Return to Homepage

 

BIOL 315 LABORATORY TECHNIQUES IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2 sh

Spring 2011

 

I.         INSTRUCTOR

 

            Paul J. Bischoff

            Office: HUEC 224

            Phone: 436-2613

            e-mail: bischopj@oneonta.edu

 

 

Class Meets Tuesdays 9-10:50

 

Required Texts:

 

1. Prentice Hall Living Environment Biology Books and Teacher Curriculum Materials

are loaned, free of charge.

 

2. The National Science Education Standards: Available on-line @

http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/overview.html

 

3. New York State Living Environment Core Curriculum: Available on-line:

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/pub/livingen.pdf

 

4. Useful link to Regents Information

 

http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/scire/sciarch/livenvtestja03.pdf

 

http://regentsprep.org/Regents/biology/biology.cfm

 

 

 

II.      COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

Field and laboratory studies of the materials, specific techniques and safety aspects appropriate in the secondary biology classroom-laboratory. Designed for secondary biology majors but open to any biology major interested in teaching.

 

III.      COURSE RATIONALE

 

The goal of this course, to help prepare pre-service adolescent biology education candidates for the world of classroom teaching, reflects the expectations of the National Science Education Standards and the New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology. Recognizing the national need for qualified science teachers and the current reform initiatives in secondary science education, this course will emphasize the development of participants’ skills in developing, facilitating and evaluating laboratory activities appropriate for secondary school biology teaching. Major emphasis will focus on the candidates ability to teach through inquiry. Applications on assessment strategies and teaching methodologies will also be integral parts of the course. The NSTA performance Standards Addressed by this course are identified below.

*Rubrics and other tools for assessing candidates performance on each of these NSTA Standards is attached at the end of this syllabus.

 

Standard 1 Content

 

1.a.  Know and understand the major concepts and principles of the teaching discipline(s) as defined by state and national standards of the science education community.

1.b.  Know and understand major concepts and principles unifying science disciplines.

Standard 2 Nature of Science

 

2.a.  Know and understand the philosophical nature of science and the conventions of scientific explanation.

2.b.  Engage K-12 students effectively in studies of the nature of science and conventions of scientific explanation.

Standard 3 Inquiry

3.a.  Know and understand scientific inquiry and its relationship to the development of scientific knowledge.

3.b.  Engage K-12 students effectively in scientific inquiry appropriate for their grade level and abilities.

Standard 4 Context of Science

4.a.  Know and understand the relationship of science to other human values and endeavors.

Standard 5 Skills of Teaching

5.a.  Use diverse and effective actions, strategies and methodologies to teach science.

5.d.  Use advanced technology to teach K-12 students science.

Standard 6 Curriculum

6.a.  Develop coherent, meaningful goals, plans, and materials and find resources.

6.b.  Relate plans and resources to professionally-developed state and national standards, including the National Science Education Standards.

6.c.  Plan and develop science curriculum addressing the needs, interests and abilities of all preK-12 students.

Standard 7 Social Context

7.a.  Know and understand the values and needs of the community and their effect on the teaching and learning of science.

7.b.  Use community human and institutional resources to advance the learning of science in the classroom and field.

Standard 8 Assessment

 

8.a. Align science goals, instruction and outcomes.

8.b.  Know and use a variety of contemporary science assessment strategies to determine preK-12 student needs and levels of learning and  development.

Standard 9 Environment for Learning

9.b.  Manage the activities and materials of science safely in storage areas, labs and field.

9.c.  Keep and use living organisms as in the classroom in a safe, ethical and appropriate manner.

Standard 10 Professional Practice

10.c.  Engage in reflective practices and make continuous efforts to improve in practice.

 

IV.      COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

The course objectives and outcomes of BIOL 315 are framed by the National Science Education Standards, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Standards for Science Teacher Education and are similarly aligned with the SUNY-College Conceptual Framework.

As a result of participation in this course students will be able to:

1. Plan and implement data-based Living Environment activities requiring students to reflect upon their findings, make inferences, and link new ideas to preexisting knowledge. 

2. Know and understand scientific inquiry and its applications to teaching in the life sciences.

3. Plan Living Environment lessons that will effectively engage students in understanding the Nature of Science and the conventions of scientific explanations.

4. Develop lesson plans that deliberately connect the New York State Living Environment Standards to human values and endeavors.

