Brian's
Class Materials- SPRING 2011 - SEYS 753
SEYS 382
Home
Queens
College/CUNY
Education Unit
Spring 2011
SYLLABUS
SEYS
382 - Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment in Teaching Science
Section:
Thursday
4:30
pm
to
7:00
pm
Kiely
Hall
Room
115
INSTRUCTOR
INFORMATION:
Brian Murfin,
Ph.D.,
Office: Powdermaker Hall Room 135C
Office
Hours:
Wednesday 3:00
pm to 5:00 pm
Thursday 2:00
pm to 4:00 pm
And by
appointment
Please send me email to brian.murfin@qc.cuny.edu to arrange an online
appointment using either:
Phone: 631
223-8311
Email: brian.murfin@qc.cuny.edu
A.
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
SEYS
382.
Curriculum
and
Assessment
in
Teaching
Science
3
hr.; 3 cr. Coreq.: the subject-specific student teaching course from
SEYS 370.4–374.4. Open only to students in teacher education programs.
An examination of curriculum development and assessment for classroom
teaching designed to integrate New York State Learning Standards and
required testing, such as the Regents exams, into the curriculum. The
course builds on the fundamental pedagogical content knowledge in
specific disciplines in SEYS 360–364. Taught in tandem with
the
student teaching experience to enrich the student teacher’s
understanding of curriculum and assessment issues within a working
classroom.
Education
Unit
Conceptual
Framework:
This course is
being offered by the Secondary Education department which is part of
the
Education Unit at Queens College. The Education
Unit seeks to promote equity, excellence, and ethics in urban education
and is committed to preparing teachers
and other education professionals who will:
- Build
inclusive communities that nurture and challenge all learners (Equity)
- Demonstrate
professionalism, scholarship, efficacy, and evidence-based and
reflective
practice (Excellence)
- Diversity,
democracy, and social justice (Ethics)
This
course is aligned with the Education
Unit’s commitment to preparing educational professionals to work in
diverse
urban and suburban communities. Specifically, the knowledge, skills,
and
dispositions that candidates will development/demonstrate at the
successful
completion of this course are directly linked to the Education Unit’s
seven
principles: 1) discipline specific competencies, 2) learning and
development,
3) families and urban communities, 4) diversity, inclusion, democracy
and
social justice, 5) language and literacy, 6) curriculum, instruction,
and
assessment, and 7) technology.
B.
COURSE
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
- Students will become familiar with all aspects of the New
York State Science curricula and required assessments.
- Students will create, test and evaluate lesson and unit
plans
- Students will design, test and evaluate both traditional
and alternative science assessments
- Students will devise different strategies to help students
to succeed on required New York State assessments
- Stidents
will explore the relationship between the characteristics of a
classroom learning environment and attitudes towards science and
science achievement
- Students will understand the importance of equity and
diversity and its influence on science learning
- Students will use cogenerative dialogue to come up with
possible solutions to real-world challenges in the classroom
- Students will learn useful techniques from experienced
science teachers
- Students
will create a digital portfolio that will demonstrate their
accomplishments during their pre-service science teaching experiences
- Students will use action research techniques to improve
their science teaching and their students' learning
C.
REQUIRED
PURCHASES: TEXTBOOK(S) AND SUPPLIES
1. Textbook
(required): None You will not be required to purchase a
textbook
for this course. Readings will be assigned using documents in
BlackBoard.
2. Textbook
(recommended):
- Thompson, J. (2011). Discipline
survival
guide
for
the
secondary
teacher (2nd ed.). San
Francisco Calif.: Jossey-Bass.
- Check out the NSTA Science Store
for books related to your specific area of science and interests
3. Supplies
and/or tools: None
D.
WEEKLY
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week
1 – 2/3/2011 – Student teaching overview, Introduction to the
course
Activities:
- Sign
up for gmail, access google
docs, and our google group,
http://groups.google.com/group/seys582-spring2011.
- Submit
the
following
form
with
your
gmail
address.
- Meet cooperating teachers,
overview of student teaching and requirements
- Happy
New
Year
Bingo 新年 快樂 Xīnnián kuàilè Bingo
- Happy Chinese New Year! Use the following links to find out
when which animal rules over the year in which you were born.
