LBST 361B Science

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LBST 361BScience Society

• COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
• ICP Semester 4 - Science

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ASSIGNMENTS

• ABSOLUTE scoring system make points
• A series of primarily low-stakes efforts
• THERE WILL BE LITTLE to NO feedback in the course
• (hint the course is about YOUR learning, not
  mine)
• ELEMENTS
• Journals (30) Weekly entries
• Science Experiences (20) Beginning End
• Papers (20) 4 through the semester
• Capstone Project (30) project across all ICP
  courses

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ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSIONS

• EVERYTHING (except for your project notebook and
  project and self evaluations) is required to be
  public what I see, everyone else sees.
• To allow this everything is
• SUBMITTED via EMAIL to the course list-serve
• ICP-?_at_csusm.edu (?cohort label)
• Each student should subscribe to the list
• email a blank message to ICP-?-request_at_csusm.edu
• In the subject head put the word subscribe
• It is a lot of email, so make sure your email
  account can handle it
• Does NOT have to be your CSUSM account
• NOTE BE AWARE, there are no restrictions on who
  subscribes to the list. It is a public forum for
  public discussions of science, the course, and
  the semester.
• The list will remain in operation at the end of
  the semester for your use

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JOURNALS (30)

• WEEKLY SUBMISSION to the list-serve
• NO MAKEUP FOR ANY MISSED JOURNALS (this is an
  exercise in discipline).
• One critical lessons for professional preparation
  is the need for routine and continuous engagement
  of the critical elements of your world. For the
  purposes of the University this means your
  classes.
• NOTE. Students who are NOT engaged cannot do this
  exercise throughout the 15 week semester. In past
  semesters, students have woken up and tried to
  have work done at the last minute count. This
  puts those students who have engaged the course
  and done the work at a significant disadvantage.
• I will NOT respond to the journals.
• If I respond to entries, they will be written for
  me, not for yourself.

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JOURNALS DATA (grist for the mill)

• Journals are primarily reactions/responses to the
  core course components. Think about this activity
  as a diary of the class (and of the semester).
• (a) to the readings
• (b) the class discussion
• (c) the science cluster of courses.
• EVERYTHING that happens in S4 is data that you
  need to figure out how to analyze for yourselves.
  
• There are no right or wrong answers, BUT
  there is clearly a CORRECT and an INCORRECT
  process.
• You should be able to distinguish qualities and
  answer basic questions about the commitment to
  the work
• REMEMBER the primary interest of the course is
  the problem of learning (thinking about thinking)

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JOURNAL EVLUATIONS

• The journal evaluation is based on the NES
  (National Evaluation System) holistic
  assessment method
• 1. PARTIALLY MEETS the assignment
• Minimum requirement is to substantively address
  course content (readings and/or discussion)
• 2. MOSTLY MEETS the assignment
• Begin to be able to use course content in new
  ways
• 3. COMPLETELY MEETS the assignment
• NES controls CSET and RICA and the method is
  used to assess the written portions of the tests.

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EVLUATION NOTE

• In order to enable frank discussion, statements
  made will not be taken personally
• If I cant take criticism, I should not be in
  front of the class.
• We all say things in the moment, thats life.
• What I want to emphasize, especially for
  assessment purposes, is that statements need to
  be backed by argument and with evidence (in order
  to count beyond the partially met criteria).
• For the most part, feelings dont count.
• Feelings are the starting point you can (and
  should) use them to help direct further
  investigation.
• Blanket statements do not help anyone (and we are
  forced in to polemic positions), because all we
  can do is agree or disagree (without knowing the
  why).
• We also know that over time positions change.
• What I want to be able to see is how you change
  your thinking over time.

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SCIENCE EXPERIENCE (20)

• These essays are so you can analyze your science
  experience so you can gain a better insight into
  who you are and your own practices.
• Initial reflections on Science (2)
• Response, reflection, and action plan (3)
• Preparation for Science Fair (what and why) (2)
• Science Fair (what happened and why) (3)
• There is a TIMELINE here. The task is to give you
  a reality check on what you want to do (and why).
  This reality will then be compared to what
  happens. The exercise does you no good AFTER the
  fact .

