earth and
space science and apply
these understandings to
interpret, integrate, and
extend their knowledge”
Science 7,8,9 Program
of Studies. P.3
Ed 3601 –
Teaching
Science: The
Way it Was
The Sun:
•Composition
•Size
•Distance from
Earth
•Comparison to
other Stars
Ed 3601 –
Teaching
Science: The
Way it
Needs to Be
The Sun:
What questions do
you have about the
sun – write them in
your logbook
Education 3601
For a better understanding of how
scientific knowledge develops,
students need to appreciate there are
at least three distinct forms of
scientific inquiry: (Roscoe and Mrazek, p. 18)
•
Scientific Inquiry – Partial and Full
• Descriptive Inquiry
– Key Question
– Examples
• Comparative Inquiry
– Key question
– Examples
• Experimental Inquiry
– Key Question
– Examples
Full and Partial Inquiries
Descriptive:
What’s out
there?
Comparative
Inquiry:
Does a plane fly
faster on a hot day
or on a cold day?
Experimental
Inquiry:
Which emulsion
of drugs will give
the greatest
mortality to the
bacterial
strain…?
Education 3601
• Scientific Reasoning
– Constructing arguments
– Critically evaluating
arguments
– Structure of a Scientific
Argument
Education 3601
• Structure of a Scientific Argument
A Conclusion
The judgement
based on the
Evidence
+
The Evidence
The data on
which the
conclusion is
based
+ An Explanation
The line of
reasoning by
which the conclusionis based
Connects the evidence
to relevant scientific
concepts,laws and
principles
Education 3601
• The Nature of Science and
Science Teaching – An
Example
• Focusing Question:
– How do scientists know about
space when they can’t travel
there? (Grade 6 – Sky Science
or Grade 9 – Space Exploration)
– How many stars are visible in
the night sky?
• How would you do this?
Education 3601
• How many stars are visible in
the night sky?
– Prediction and defining Problem
(Initiating and Planning)
– Procedure (performing and
recording)
– Analyzing and Interpreting
– Communicating and Teamwork
Education 3601
• How many stars are visible in
the night sky?
– Type of Inquiry?
– Partial versus full inquiry?
• (Cookbook science)
– Scientific knowledge?
• Role of technology
– Scientific Reasoning
• (Scientific Argument)
Education 3601
•
Assignment 1:
1. Read chapter 1 and 2 from
Scientific Literacy. Focus
on learning processes and
the Learning Cycle
Be prepared to adapt what
you read about learning to a
quick exercise in designing
a lesson
2. Contact A former Science
Teacher. Be prepared to
discuss your findings during
the Jan 22 class.