SCED - Science Education

The course provides an introduction to planning, teaching styles, classroom management, and instructional materials for the secondary classroom. It will also examine the history and foundations of education and the roles of school staff, students, parents and the community in student learning. In addition, the course will prepare (7-12) science teachers to have knowledge and skills in order to accurately represent what scientists do, how scientific knowledge is produced and debated, and what are the limits to scientific inquiry. Direct experiences with children are an integral part of the course via the field component, SCED 106.

The course is the field component to SCED 105 and provides candidates the opportunity to gain experience teaching the nature of science in 7-12 classroom.

The course provides an overview of the processes involved in literacy acquisition and instructional technologies available to enhance teaching in science and mathematics. The relationship of reading and writing, and aspects of writing development and writing process appropriate to each stage of reading development will be presented. Topics: conceptual and methodological issues related to instruction and acquisition of reading, the role and use of technology in literacy instruction, assessment of candidate's reading and writing, diversity in reading acquisition, and use of computers, graphing calculators and other multimedia applications.

Different models of evaluation and various techniques used in the assessment of science knowledge and skills will be developed. Examples and procedures directly related to the teaching of inquiry-based science will be stressed. The course will introduce students to action research, a form of self-reflective systematic inquiry by practitioners on their own practice.

The course provides a theoretical framework for exploring and developing a culturally responsive approach to the teaching of mathematics and sciences. In exploring different instructional formats, the course allows candidates to develop approaches that prepare them for an ever-increasing population of students that reflect diverse backgrounds and abilities. The field experience is a co-requisite that allows the candidates the opportunity to apply their knowledge on the issues presented in the course work to a diverse population.

The course is the field component to SCED 305. Candidates will use different instructional formats to develop effective approaches for teaching science and math to students with different backgrounds and abilities in diverse educational learning environments.

The course is an active inquiry into how and why science is taught, considering from what science is, how science literacy could be achieved, what "learning" entails, and what kinds of curricula and teaching best enable science learning.

Courses which are interdisciplinary in science and education. Titles and topics will vary each semester based on instructor and student interest.

Students will focus on using the local environment as a unifying theme for interdisciplinary learning at all grade levels. Field work will predominate. Students will investigate soils, rocks and fossils; plants; animals; and other components of natural systems; and how these factors interact to create ecosystems. Students will write and model lesson plans and accompanying assessments which will address N.Y.S. learning standards.

Students learn how to use a one-square-kilometer area surrounding their school as an outdoor laboratory for interdisciplinary learning. Students learn how to keep field journals, read and create maps, do ecological survey, use community resources, and create a plan for interdisciplinary place-based natural and cultural studies linked to their curriculum.

Students will learn how to use a specific component of the local natural environment - vernal pools - in their standards-based curriculum. Students will learn how to keep field journals, read and create maps, identify vernal pool organisms, enter data into the project Website, and become part of a growing community of citizen scientists focused on these unique and threatened ecosystems.

An examination of how science ideas are constructed in informal and formal social settings. Exemplary science teaching methods will be demonstrated and evaluated. Research focusing on elementary students' formal and naive science understanding concerning the relationships between the Earth, Moon, and the Sun will be investigated in detail.

The behavior of simple electronic circuits is examined as a basis for the constriction of scientific models, which allow for the prediction and explanation of electrical phenomena. The course concludes by examining magnetic interactions to develop a model of behavior of magnets and magnetic materials.

An examination of how science ideas are constructed in informal and formal social settings. The course investigates and begins with the investigation of the formation of shadows and images. The course then develops a mental model that helps students account for the behavior of light in the formation of images and the effects of color. Exemplary science teaching methods will be demonstrated and evaluated. Research focusing on elementary students' formal and naive science understanding of light and color will be examined.

The course studies how motion can be described in terms of the concepts of position, displacement, force and speed. Graphical and algebraic representations are introduced and used to predict and represent the motion of objects.

An examination of how science ideas are constructed in informal and formal social settings. The course investigates some basic properties of matter. The course will also develop the concepts of mass, volume, and density and use these in the context of how students explain physical phenomena. The inquiry will be extended to the study of solutions while providing a context for developing the important scientific skills of proportional reasoning, reasoning by analogy, and control of variables.

Courses which are interdisciplinary in science and education. Titles and topics will vary each semester based on instructor and student interest.

Participants will develop foundational science teaching knowledge, skills, and reflective dispositions that are characteristic of effective beginning secondary science teachers. The course is an active inquiry into the nature and purposes of teaching science. Participants will strengthen their content knowledge, learn ways to investigate their students' prior ideas in science, and design responsive instruction using inquiry approaches. Participants will develop professional reasoning and dispositions by participating in field experiences, professional activities in the community and science education organizations. The course is accompanied by a 50-hour field component.

Presentations by students, faculty and visitors on current science teaching practices. Students will engage in professional literature searching, and the preparation and presentation of a professional seminar.

Students will design, implement and analyze a research project concerning science learning in a 7-12 classroom. This will include an oral research proposal, written thesis and oral defense.

Students in the course will use a reflective approach based on research and classroom experiences, to examine three aspects of teacher knowledge that are known to contribute to science teaching expertise: Teachers' knowledge about their subject area, knowledge of student's understandings and preconceptions, and ways teachers design instruction by transforming their subject so that it is accessible to their students. The "teacher as inquirer" disposition will be fostered through the planning of projects to teach problematic concepts and investigate student learning. Developing ways to effectively assess student learning throughout the instructional process will be a focus in the class. A 50-hour field component is also a part of the course.

A field assignment to teach middle school science. Assignments provided in grades 5 through 9; arrangements made by the Office of Field Experiences. Open only to students in the MAT Science program.

A field assignment to teach secondary school science. Assignments provided in grades 7 through 12; arrangements made by the Office of Field Experiences. Open only to students in the M.A.T. Science program.

This seminar, which accompanies student teaching, is designed to provide the support necessary to apply and develop professional competencies while working with students and educators in the school setting. In this context, participants will have the opportunity to analyze student learning through action research projects, engage in collaborative problem solving with colleagues, and strengthen professional dispositions. Using classroom experiences as a focus, the class will use collaborative reflection, theories and research to frame new understandings of expertise in science teaching.