ELEMENTARY METHODS IN THE SCIENCES
364
Course
Introduction
Sally Blake
Welcome Back
Ex EDU 355 Students
Holly
Irene
EX EDU 202 Students
Jenny
Mary
Catherine
Ceara
Betsy
Marissa
Olivia
Crissie
Samantha
Molly
And all other
Flagler Students
The Great Science Adventure
Everyone has thoughts
but not everyone thinks.
What is Science?
364 Class Outline
 Practicum Forms
 About Science
 Course Goals
 Overview of Course Work
 Set up teams
 GTM NERR
 Pre-test
 EXIT slips
What is Science?
•Science is active exploration
•Science is observing and collecting
data
•Science is making inferences from
data
•Science is Inquiry
•Science is a thinking process
What Science is NOT.
•
Memorizing facts
•
Following the “Scientific Method”
• Playing with materials
• Lecture-based instruction
• Boring
Science:
Introduction: the Issue
"Three decades have seen little change in typical
classroom practice and little overall impact on the
average student" (p84), and "Teachers are still
intimidated by the time, content and preparation
demands of hands-on learning" (Tressel. 1994, p77).
A generation of students have come through our
schools since this was written by the head of NSF.
Why is Science Important ?
Current levels of mathematics and science - the United
States is neither preparing the general population with
levels of mathematics knowledge necessary for the 21st
century workplace
nor producing an adequate pipeline to meet national
needs for mathematicians or scientists.
Why is Science Important ?
•United States trade surplus in high-technology
products was $54 billion in 1990 turned into a trade
deficit of $50 billion in 2004 and has not come back.
· Iconic American companies moved assets, jobs, and
ownership overseas.
· American students performed and continue to
perform poorly in several international assessments
of math and science achievement (U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Science and
Technology, 2007).
Course Goals
The student will understand the
central concepts, tools of inquiry,
and practices, scientific habits of,
core science concepts and create
learning experiences that make
these aspects of the discipline accessible and
meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the
content. (InTASC 4; NRC 2011)
Course Goals
The student will integrate science learning and
teaching with service learning and purposeful civic
community engagement through a variety of
partnerships and activities.
The student will develop and practice leadership and
social responsibility related to science issues through
community collaborations and service.
Working Like Scientists
 There has been an exciting new discovery in the
country of Flagleristan. Scientists discovered a
new civilization that was buried deep within the
ground.
 Teams of scientists from all over the world came to
investigate the site and collect data. Each group
was allowed to work in a different region of the
area to find artifacts and try to piece together
information about this discovery.
Working like Scientists
Working in table teams take out the puzzle pieces in
one of the plastic bags and try to fit the pieces together.
Looking at ONLY the pieces you have predict what this puzzle
picture may be.
Work in your group to make a hypothesis about what the puzzle
picture is and why you think this.
Share your hypothesis with the whole class and your
identification claim based on the puzzle pieces your group
has.
Working like Scientists
After listening to the whole class claims determine what this
puzzle is based on best arguments and evidence.
Make an inference about this puzzle.
Move to another group students and combine all
puzzle pieces.
Analogy
 What is the analogy about science from this
activity?
No amount of experimentation can ever prove me
right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.
Albert Einstein
NAEP
Achievement-level results in NAEP science at grades 4, 8, and 12: 2009
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics,
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment.
Average scores in NAEP science at grades
4, 8, and 12, by selected student characteristics:
2009
Race/Ethnicity
Grade 4
Grade 8
Grade 12
White
163
162
159
Black
127
126
125
Hispanic
131
132
134
Asian/Pacific Islander
160
160
164
American Indian/Alaska Native
135
137
144
Gender
Grade 4 Grade 8
Grade
12
Male
151
152
153
Female
149
148
147
NAEP: By School Location
School location
Grade 4 Grade 8
Grade
12
City
142
142
146
Suburb
154
154
154
Town
150
149
150
Rural
155
154
150
Florida
•
male students in Florida had an average score that was higher than
female students.
Black students had an average score that was 32 points lower than
White students.
Hispanic students had an average score that was 19 points lower than
White students.
students who were eligible for free/reduced-price school lunch had an
average score that was 22 points lower than students who were not
eligible for free/reduced-price school lunch.
