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SECTION 1: DESIGNING SCIENCE ACTIVITIES AND UNITS This chapter has been organized to help students and teachers design a unit of science teaching. The concept of Science PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) is introduced and tied to the development of instructional mateials. A constructivist approach is advocated in the development of science teaching units. Too make the chapter even more practical than it is, I've included a very specific plan to develop teaching materials, and have included sample lessons, and activities that illustrate how to integrate the different theories and models that were presented in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, respectively. Nature of Pedagogical Science Content Knowledge Fundamental to designing science teaching materials is understanding Pedagogical Conent Knowledge (PCK) which is described on pp. 260-261. It is the principle organizing concept of this chapter. An interesting resource is an online paper by Mark Enfield, Content and Pedagogy: "Intersection in the NSTA Standards for Science Teacher Education." You will find a table that you can use to present the compoents of PCK, which include:
PCK is the integration of one's content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. You might use Inquiry Activity 7.1 to guide your students into this important concept, and if you are working with experienced teachers, they will benefit greatly from the inquiry, as well. You might show students this image of fast plants, and ask them how they might use them to teach concepts in biology.
Figure 1. Fast Plants Inquiry 7.1: Developing Science PCK (p. 263) In this inquiry your students will select a few goals of science teaching from NSES or Benchmarks, and then explore how best to help students understand these ideas. The chart below shows how students might organize their ideas in this inquiry. The links they will need for the activity include:
Science Concepts from NSES or
Benchmarks Suggestions about how to help
students understand these ideas Examples of curriculum materials
that relate to the identified science
concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . An Approach to Unit Design: A Constructivist Approach The approach that is described in this chapter for designing teaching materials has been used and field tested over a period of ten years. The process is presented in Inquiry Activity 7.2, and then details and examples are further presented in pp. 265 - 280. I have typically have students develop a science teaching unit over a period of several weeks, and have used the Design Steps in Inquiry Activity 7.2 to guide the process. Instead of making the assignment, and having students work on their own, I recommend that you present clusters of the steps as part of several lessons so that the student gets a chance to develop their ideas over time. Here is a schedule you might follow Lesson Design Step Lesson 1 Brainstorming Ideas--students
should work in teams of two in class and work on
each unit together Naming the Miniunit Lesson 2 Identifying and Categorizing
intended Learning Outcome Lesson 3 Develop a concept map--have
students do this at home and bring to class and
share in small groups Lesson 4 Write a rationale---read a few
examples from the text, and then have students
write their rationale out at home, and share them
in class the next session in small
groups Lesson 5 Categorize outcomes of the
unit List Activities---have students
begin to list the activities that will help
students achieve the outcomes Lesson 6 Develop Lesson Plans---students
should work on this outside of class, and then on a
date you announce, have them share one of their
lessons in small groups to receive
feedback. Lesson 7 Develop an Assessment
Plan Lesson 8 Present Miniunit Inquiry Activity 7.2: Designing a Science Miniunit This Inquiry activity provides an overview of the design process that they will use to develop a miniunit. You can modify the process by combining steps based on your own experience with unit design. Use the procedures in the Inquiry to organize your students in the process of developing a miniunit. The Teaching Unit Design Steps, pp. 265 - 280 There are 13 design steps, which will provide a process for your students to design science teaching materials in the form of a unit or miniunit (depending upon the number of lessons---I've typically had students develop a 5 lesson miniunit plus assessment materials.
Step 1: Brainstorm Ideas, p. 265. Students should work in a planning team to begin the process. It's best if you have an introductory session explaining the assignment of developing a miniunit so that students can give some thought to a topic that might develop into a unit. This step should follow at least an overnight opportunity for reflection on a topic. Within their team, members should brainstorm ideas that relate to the topic. See the example of an earth science unit on p. 260. Provide large sheets of chart paper, and have each student's list of ideas be preserved on an individual sheet that they can use for future work in the process. Step 2: Name your Science Miniunit, p. 265. After the brainstorming session, have the students work with each other to generate names for the miniunits that they are developing. Look a tthe list on p. 265 for ideas. Step 3: Identify Focus Questions, p. 265. Using the list of ideas, have students generate four to six "focus" questions, questions that should help the students define the heart of their unit. See p. 266 for some ideas on this. Step 4: Identify Intended Learning Outcomes, pp. 266 - 267. Students might work back and forth between their initial list of ideas and focus question, and the NSES or the Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy. In the process they should make a list of intended learning outcomes---statements of what they intend that their students learn. Use the chart paper to record their outcomes. Step 5: Categorize Intended Learning Outcomes, p. 267. Using the list of outcomes, have the students make a simple binary category system in which they list them as either nonskill or skill outcomes. See the chart on p. 267 for examples of this. Step 6. Develop a Concept Map, pp. 267 - 268. A concept map is a powerful tool. Now that the students have invested time into their unit and have a deeper understanding of the concepts, they should put their ideas into a concept map.