- Brainstorm some ideas for how you might link Chinese culture to a
science topic in your area of certification
- Assignments for next week:
- Meet cooperating teachers,
overview of student teaching and requirements
- Visit the course web site
using the Firefox web browser
- Press Ctrl T to open up a
new tab, visit the CUNY portal at www.cuny.edu,
login,
access
our
course
in
BlackBoard.
If
your
CAMS
account
is
not
working,
you
may
need
to
activate
it
by
visiting
the
following
site:
https://cams.qc.cuny.edu/
- Complete Pre-Course
Survey
- Introduce
self on Discussion Board in BlackBoard
- Go over course outline, goals, assignments
- Print out NYC
permission
forms to take photos and video for digital
portfolio
- Visit the New York City Teacher Page http://schools.nyc.gov/Teachers/default.htm
- New York City - New
Teachers
page
- Teacher
Development
Toolkit
Week
2 – 2/10/2011 –
Getting to
know your students
Activities:
- Discuss initial
impressions of placements
- Weekly update:
successes, challenges
- Design an online
survey for your students
- You can use a Google
docs spreadsheet and form or Survey Monkey
- What other ways can
you get to know your students?
- Interviews
- Small group
discussions
- Have students make
webs, concept maps, drawings
- Observations
- Extracurricular
activities, e.g. sports, clubs
Readings and Extension
activities:
Week 3–
2/17/2011
–
Becoming
familiar
with
the
classroom
learning
environment
Assignment #1
due
Activities:
- Weekly
update: successes, challenges
Describe your
science classroom environment
Readings and
Extension activities:
Useful Links:
Week
4 – 2/24/2011 – Writing a Philosophy of Teaching statement
Week 5 – 3/3/2011
– New York State Learning Standards, New York State Science
Curricula
Activities:
Week
6 – 3/10/2011
– Required assessments in New York
State,
Assessment Issue, create a resume
- Weekly update:
successes, challenges
- Before class,
take a science exam in the subject area you will be teaching.
Score your exam.
- Work in small groups according to your area of
certification. Post the answers to the following questions on the
discussion board in BlackBoard
- What
assessments are required by NYS?
- What are
some of the issues associated with the required assessments?
- What
strategies can you use to meet the required assessment?
- How might
you adapt your teaching to address the assessment issues you
raised?
Useful Links:
Week 7
– 3/17/2011 -Using
Alternative Assessment in Science classes
Activities:
- Weekly update:
successes, challenges
- Describe some
examples of alternative assessment you have used in your class
- Brainstorm
ideas for alternative assessment for topics you will be teaching this
semester. Post your alternative assessments on
wikispaces.com.
Make sure to indicate the topic that your assessment is
linked to.
- Practice with
ScienceMOO for online class next week.
Week
8 – 3/24/2011 – Online
Class
Tonight's
class
will
take
place
in
ScienceMOO.
-
Set up an online
resource for your
students.
This could be a web site, blog, wiki, or twitter feed
or come other Web 2.0 tool. Your online resource should help
your
students review a science topic in an interesting and fun way.
- Blog
- Flashcards
- glogster
- Online poll
- twitter
- web site
- wiki
- Other Tools
- What is Web
2.0?
- sumopaint and flockdraw
- image editing software, example
- sound editing software, example
- presentation software, example
- drawing software, example
- multimedia development, scratch, squeak
- a blog, create a blog, example
- tumblr, http://www.tumblr.com
- a wiki, create a wiki, example
- a website, create a
website, example
- twitter, start a twitter account, example
- video, example
- podcasts, example
- simulations, example
- micro-computer based labs, example
- Google apps such as Google docs, groups,
etc.
- Open source software, example
- Web 2.0 apps, example
- iPhone or Android apps
- learning management system, example
- web conferencing, example
- a computational knowledge engine, example
- virtual worlds, example
- timeline software - dipity
- Science
Education 2.0
- 100 Web Tools
to Enhance Collaboration (Part 1) by Ozge Karaoglu
- Explore Web
2.0 tools
- Weekly update: successes,
challenges
- Select your online tool, sign up for account
- Plan, set goals, decide on approach
- Create content
- Post url on Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- Get feedback from colleagues
- Pilot test with students
Week
9 – 3/31/2011 –
Setting up your digital portfolio
- This week's science news
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- Weekly update:
successes, challenges
- Use Google Sites to set up your
teaching portfolio.