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EXPERIENCE Science Past (5)

• Initial reflections on Science (2)
• A short (1-2 pages) on your past experience with
  science. What were they like? How did that affect
  your interest in science? Where are those
  interests now? How do you expect that experience
  to impact your attitudes and practices this
  semester?
• DUE end of first week of class. NO LATE PAPERS
• Response, reflection, and action plan (3)
• Given what you wrote in exercise 1, you need to
  come up with a response to your experience, and
  an implementation plan for how you plan to
  address science education. How do you anticipate
  using science in your future classroom?
• DUE end of second week of class. NO LATE PAPERS

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EXPERIENCE Science Fair (5)

• Preparation for Science Fair (what and why) (2)
• This is a short-take on what you expect to happen
  in your science fair.
• What do you plan to do?
• Why did you choose it?
• What do you expect the student response to be?
• Due no later than 10 AM day of science fair (see
  EDMS course)
• Science Fair (what happened and why) (3)
• This is a short-take on what happened at the
  science fair.
• Did you have to modify your plans?
• Why did you have to do it (how many times)?
• What did you rely on in order to adapt/survive
  the experience?
• MOST IMPORTANTLY do you have an analysis?
• Due the MONDAY after the science fair before
  class.

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SELF ASSESSMENT (10)

• This should not be an exercise in fluff
  (cheerleading oneself, or the instructor).
• Look at your PORTFOLIO of work for the semester
• Review what you wrote at baseline (Science
  Experience 1 2).
• The journals should give you data on your
  thinking over the semester.
• The Everest exercise and the writings should give
  you data on your learning process and growth
  points.
• The science fair and capstone project (along with
  the labs in ID381) should give you data points on
  your engagement with science
• You need to discuss any changes (or non-changes)
  that occurred.
• The theory readings should help frame a serious
  self-analysis.
• ASK YOURSELF, could I have done things
  differently, and what would the results have
  been?
• DUE LAST DAY OF FINALS.
• NO LATE FINAL ASSESSMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

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SHORT PAPERS

• Papers assignments have evolved
• Need to thank previous cohorts
• Initially an act of policing (making sure you
  read the books)
• Formalized into documenting your learning (based
  on the level of work and commitment)
• The idea is to see if prospective teachers can
  begin to conceptualize an analytic framework for
  thinking about student learning.

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Paper 1 Everest 1 (2)

• READ JOE SIMPSONs Dark Shadows Falling
• what can you say about the allure of the
  mountains like Everest
• how does this inform what you know about the
  mountain?
• What did you walk away with?
• Does the exercise allow you to develop any other
  insight into science and scientific thought and
  action?
• Does the exercise elicit any insight or interest
  in the phenomenon called Everest?
• What do you think you could say to a K-8 class
  (would you say anything?
• If not, why not.
• If so, pick two class levels and relate it.
• Does the exercise give you any insight into
  current events or interest of the phenomenon
  called Everest?
• If you can, link it to a current event in the
  media, and identify if and how you would
  structure the discussion differently explain
  your answers, answer the why would you choose to
  do that? question). The issue here is to develop
  concept and application.

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Paper 2 Everest 2 (5)

• AFTER reading BOTH Krakauer and Boukreev, what
  can you now say about Everest 1996?
• What does the comparison between Krakauer report
  (1999) and Bourkreevs retort (2004) tell us
  about how our understanding of events?
• How does this change your understanding from P1
  (Simpson)?
• What does this tell us about how we understand
  the application of science?
• What does this tell us about how we understand
  progress or scientific development?
• Can we begin to see any differences between how
  novices and experts view the world?

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Paper 3 BLEND 1 (5)

• After reading Bruer, you need to start building a
  theory of learning and outlining some ideas
  about how you can think about doing science
  (among other things) in our future classrooms.
• USE Maria Coffeys perspective (as an informed
  observer)
• In Bruer, what did you learn?
• What was interesting?
• What would you steal?
• What would you want to forget?
• Given what you have read, seen, and heard, about
  EVEREST can you go one step further begin to
  develop a framework to talk or teach about
  Everest?
• Identify some of the issues that appear to be
  important.
• What are some of the broader issues that are
  reshape by these presentations on Everest 1996
  (look at your Everest 1 2 papers).
• Develop an analysis of at least ONE of element
  that is important to you.
• Include in your discussion how that element
  shapes and is shaped other elements around it.

