I.
COURSE NUMBER/SECTION:
COURSE TITLE:
COLLEGE OR SCHOOL:
SEMESTER/TERM AND YEAR:
SCED 4417
Teaching of Science (6-12) Practicum
Science and Mathematics
Fall 2008
II.
INSTRUCTOR:
TELEPHONE:
FAX:
E-MAIL:
OFFICE:
OFFICE HOURS:
III.
CLASS MEETINGS: In assigned schools
IV.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS:
Benchmarks for Science Literacy, (AAAS, 1993) available on-line:
http://www.project2061.org/tools/benchol/bolintro.htm
Georgia Performance Standards: Science, available on-line:
http://www.georgiastandards.org/science.aspx
Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, (NRC, 2000) available on-line:
http://books.nap.edu/html/inquiry_addendum/
National Science Education Standards, (NRC, 1996) available on-line:
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/
NSTA membership and resources, available on-line www.nsta.org
TU
UT
TU
UT
TU
UT
TU
UT
TU
V.
UT
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:
3 credit-hours. Prerequisite: Admission to SCED 4416.
Middle and secondary school field experience in teaching science with concurrent seminars.
Proof of professional liability insurance is required prior to school placements.
VI.
RATIONALE:
The faculty of the Professional Teacher Education Unit (PTEU) of Kennesaw State
University (KSU) endorse the standards for the preparation of teachers of science proposed
by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and form the review standards for
the Biology Education and General Chemistry Education Track programs at KSU by the
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National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Thus, this science
education course is designed to reflect institutional and national goals for discipline-specific
science teacher education in the domains of subject matter expertise, facilitation of learning,
and professional collaboration.
Conceptual Framework Summary: Collaborative Development of Expertise in Teaching,
Learning, and Leadership.
The KSU teacher education faculty is committed to preparing teachers who demonstrate
expertise in facilitating learning in all students. Toward that end, the KSU teacher education
community strongly upholds the concept of collaborative preparation requiring guidance
from professionals inside and outside the university. In tandem with this belief is the
understanding that teacher expertise develops along a continuum which includes the stages
of preservice, induction, in-service, and renewal; further, as candidates develop a strong
research-based knowledge of content and pedagogy, they develop their professional
expertise in recognizing, facilitating, assessing, and evaluating student learning.
Knowledge Base:
Teacher development is generally recognized as a continuum that includes four phases:
preservice, induction, in-service, renewal (Odell, Huling, and Sweeny, 2000). Just as
Sternberg (1996) believes that the concept of expertise is central to analyzing the teachinglearning process, the teacher education faculty at KSU believes that the concept of expertise
is central to preparing effective classroom teachers and teacher leaders. Researchers
describe how during the continuum phases teachers progress from being Novices learning to
survive in classrooms toward becoming Experts who have achieved elegance in their
teaching. We, like Sternberg (1998), believe that expertise is not an end-state but a process
of continued development.
SCED 4417 Teaching of Science (6-12) Practicum provides school-based opportunities for
candidates to explore the nature of adolescent learners, effective teaching practices, and the
complexities of creating an environment that promotes achievement in science for all
adolescent learners. Through reflective cycles that intermingle school-based experiences
with instructional seminars within the class cohort, participants develop a starting
competence for designing science instruction that is grounded in the research base of the
profession and guided by the NSTA standards for Science Teacher Preparation.The KSU
CPI proficiencies established by the PTEU serve as assessment criteria for candidate
performance, and are correlated with the NSTA/NCATE standards for Science Teacher
Preparation. These proficiencies and standards are the basis for instructional experiences
and requirements of students in SCED 4417.
Use of Technology: Student teachers will avail themselves of the instructional technologies
available to them in their host schools. The use technology tools for teaching science is
supported by a variety of resources available at the field experience site. Familiarizing the
pre-service teacher with a variety of technological tools is an integral part of the course.
Multicultural Education Emphasis: A variety of material and instructional strategies will be
employed to meet the needs of different learning styles of diverse learners in student
teachers’ classes. Students will gain knowledge, skills, and understanding to provide
effective instruction in multicultural classrooms.
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KSU provides program accessibility and accommodations for persons defined as disabled
under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990. A number of services are available to help disabled students with their academic
work. In order to make arrangements for special services, students must visit the Office of
Disabled Student Support Services (ext. 6443) and arrange an individual assistance plan. In
some cases, certification of disability is required.
VII.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Learning Outcome
The candidate will be able to:
1. demonstrate broad, in-depth, and current
knowledge of discipline content for teaching
adolescents science.
2. integrate content and pedagogical knowledge
to design engaging instruction that incorporates
technology, hands-on-learning, and inquirybased learning experiences.
3. develop an awareness and sensitivity to
students from different backgrounds as related
to socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion,
language, gender, sexual orientation, and
exceptionalities, and use this awareness to
design and implement instruction for all
learners.
4. create effective, well-managed and active
learning environments.environments that
reflect high expectations for student
achievement.
5. implement effective instruction that positively
impacts the learning of all students.
6. use a variety of methods, materials, and
technologies.
7. utilize a variety of strategies to assess student
learning and use the results of assessments to
improve the quality of instruction.
8. develop a reflective approach to the secondary
science teaching profession and a commitment
to life-long learning through participation in
professional development opportunities and
professional organizations (such as National
Science Teachers Association).
9. display professional and ethical behavior.