5. Be able to describe the learning outcomes of varying science teaching methodologies including concept mapping, direct instruction, guided discovery, learning cycles, and inquiry teaching.

6. Devise evaluation instruments, including rubrics for laboratory instruction that will reflect an understanding of content as well as test and measure concepts

7. Read, report and apply current research issues in science education.

8.  Demonstrate knowledge of and ability to use technology to teach parts of the Living Environment Curriculum.

9. Devise lesson plans that deliberately accommodate interests and abilities of all students.

10. Plan lessons that deliberately help students understand the important contributions that minorities and women have made to science.

11. Select and use various models for teaching about controversial, problematic and value-oriented issues.

12. Critically analyze and adapt existing materials and technology.

13. Articulates long-term and short-term planning strategies that show an understanding of standards, and the connectedness of common themes within the Living Environment Core Curriculum and the NSES.

14. Design a safety plan for facilities, materials, and learners in science classrooms that addresses legal issues of science safety.

15. Report on the ethical considerations of keeping and using animals in science classrooms.

V.     Course Topics

 

VI.     Instructional Methods and Activities

Instructional methods and activities of this course fall within the following categories. Traditional Experiences: lecture/discussion, demonstrations, and written assignments.

Student demonstrations and or presentations.

Graded Assignments:

1. Inquiry Project, Due March 2nd.

Part A. Write a 2-3  page paper on the topic of inquiry and teaching biology.

Some useful sources include: Science For All Americans, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards among others.

http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/sfaatoc.htm

 

Part B. Then, your are hired to teach high school science and you want to require your students to complete a long-term research project where they can hone their inquiry skills and experience science much like biologists do.

Prepare the assignment for distribution to a group of high school students. Your main goal here is to develop an informative, motivational and clear assignment.

Due March 22

Rubric #4: T

Requirement Inadequate (0 points) Adequate (25-points) Exemplary (50-points)
Part A.  Know and understand scientific inquiry and its relationship to the development of scientific knowledge.

 Understands the central role inquiry must play in science teaching

Essay does not clearly convey an understanding of inquiry. Essay describes the relationship of inquiry to science teaching and describes the expectations of the science education community concerning instructing through inquiry. Essay defines inquiry as understood by the science education community and the documents of the National Research Council. Essay describes the scientific thinking skills central to inquiry. Essay describes the importance of facilitating science instruction through inquiry oriented teaching. The essay indicates shows personal insights and indicates that you have internalized and synthesized the readings into a cogent understanding.
Part B. The assignment is unclear or messy. It is not well organized. Instructions and assessments are either missing or poorly developed. You have 5 long term inquiry projects developed.

You have a 1-page sheet outlining the main requirements.

Your project resource manual is started but there is still some room for increased clarity.
You have 5 long term inquiry projects developed. You have identified the materials needed and these are likely to be found in a high school biology lab.

You have a 1-page sheet outlining the main requirements.

You have developed a small pamphlet or "project resource manual" with details of the requirements, ideas and helpful hints to get started, and a series of rubrics useful in guiding the students' projects and in evaluating their work.

You have researched "how to engage students in long term inquiry projects and incorporated those ideas into your work.

 

2. Presentations: You are required to deliver 5 interactive presentations. Each presentation must be accompanied by a lesson plan. Follow the lesson plan format provided in the student teaching handbook. The interactive presentations must deliberately address the following:

The presentations should be about 15 minutes: these are not full class lessons but abbreviated versions for the college class.

Submit the lesson plan and the reflection the week following the presentation. This will enable you to make improvements before submission. 

 

Due on 2/1; 2/15; 3/8; 3/29 and 4/12

 

Rubric to help you plan your interactive presentations: Each presentation is worth 20 points.

Total for this part of the course is 100 points. 20 X  5 = 100

 

Rubric #5

 

