ED43A04: Design, Development, and Evaluation of an Integrated Mathematics and Science Course to Teac

1
ED43A-04 Design, Development, and Evaluation of
an Integrated Mathematics and Science Course to
Teach Earth System Science to Preservice Middle
School Teachers

• Paul Adams
• John Heinrichs
• Fort Hays State University
• padams_at_fhsu.edu
• Partial support for this work provided by the
  National Science Foundations CCLI Program under
  DUE0088818 and DUE0311042

2
Need

• Content courses are the model of how teachers
  will teach (Adams, 1996)
• Change can occur to inquiry focused,
  investigative, challenging content IF
  opportunities are provided to challenge
  preservice teachers paradigm of science and
  mathematics teaching (Adams, 2005, Adams, 1996)

3
Course Structure

• Course divided into 2 parts Content (Cycles)
  and Research (self-directed)
• Build both content and process knowledge from a
  cross-disciplinary perspective
• Course Development Team
• Paul Adams, Physics Education
• John Heinrichs, Geosciences
• Germaine Taggart, Education
• Karen Hickman, Biology
• James Hohman, Chemistry
• Ervin Eltze, Mathematics and Computer Science
• External Evaluation Team
• Jerry Krockover (Purdue University)
• Donna Bogner (McREL)
• Nancy Talbot (retired middle school teacher)

4
Classroom Activities and Measures

• Weekly discussion board questions about science
  and mathematics issues related to the content
• Journaling to reflect on the course
• Pre/post test to assess content gains and
  perceptions of the class
• Position papers
• Reviews of research
• Learning cycle lessons based on Cycles of
  Nature
• Research project

5
Sample Cycles

• Biogeochemical Nitrogen or Carbon from rocks
  to stars
• Astronomy moon, sun, tides, seasons, and
  buffalo grass
• Sound strings, trains, whales, and FFT
• Water weather, ground, treatment
• Life from moths to stars
• Circulatory from chemistry to hearts
• Climate from astronomy to Antarctica

6
Sample Tool Skills

• Fermi Questions Powers of Ten (Taggart et. al.,
  2007)
• Use of data collection and analysis technologies
• Graphic organizers and structured knowledge
  inquiry
• Reading and interpreting scientific literature
• Statistical analysis and hypothesis testing
• Developing an investigation
• Scientific writing and presentations

7
Sample Research Investigations

• UV Impact on Plant Growth
• Influences on water quality
• Bottled water quality
• Atmospheric composition and plant development
• Musical instrument tonal quality
• Ethanol toxicity impacts on goldfish

8
Impact on Students

• Ups
• Greater acceptance of inquiry modes of teaching
• Improved ability to design and conduct an
  investigation (Hohman et. al., 2006 Taggart et.
  al., 2007)
• Enhanced understanding of the Nature of Science
  (Hohman et. al., 2006)
• Downs
• Frustration with transdisciplinary thinking
• Teaching style was not appreciated by all
• Range of backgrounds was a challenge

9
Impact on Faculty

• Knowledge of pedagogical models and approaches,
  overcoming resistance to buzzwords
• Model for development Cognitive Apprenticeship
  (Hendricks, 2001 Collins et. al., 1989)
• Substantive shifts in faculty perceptions of
  teaching from transference to construction
• Commitment to education was a key motivator
• Greatest benefit may be transference to other
  courses

10
External Evaluator Observations

• The professional growth exceeded facultys
  own expectations. It was almost a unanimous
  opinion that inquiry-based learning was a viable
  instructional strategy, not only for this
  particular course, but also in other courses they
  were teaching.
• The progress from the original baseline
  teaching was evidenced by a truly outstanding
  transition from lecture and demonstration to
  authentic inquiry-based teaching strategies.

11
Lasting Impact

• Course materials are continuing to be used in new
  contexts
• Core principles of the course are being applied
  to existing and proposed new courses
• Course is now a required element for middle
  school teachers in mathematics and science
• Two refereed publications, numerous presentations

12
Selected References

• Adams, P. E. (2005). A cycle for curriculum
  improvement of preservice elementary teacher
  preparation in the sciences. Presented at the
  annual meeting of the Association for the
  Education of Teachers in Science, Colorado
  Springs, CO, January 21, 2005.
• Adams, P.E. (1996). A case study of the
  development of four science teachers. West
  Lafayette, IN Purdue University.
• BSCS, Winter 2005. The Natural Selection.
  Colorado Springs, CO Author.
• Bybee, R.W., Stage, E. (2005 Winter). No
  country left behind. Issues in Science and
  Technology, Winter 2005, 69-75.
• Collins, A., Brown, J. S., Newman, S. (1989).
  Cognitive apprenticeship Teaching students the
  craft of reading, writing, and mathematics. In
  L. Resnik (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and
  instruction Essays in honor of Robert Glaser
  (pp. 453-493). Hillsdale, NJ Erlbaum.
• Hendricks, C. C. (2001). Teaching causal
  reasoning through cognitive apprenticeship What
  are results from situated learning? Journal of
  Educational Research, 94(5), 302 311.
• Hohman, J., Adams, P., Taggart, G., Heinrichs,
  J., Hickman, K. (2006). A "Nature of Science"
  Discussion Connecting Mathematics and Science.
  Journal of College Science Teaching, September,
  18-21.
• Marshall, R. (2005a). The science and
  engineering of education in a high performance
  economy. Presented at the annual meeting of the
  Association for the Education of Teachers in
  Science, Colorado Springs, CO, January 22, 2005.
• Marshall, J. (2005b). Bridging from status quo
  to excellence in secondary science education.
  Presented at the annual meeting of the
  Association for the Education of Teachers in
  Science, Colorado Springs, CO, January 22, 2005.
• Taggart, G., Adams, P., Eltze, E., Heinrichs, J.,
  Hohman, J., Hickman, K. (2007). Fermi
  questions. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle
  School, 13(3), 164-167.
• Various theories that explain the acquisition of
  surgical skills traditional and cognitive
  apprenticeship models (2002). Current problems
  in surgery, 39(6), 600-601.
• For more information, contact Paul Adams
  (padams_at_fhsu.edu)