KSU
Proficiency
1.1
1.4
1.2
1.3
2.1
Assessed via
Formative
Assessment
(CPI ratings)
Formative
Assessment
(CPI ratings)
& Tech Report
2.2
2.3
Formative
Assessment
(CPI ratings)
& ISLA
Report
2.4
2.5
Formative
Assessment
(CPI ratings)
& Video
Critique
ISLA
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
CPI Ratings &
Tech. Report
ISLA &
Reflective
Journal
3.1
3.2
3.3
Formative
Assessment &
Reflective
Journal
3.4
Formative
Assessment
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VII.
COURSE ACTIVITIES/ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:
Each student in the course is expected to meet the following requirements:
1. Professionalism & Formative Assessment
(20% of final grade)
Directions: You are expected to display thoughtful, productive, and professional demeanor
in university and school-based exercises. You are expected to display professional and
ethical behavior in school settings, and to apply your content knowledge to effective
instruction of adolescents.
2. Reflective Journal
(20% of final grade)
Directions: Each Monday, you are expected to post a reflection on the previous week’s
activities on WebCT. These journal entries should include responses to posted questions as
well as your thoughts about course experiences. You are also expected to respond each
week to one or more entries made by your peers. This is intended to foster an on-line
dialogue about learning to teach.
3. Instructional Design Exercises
(60% of final grade)
a) Video Critique of Inquiry-based Lesson
20%
Directions: During the high school teaching experience, you will include in your unit of
instruction, one inquiry-based lesson for which you videotape and analyze your teaching
practice relative to two or three critical incidents that you identify.
b) Technology Integration Report
10%
Directions: During the high school teaching experience, you are to design and implement at
least two lessons that integrate technology (preferably used by the students). Write a 2-3 page
report that summarizes the following:
 describes how the technology was used to investigate the content,
 discusses how you managed the classroom environment,
 specifies evidence of impact on student learning.
c) Impact on Student Learning Analysis (ISLA)
30%
Directions: Select a lesson, activity, or skill that you plan to teach during your high school
teaching experience. Analyze its impact on your students’ learning. Then, reflect on the
impact on your students’ learning using the “Impact on Student Learning Analysis” Rubric
as a guide. You will want to consider how the differences that every student brings to the
classroom setting may have influenced learning.
Your final course grade in SCED 4415 is based on the following scale:
A--90%-100%
B--80%-89%
C--70%-79%
D--60%-69%
F--Below 60%
The field experience is the culminating event of the “Teaching of Specific Subjects” (TOSS) course and
the final practice opportunity prior to student teaching. Students will be expected to teach a variety of
lessons during this time. To be successful in the field experience, the student should show indicators of
the effective application of instructional strategies and classroom management. The field experience will
be assessed using appropriate instruments completed by the student, collaborating mentor teacher, and
TOSS professor. There is a formal field experience rubric that will be applied to the observations that
your supervising professor and mentor teacher will conduct. The student must complete the field
experience component of TOSS successfully in order to receive a passing grade. A student may be
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removed from his or her field experience placement at any time under recommendation of the
mentor teacher, principal, or university supervisor. TOSS students represent KSU and will be held to
the highest expectations of professionalism at all times. An unsatisfactory field experience will result
in the student’s receiving a grade of “F” for all of TOSS . (Note that dates for the Field Experience are
dependent on the local school.)
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VIII.
Professionalism:
It is expected that candidate teachers will conduct themselves with the professionalism that is required of
practicing teachers. Such professionalism includes effective and respectful collaboration and
communication with colleagues, prompt attendance of all meetings and classes, moral behavior and
actions, appropriate communication and sharing of materials and plans with the mentor teacher and
university supervisor, appropriate professional dress (even on “casual days”), etc. If, at any time, a
student’s actions or attitudes are judged to be less than professional by a TOSS supervisor, mentor
teacher, or school principal, appropriate remedial action will be taken. Such action may include the
development of a plan for the student to complete by the end of the semester or the removal of the
student from the TOSS experience. A student must have a satisfactory rating on professionalism to
receive a passing grade in TOSS .
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Attendance Policy:
Students will be expected to attend all class meetings and participate in group activities. The students
in-class attendance will reflect in the class assignments and participation section of the course
evaluation. Professional conduct requires that the student show respect for others. This includes
coming to class on time, staying for the entire class period, and cooperating with colleagues in and
outside of class. In the event of an absence, the student is responsible for all materials, assignments
and announcements presented in class. Any absences beyond agreed upon extenuating circumstances
will be reflected as a deduction in the participation component and/or other components of your course
grade.
In addition to specific school-based exercises in the early weeks of TOSS, candidates will teach a
morning class for 3.5 hours Mon-Thurs for two consecutive weeks in an assigned middle school and
four consecutive weeks in an assigned high school classroom with a mentor teacher.
Policies on late work, student record keeping, and class participation: Written work is due at the
beginning of class on the day assigned. If you cannot attend class, arrange to deliver assignments on
the due date. Late papers, reports, etc. will have 10 points deducted for each class period late. Keep
your own copy of all major assignments that you hand in. Bring your copy of each reading to class on
the day discussion is set for that text. Papers submitted must be typed.
Field Observations:
During the TOSS course, you will have several opportunities to complete school-based exercises
intentionally planned to provide a realistic and problem-based initial development. In addition to these,
you should take the initiative during your field experience to participate in school events that broaden your
understanding of the community and culture of schools. You should view the new relationships that you
negotiate in the schools as opportunities to glean the wisdom of practice and gather resources to equip you
in your teaching practice.
IX.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as
published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct
will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which
includes either an “informal ”resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a
formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct ’s minimum one
semester suspension requirement.
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