- Begin to assemble a copy
of your digital portfolio using labeled files and folders and burn on a
DVD.
- Examples of portfolios
Read the
following:
Useful
links:
- Electronic
Portfolios: Students, Teachers, and Life Long Learners
- Electronic
portfolios
- Examples
of WWW-compatible electronic portfolios
- What
is a digital portfolio?
- How
to
create
a
digital
portfolio
- http://www.ehow.com/how_2085380_prepare-teacher-portfolio.html
- http://teachersnetwork.org/NTOL/howto/develop/c13309,.htm
- You may also want to sign up for
a free NSTA account to create a portfolio
and
Professional
Development
plan.
Week
10 – 4/7/2011 – The Private Universe Project
Week
11 – 4/14/2011 –
Weekly updates, Interview highlights, Continue Working on
Digital Portfolio and Action Research Projects
NSTA
Student Chapter meeting 6:15pm to 7 pm
Activities
- This week's science news
- Earth Day (April 22, 2011)
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- Highlights from interviews
- Weekly updates, successes and challenges
- Work in pairs and provide feedback on digital portfolios
- Post a progress report on your Action Research Project on the
discussion board in BlackBoard.
- NSTA Student Chapter meeting from 6:15pm to 7pm
Week
12 – 4/21/2011 -
SPRING
RECESS
-
NO CLASS Please Work on
Digital Portolio and Review Projects
Activities:
- This week's science news
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- Post link to
digital portolios on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard
- Weekly
update: successes, challenges
Week
13 – 4/28/2011
– Please
Work
on
Digital
Portolio
and
Review
Projects
Motivating students to learn
science
Activities:
- Please take the following
survey for teachers.
- This week's science news
- Spring science ideas (Work in small groups to brainstorm
ideas for Spring science activities, post links to useful
resources.
- tornadoes
- prediction
- how
to measure speed
- safest
place in house?
- plant
reproduction
- flowers
- plant
reproduction
- seed
germination
- pollination
- dandelions
- solar power
- bird behavior
- hibernation
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- What is
motivation? What techniques can be used to motivate students
to want to learn science?
- Consider
the science curriculum you are currently teaching and make lists of the
following, and post them on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard:
- Science
topics you find boring and uninteresting
- Science
topics that your students find boring and uninteresting
- The
science topics that are most difficult for your students
- For
each item on the list, come up with at least one way to motivate
students and to get them interested in the topic . You can
work
in pairs or groups on each other's lists.
- Weekly
update: successes, challenges
Readings:
Reading:
Fostering Science Learning in Diverse Urban Settings by Ken
Tobin (Link in BlackBoard documents)
Week
14 – 5/5/2011 -Science
teaching in urban schools - Joys and Challenges
Activities:
- This week's science news
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- Student
chapter procedures guide
- Discussion of teaching science in diverse
urban settings using
examples from your classrooms
- Questions:
- How is teaching in an urban school
different from a suburban or rural school?
- What are the characteristics of urban
secondary school students?
- What science teaching strategies work
best with urban students?
- What science teaching strategies do not
work well with urban students?
- What city resources can you use to help
students learn science?
Useful
Links:
Reading:
Week
15 – 5/12/2011 – NYS
Certification, Questions and Answers, Professional
DevelopmentActivities:
Useful
links:
Readings
and
Extension activities:
Week
16 – 5/19/2011 -
>Interviews,
Resumes, and Getting a Teaching Job
Activities:
- This week's science news
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- Weekly
update: successes, challenges
Useful links:
Assignment
5
Due
Please complete the course
evaluationbefore
the last week
Week
17– 5/26/2011 – FINAL
EXAMINATIONS - PLEASE NOTE TIME
CHANGE: WE
WILL MEET FROM 4PM TO 6PM
Making Science Fun and Presentations of
Projects
Activities:
- This week's science news
- Great science demo's, activities, resources
- Think
back to your own science classes.