Assignment Guides
 Assignment Guides are on
https://my.flagler.edu/ics
You are responsible
for reading each Assignment Guide (AG). Your
grades for each assignment will be based on the
quality of work for each assignment. Following
directions is important but not enough to earn top
scores.
EXIT Slip Questions
 Can I earn 20 hours by going to GTM once a week from
10-12? 14 weeks X 2 = 28 hours.
 Practicum Hours ? You have 20 hours of practicum for
this course. Dr. Braden will assign you a place if you are
not going to GTM. Placements will vary.
 Do schools get taken over to revamp their science
program? This depends on the state in which you are
working. Historically this has been done based on
math and reading scores. Science is relatively new in
the accountability testing arena.
 Lesson plans need to be individual because these can
be your portfolio artifact.
Assessments
Examinations – 30%
Exam I - October 2, 2012
Exam II December 3, 2012
Pop quizzes may be given at any time based
on the instructor’s discretion.
Assessments
Practicum (5%)
20 HOURS—Graded pass/fail. A fail
results in failure of the class.
10 slots at GTM NERR
Assessments
Formal Lesson Plan: (20%) You will
need to prepare one comprehensive
science lesson plan to turn in for this
course. Please see AG on LMS for detailed
information. Your lesson plan format and
rubric for this assignment are on LMS.
Assessments
Family Science Night -30%
Part I. Planning and Preparation
You will plan a science lesson appropriate for children and
families do together. You will prepare all materials and a
community resource guide that supports the lesson. You will
contract and recruit community partners for this. You will
present your teaching in class prior to FSN.
Part II. Family Science Night
November 7, Osceola Elementary
Part III. Reflection
* In partnership with NAS 104
Participation/Dispositions – 10%
 positive attitudes, academic self-efficacy, full
participation in class activities, being prepared for
class work, contributing meaningful information
during class work, and focus on class activities.
 You are expected to actively engage in all class
activities.
 There are 27 scheduled class periods for this class.
 3.7 points for each class for a rounded total of 100
points if interactions are appropriate and there is
evidence of your individual contribution to the work.
Attendance
 Five percent (5%) of your grade for this course
comes from your attendance.
 If you have reached the threshold number of
missed classes LMS will assign a zero (0) for 5% of
your grade.
 If you are absent 20% of total class meetings you
will be dropped from this course.
Grading
 A’s are to be earned in this course and will be
based on exemplary work, not just following
directions.
 Grades will be calculated based on specifications
in your syllabus
 Your dispositions and class interactions will
influence your grade in this course.
Grade Calculations (based on perfect scores)
 Activity
score X weight
Tests (combined)
100 x 30 = 3000
FSN
100 x 30 = 3000
Practicum
100 x 5 = 500
Attendance
100 x 5 = 500
Lesson Plan
100 x 20 = 2000
Participation/dispositions 100 x 10 = 1000
________________
10000 ÷ 100 = 100
A zero (0) on any section greatly influences your grade. The weighted %
matters.
Responsibility and Expectations
You are responsible for:
 Reading AGs on LMS
 Reading Rubrics
 Reading all text PowerPoint's on LMS
 Watching assigned videos
 Reading your syllabus
 Self-regulated learning
 Late work is not accepted
 No rewrite options on any assignment
Contributions as Citizens
 Research Work in this course
 If you complete all requested surveys, interviews, or other
research participation for this course you will receive 2 points
added to your final grade.
 If you attend National Estuaries Day (see below) and can
document it you will earn a “get-out-of class free pass for
one regular class period.

SAVE THE DATE for the GTM Research Reserve's National
Estuaries 2-Day L.I.F.E. (Learning in Florida's Environment)
event. The celebration kicks off on Friday, September 21, 2012,
from 5-8pm at Flagler College in downtown, historic St.
Augustine.
Team Roles
 Each team needs to designate individual




responsibilities within their team. While all
members are held accountable for work specifying
roles will help your group maintain consistent
work progress.
Principal Investigator (PI)
Money Manager
Data Recorder/Reporter
Materials Manager
Teams
 Move into your teams and assign roles
 Get contact information
 Establish possible outside of class meeting times
 OR set up online working group
Pre-test
 Questions from this pre-test are adapted from
TIMSS and AAAS Misconceptions Project
 Answers and the % of 6th and 9th grade students
who answered each option will be open on LMS
after the test has been completed.
Questions