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Paper 3 BLEND 2 (8)

• This takes the idea of a theory of learning one
  step further.
• Fauconnier and Turner present a framework for
  thinking about thinking.
• Using what you know and recognizing your own
  strengths how can begin address the learning
  environment.
• Identify an empirical example (a problem) and use
  it as an example
• Your learning about Everest IS an example.
  Everest is a powerful metaphor that carries
  many different meanings. It can be represented in
  many different ways.
• Flynn provides an important insight into
  assumptions, reality and learning on Everest.
• If you can, use your knowledge about Everest from
  reading Simpson, Krakauer, Boukreev, and Coffey
  (or any of the other myriad of texts like
  Breshears or Viesturs).
• The CAPSTONE project and Science Fair are other
  empirical examples.
• If possible, try and apply this understanding to
  these other events. For example, can it help
  explain how you got to where your are in your
  FINAL project (is there a relationship?).
• Look at the multiple dimensions of the problem
  and your problem solving and try to address its
  complexities
• ltTRANSFERENCEgt
• how can the problem be addressed across different
  domains (e.g. standards),
• what kinds of scaffolds are reflected by applying
  the phenomenon
• ltSCALINGgt
• Is it possible to take what you do best (whether
  its science or visual art) and show how you can
  use this frame a new understanding of the problem
  in different settings
• what assumptions are built into the scaffold as
  you move from 1st grade to 6th grade.
• It is about stepping back and examining your
  learning.

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FINAL PROJECT (30)

• This project will be developed in conjunction
  with the other courses in the integrated science
  curriculum (science content and science
  pedagogy).
• Problem specified in other courses
• The fact-base is derived in these other courses
• Students will be expected to use some of the
  basic analytic tools and key concepts provided in
  this course to highlight why that problem is
  interesting and important to the world.
• There are FIVE evaluation components for the
  final project
• (a) project reports, 5
• (b) project notebook, 5
• (c) the project paper, 5
• (d) project presentation, 5
• (e) project evaluations, 10

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Project Reports (5)

• These were instituted to try to keep students on
  track. We know successful projects require
  commitment and time. Doing an experiment only
  once (or only making a single observation) does
  not result in anything of real interest.
• Problem, Preliminary Hypotheses, And Statement Of
  Social Relevance (1)
• USE your proposal for ID381. Essentially, what
  are you looking at and why? What are the possible
  explanations of what you see? This is fairly
  straight forward and speculative, and is designed
  to make you think about your background knowledge
  (scaffold) on the problem and come up with
  possible answers that you will test. If you
  cannot make sense of the problem, then you
  probably shouldnt be doing it. This is assigned
  as part of ID381 (send the list a copy what you
  turn in)
• Proposed Division Of Labor And Timeline For The
  Project (2)
• ONE WEEK AFTER submitting your proposal. The
  group needs to develop a group work plan and
  project timeline. There are different ways for
  any group to accomplish the same task, and there
  are multiple timelines. For some projects this is
  fairly obvious (or constrained), for others it is
  more complicated.
• Introduction, Literature Review, And Working
  Hypotheses (1)
• This is assigned as part of ID381 (send the list
  a copy what you turn in)
• Preliminary Data And Modified Hypotheses (1)
• This is assigned as part of ID381 (send the list
  a copy what you turn in)

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Project Notebook (5)

• Every student needs to keep a notebook on the
  project.
• The notebook has to be bought as a BOUND
  notebook.
• The notebook is a record of what you did, what
  you thought about, etc.
• Every time you meet, all the notes that go into
  preparing for the meeting, during the meeting,
  and after the meeting should be there EVEN the
  doodles, the side comments, etc.
• YOU do not tear out pages, bored doodles etc are
  a part of every scientific notebook (its life, we
  do get bored sometimes).
• You can staple in other materials but
  everything needs to be dated (such as emails, if
  you feel insecure, you can simply reference such
  documents as existing).
• The use of notebooks establishes the evidence
  that you did certain work that you report on.
• Notebooks are your own personal journals of the
  project and no two notebooks should be the
  same.
• ICP faculty (could be in other classes) might ask
  to review your notebooks during the semester.
• PHYSICALLY TURNED IN AFTER YOUR PRESENTATION