Make a list of the most enjoyable, fun science activities you
experienced. Post your list on the discussion board in
BlackBoard.
- For
the science topic you are currently teaching or that you will teach
soon, brainstorm ideas on how to make it fun and enjoyable.
- Discussion
questions:
- Should
science learning always be fun? Why or why not?
- What
are the best ways to make science learning fun?
- What
is and is not fun for urban students?
- Are
teachers' and students' ideas of fun the same? Why or why not?
- Weekly
update: successes, challenges
Useful
links:
Assignment
6
Due
Week
18 – 6/2/2011 – NO CLASS
COMMENCEMENT
TAKES
PLACE
ON
6/2/2011
E. ASSIGNMENTS,
DUE
DATES,
AND
GRADING
PLAN
Procedure
for submitting assignments:
1)
All
assignments
that
include
text:
- Post a copy on the Discussion
Board in
BlackBoard
- Submit an electronic version (a
Word document) using
the Assignments link in BlackBoard
- Upload your document to
docs.google.com and share with
qcscied@gmail.com
2)
If
your
assignment
is
on
the
web,
post
the
url
on
the
Discussion
Board
in
BlackBoard.
iIf
your
assignment
is
in
the
form
of
an
audio,
video
or image, attach the file to a posting on the discussion
board in BlackBoard.
Assignment
Description
|
Due
Date
|
Possible
Points
|
Assignment 1 –
Write a short desription of the school, the community, the
student body and the faculty.
|
2/10/2011
|
20
(5
points
each)
|
Assignment 2 –
Describe in detail the classroom learning environment where you are
student teaching. (Physical environment, students, teacher, class
rules, contracts, atmosphere, textbooks, review books, other)
|
2/24/2011
|
10
points
|
Assignment 3 –
Interview with your cooperating teacher or other experienced
science teacher, For the class you are teaching, interview (If
you
can, you might want to try out http://wetoku.com/
to record the interview) your cooperating teacher and
|
4/7/2011
|
20
(10
points
for
questions,
10
points
for
transcript,
video
or
audio
file)
|
Assignment 4 –
Weekly updates on successes, positive events, and challenges (Post
before or during Thursday class) (These can be video, audio or text
postings)
|
Due
weekly
|
10
points
each
week
for
a
total
of
160
points
|
Assignment 5 –
Action Research Project - Goal: improve student performance
on a
required assessment . Procedure: Design an Exam
Review aid
- create an original game, poster, model, video, activity, contest,
etc. that will help students review for a required assessment such as
the Regents exam. Test out your exam review aid with your
students.
|
5/12/2011
|
100
points
for
activity
10
points
for
presentation
|
Assignment 6
– Digital portfolio of examples of your work. Sign
up to for a free account to create a portfolio
and
Professional
Development
plan. Assemble a copy of your
digital portfolio using labeled files and folders and burn on a DVD.
|
5/19/2011
|
100
points
|
Participation
– Active participation in all class activities.
|
|
20
|
F.
FIELDWORK REQUIREMENTS -
None
G.
CUNY POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic
Dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is
punishable
by penalties, including failing grades,
suspension, and expulsion as provided at:
http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/provost/policies/index.html
H. ADA
Statement
Students with
disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1)
register with and provide documentation to the Special
Services Office, Kiely 171; (2) bring a letter to the
instructor indicating
the need for
accommodation and what type. This should
be done
during the first week of class. For more information about
services available
to Queens students
contact: Dr. Mirian Detres-Hickey, Special Services Office;
171 Kiely
Hall; 718 997-5870 (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). E-mail
address:
mdetres@yahoo.com
or to
mirian.detreshicky@qc.cuny.edu
I. USE OF
STUDENT WORK
All teacher education
programs in New York State undergo periodic
reviews by
accreditation agencies and the state education
department. For these purposes, samples
of students’ work are made available to those professionals
conducting the review. Student anonymity
is
assured under these circumstances. If you do not wish to have
your work made
available for these purposes, please let the professor
know before the start of the second class.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
J.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Atkin, J., & National Research
Council (U.S.). (2001). Classroom
assessment and the National Science Education Standards.
Washington
DC: National Academy Press.