Have them develop the map, and share it with you and their peers for feedback and improvement. Also, the map should be developed as a potential tool that they might use with their students. Step 7.Write a Rationale, p. 268 - 269. Writing the rationale is important, and since the students have now been working on the unit for some time, they will be a better position to write a statement that is powerful. They should write their rationale in a language that is directed at the potential students of their miniunit, and it should integrate answers to the questions on p. 268:
I've included two examples of rationales on page 269 that you can use with your students. Step 8. Categorize Outcomes: Cognitions, Affects and Skills, pp. 269 - 273. I've used three categories to form a system that I've found very effective with students and teachers. Students should generate outcomes for each of the categories:
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Step 9. List Potential Activities, p. 273 - 274. At this stage, potential activities should emerge from the list of intended outcomes. One way to accomplish this, is to use the concept of "instructional foci"---means with which learners will attain the outcomes that were created. Table 7.11 (p.274) and Table 7.12 (p. 275) display instructional foci for two different miniunits. Step 10. Develop Specific Lesson Plans, p. 274 -280. I recommend between four and six lesson plans for a miniunit. You will find three different formats for developing the lesson plans as follows:
Step 11. Develop an Assessment Plan, p. 280. Two elements are considered: To answer questions and provide feedback with regard to student learning. Students can develop a post assessment 'test," based on the intended learning outcomes. They should also consider other assessment vehicles such as problems, questions, performance assessments, checklists, rubrics, and questionnaires. Refer your students to Chapter 8, which is devoted to assessment. To provide data with respect to the effectiveness of instructional plans. Students might solicit feedback from learners using a feedback form such as shown in Figure 7.9, p. 280. Step 12. Implement the Miniunit, p. 280. If the miniunit is being developed as part of field experience course, then try and have the students implement it with a group of elementary or secondary students. If this is not possible, then I recommend that each student "teach" one lesson (or a part of a lesson) to group of peers, and use the feedback form to obtain information on the effectiveness of the lesson from peers. If you are teaching a graduate level course, teachers can implement the miniunit with one of their classes, and report back to class on the effectiveness of the plans. Step 13. Feedback and Reflection, p. 280. You might have students write reflectively using the questions on p. 280, and then conduct an open disucssion about the process, and how students would improve upon the unit, and what they have learned about developing further units of teaching. Models and Sample Lesson Plans I've included four sample lesson plans based on four of the models that were presented in Chapter 6. These include:
Designing a Science Course of Study This section introduces the student to 5 elements that might be used to design a course of study. Combined with Inquiry Activity 7.3 (Designing a Course of Study: The Course Syllabus), the section should provide useful information on implementing course plans. You might take time to go over the 5 elements, using the text material (pp. 287 - 290) prior to having students complete Inquiry Activity 7.3. The elements include:
To make these elements practical, I've discussed each within the context of a course of study entitled Global Science. It's a text based program, thereby reinforcing the notion that most of your students will be designing courses of study based on a text. Inquiry 7.3: Designing a Course of Study: The Course Syllabus This activity is powerful in the context of a field experience, such as an internship, or if you are teaching a graduate course for teachers, then the activity might be way for the teachers to reflect on the course syllabi that they have created for their courses. Have students work in small teams (2 or 3) for brainstorming and disucssion purposes. The "data" generated in these small teams will be a strong base for the development of syllabi by individuals. Follow the procedures as identified on page 289. Try and have on hand potential textbooks that students will use to develop their course syllabi. After the syllabi are created, take a session for students to share their results in small groups, and then use the Minds-On Strategies on p. 289 for a discussion. SECTION 2: SCIENCE TEACHER GAZETTE Think Pieces The Think Pieces in this chapter provide questions that focus on the elements of curriculum development and lesson planning. They might be used to encourage students to reflect on elements of the planning process. Science Teachers Talk In this teacher talk session, Virginia Cheek, Ben Boza, Rachel Zgonc, Jerry Pelletier, John Ricciardi, and Ginny Almeder provide tips that give to beginning teachers on lesson planning and preparing lessons. Rachel Zgonc was a first year teacher when she wrote her comments; the other teachers are all veteran educators. Planning Activities I've provided five "planning activities" and one of which you could do with your students (pp. 292-297). The "applications to science teaching" section of each planning activity is designed to have the students reflect on science teaching. If you do any of these activiies this section will provide a powerful way to extend the students understanding of science education.
Problems and Extensions The P & E's for this chapter include questions on evaluation, objectives, and concept maps. They could be used for classroom activities, or extensions beyond class. Readings You will find a selection of science education "activity" books that will be useful to students as they develop their miniunits. On the Web The websites choosen bring the students into contact with the major organizations in biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, and the standards. |
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