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Project Paper (5)

• PROBLEM (1)
• what is the problem, the question that needs to
  be answered and why it is significant, and what
  approach will be used to understand and solve
  the problem.
• Science CONTEXT (1)
• Place the science content in context, in order
  for it to make sense.
• The definition of context is not fixed and is
  dependent on the problem and the level of
  analysis.
• Relegating this discussion to simply the
  introduction or conclusion is not good enough.
• You need to be able to articulate an answer to
  the questions
• Why are you doing this? Why is it important? Who
  would care? How does everything you did make
  sense?
• Science SCAFFOLD (1)
• Your group needs to address the relevant
  background knowledge needed for the project.
• What other supporting frames in the scaffold
  can be used.
• How does the plan feed down stream into other
  science standards (not just your grade level but
  other grade levels).
• You should be able to answer questions about what
  background knowledge needs to be in place BEFORE
  the lesson/unit can happen.
• Science in ACTION (1)
• What did you do?
• How did you do to get your data?
• Where did you get your data?
• When did you get your data?
• How did you analyze your data?

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Project Presentation (5)

• The evaluation will look at several things
• command of CONTENT
• group competence and cohesion
• What is the relevance of your project for the
  real world?
• Who cares about it ? (answer the so what?
  question)
• EMPHASIS on your project practices
• What was your data (and why was it chosen)?
• Where did you get your data?
• How did you get your data?
• When did you get your data?
• All the group members will not necessarily
  receive the same set of points.

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EVALUATION (10)

• The ability to conduct CRITICAL EVALUATIONS is an
  important skill to learn.
• Good evaluation requires is not simple
• Not simply the ability to see what others do,
• BUT also recognizing your contributions to
  outcome.
• You need to come to terms with the complexity of
  your life
• The implications of the choices YOU make
• Ramifications of what you choose to do when you
  are under stress
• Teaching is not simply judging your students
  outcomes.
• You need to understand in substantive terms how
  your actions contribute to a result.
• You also need to recognize what other
  grade-level teachers are doing, and how that
  frames your own outcome.
• You need to recognize the contributions of the
  upstream learning environments, and the impact
  you have downstream

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About EVALUATION

• Often called after action reports
• The exercises are designed so we can learn how to
  do things better
• Developed in the military, these are important in
  training (and in the field)
• if lessons are not learned, people dont come
  home (period, no ifs, ands or buts).
• In corporate America, failure impacts the bottom
  line.
• This has to begin to happen in education
• because of the costs of high-stakes testing,
• events in one classroom have long-term outcome
  for the student and the system.
• At this stage of your academic development, doing
  this correctly means
• feelings dont count it HAS to be open and
  honest.
• It is not about diplomacy, saying things in ways
  so feelings are not hurt.
• You want to become professionals
• You are all skilled at diplomatically ignoring
  your own and your colleagues faults.
• You need to (re)learn how to be honest, to be
  responsible, and to take honest criticism.
• Not focusing on success, but on the negatives
• Success is important but you want to get better
• we learn from our mistakes not from our success
• If something could be different, what was it and
  what would have happened?
• If something did not work, that has pointed out

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Capstone Evaluation

• EVERYONE needs to turn in a SEPARATE project
  evaluation of the capstone
• The goal is to really think and learn from what
  happened
• Can be submitted to the List or privately
• Critically assess the project
• How successful was it?
• identify success as well as problem areas,
• Locate places where you could have done something
  different.
• Identify 3 key outcomes of the project and
  articulate why they are important for your own
  educational goals.
• Discuss how this is relevant for student learning
  in your future classroom.
• Evaluate your groups performance
• Look at the work plan and division of labor
• How closely was it followed? What worked? What
  did not work?
• Assess your impact on your groups performance.
• What did you really do? How did that contribute?
• Assess your group members and their contributions
  
• How did they impact overall group dynamics?
• RANK the group members
• Someone will ALWAYS come out lower than someone
  else.
• Its a cruel world and no one wants to do this.
  But you need to learn how to discriminate
  performances AND to accept responsibility and
  give criticisms