Benchmarks Online ~ Project 2061 ~ AAAS. (n.d.). . Retrieved January
26, 2011, from
http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php?intro=true
Bransford, J. (2000). How people learn brain, mind, experience, and
school. Washington, D.C. :: National Academy Press,
Bybee,
R. W., Ed. 2002. Learning Science and the Science of Learning: Science
Educators' Essay Collection. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education. Committee
on Development of an Adddendum to the National Science Education
Standards on Scientific Inquiry. (2000). Inquiry and the national
science education standards : a guide for teaching and learning.
Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century
(U.S.);Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (U.S.).
(2007). Rising above the gathering storm : energizing and employing
America for a brighter economic future. Washington D.C.:
National
Academies Press.
Curwin,
R., and A. Mendler. 1988. Discipline with Dignity. Alexandria, VA.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Duschl, R., & National Research Council (U.S.).;National
Research
Council (U.S.).;National Research Council (U.S.). (2007). Taking
science to school : learning and teaching science in grades K-8.
Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.
Fulfilling the promise : biology education in the nation's schools.
(1990). . Washington: Natl Academy Press.
Glasser, R. 1989. Building Classroom Discipline. N.Y: Longman, Inc.
Glasser, W. 1998. The Quality School and The Quality School Teacher.
NY: HarperCollins.
Gollub, J., & National Research Council (U.S.).;National
Research
Council (U.S.). (2002). Learning and understanding : improving advanced
study of mathematics and science in U.S. high schools.
Washington DC:
National Academy Press.
Keeley,
P., F., Eberle, and J. Tugel. 2007. Uncovering Student Ideas in
Science: 25 More Formative Assessment Probes, Volume 2. Arlington, VA:
NSTA Press.
Kwan, T., and J. Texley. 2003. Inquiring Safely: A Guide for Middle
School Teachers. Arlington, VA : NSTA Press.
Kwan, T., J. Texley, and J. Summers. 2004. Investigating Safely: A
Guide for High School Teachers. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Michaels, S., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2008).
Ready,
set, science! : putting research to work in K-8 science classrooms.
Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). (1998). Teaching about evolution
and the nature of science. Washington DC: National Academy
Press.
National
Academy of Sciences (U.S.);Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2008).
Science, evolution, and creationism. Washington D.C.:
National
Academies Press.
National Research Council (U.S.). (1996).
National Science Education Standards : observe, interact, change,
learn. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
National Research Council (U.S.). (2004). Engaging schools : fostering
high school students' motivation to learn. Washington D.C.:
National
Academies Press.
Olson, S. (2009). Strengthening high school
chemistry education through teacher outreach programs : a workshop
summary to the chemical sciences roundtable. Washington D.C.:
National
Academies Press.
Pellegrino, J., & National Research Council
(U.S.). (2001). Knowing what students know : the science and design of
educational assessment. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
Resources for teaching middle school science. (1998). .
Washington DC: National Academy Press.
Rising
Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress Toward
a Brighter Economic Future. Summary of a Convocation. (n.d.). .
Retrieved January 25, 2011, from
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12537
Roberts,
D., C. Bove, and E.H. van Zee. (Eds). 2007. Teacher Research: Stories
of Learning and Growing. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Rosen, W., & National Research Council (U.S.). (1989).
High-school
biology : today and tomorrow. Washington D.C.: National
Academy Press.
Singer, S., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2006).
America's
lab report : investigations in high school science.
Washington DC:
National Academies Press.
Sprick, R. 1985. Discipline in the Secondary Classroom. West Nyack,
N.Y.: Center for Applied Research.
Tauber, R. T. 1990. Classroom Management from A to Z. Chicago: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston.
Thompson, J. (2011). Discipline survival guide
for the
secondary teacher (2nd ed.). San Francisco Calif.:
Jossey-Bass.
What is the influence of the national science education standards?
reviewing the evidence : a workshop summary. (2004). . Washington: Natl
Academy Press.
Wilson, M., & National Research Council (U.S.).
(2006). Systems for state science assessment. Washington DC:
National
Academies Press.
Wong,
H. K., Wong, R. T. 2004. The First Days Of School: How To Be An
Effective Teacher. Mountain View , CA : Harry K. Wong Publications, INC.