  Poor (1-point) Satisfactory (3-points) Exemplary (5-points)
Lesson Plan Sloppy, does not represent best effort in addressing all components as identified in lesson plan format. Represents good effort at addressing all components of lesson plan format. Particular attention taken in aligning goals, instruction and assessment. Highly detailed plan and creative in presentation. Assessments may include well developed rubrics. You closely followed the lesson plan outline in the student teaching manual.
Inquiry Component Really a teacher directed lesson. The students follow the teachers lead and the asking and identifying ways to answer questions is not central to the lesson. Your lesson has some attributes of inquiry (there are many) like observing, data collecting and data analyzing but the lesson does not allow for individuals to ask questions or create novel ways to complete the task. You have identified the inquiry attributes on the lesson plan and they are central to the thrust of the lesson. In an exemplary inquiry oriented lesson, the pupils will generate questions from observations or experiences and then design ways to come to know the answers to the questions. Ideally inquiry has a personal component to it. That is individuals may seek to discover different things. Lesson is highly creative and employs modern teaching strategies (coop learning, learning cycle, jigsaw, etc.)
Class Involvement Primarily a lecture or direct instruction lesson Some class involvement but mostly a teacher centered lesson High levels of participation necessary for the lessons success. Learners must use varied levels of thinking including data collection, analysis and synthesis. Application of Inquiry skills is essential to the lessons success.
Reflection Focuses on the teacher only and not the learning that occurred. Focuses on both teaching and learning and identifies strengths of the lesson. An insightful reflection focusing on strengths and shows student has identified ways to improve the lesson.

 

3.. Pick one topic in the living environment curriculum and develop a one-week unit plan (about 5 lessons). Think Monday through Friday.

Due May 3rd..

  1. Title page

  2. Overview statement describing your philosophy about teaching and learning and how that philosophy is enacted in the unit plan.

  3. Page 3 is a chart like shown below.

  4. A series of 5 logically sequenced lessons. Follow the standard format.

  5. Develop assessments. Each major objective needs to be assessed. .

                                  Organizational Matrix for number 3 above.

Lesson Title Key Content Issues Scientific Inquiry Skills Unifying Concepts Technology Personal/Social Perspectives Other 
             
             
             
             
             

 

Table summarizing the course requirements and due dates.

Assignment Due Dates Points
Inquiry Project Due March 2nd 100
Lesson Presentations 5 selected dates 20 points each = 100
5 day plan April 27th 100 points

 

VII.     EVALUATION AND GRADE ASSIGNMENT

A = 95% of 300 = 285

A-  = 90% of 300

B+ = 85% of 300

B = 80% of 300 = 240

B- = 78% of 300

C+ = 75% of 300

C = 70% of 300  = 210

D = 60% of 300

E = <60% of 300  = 177

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References for Further Reading

 

American Association for the Advancement of Science: Project 2061. Science for All Americans. 1990. New York, N.Y. Oxford University Press.

 

Bereiter, C., and M. Scardamalia. 1989. Intentional learning as a goal of instruction. In Knowing, Learning, and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser, L.B. Resnick, ed.: 361-392. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

 

Brown, A. 1994.The advancement of learning. Presidential Address, American Educational Research Association. Educational Researcher, 23: 4-12.

 

Brown, A.L., and J.C. Campione. 1994. Guided discovery in a community of learners. In Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice, K. McGilly, ed.: 229-270. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

 

Bruer, J.T. 1993. Schools for Thought: A Science of Learning in the Classroom. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

 

Carey, S. 1985. Conceptual Change in Childhood. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

 

Carey, S., and R. Gelman, eds. 1991. The Epigenesis of Mind: Essays on Biology and Cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

 

Champagne, A.B. 1988. Science Teaching: Making the System Work. In This Year in School Science 1988: Papers from the Forum for School Science. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

 

Cohen, D.K., M.W. McLaughlin, and J.E. Talbert, eds. 1993. Teaching for Understanding: Challenges for Policy and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 

Darling-Hammond, L. 1992. Standards of Practice for Learner Centered Schools. New York: National Center for Restructuring Schools and Learning.

 

Harlen, W. 1992. The Teaching of Science. London: David Fulton Publishers.

 

Hassard, J. 1992. Minds on Science: Middle and Secondary School Methods. New York, N.Y: Harper Collins Publishers.

    

Leinhardt, G. 1993. On Teaching. In Advances in Instructional Psychology, R. Glaser ed., vol.4: 1-54. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

 

Loucks-Horsley, S., J.G. Brooks, M.O. Carlson, P. Kuerbis, D.P. Marsh, M. Padilla, H. Pratt, and K.L. Smith. 1990. Developing and Supporting Teachers for Science Education in the Middle Years. Andover, MA: The National Center for Improving Science Education.

 

 

 

Loucks-Horsley, S., M.O. Carlson, L.H. Brink, P. Horwitz, D.P. Marsh, H. Pratt, K.R. Roy, and K. Worth. 1989. Developing and Supporting Teachers for Elementary School Science Education. Andover, MA: The National Center for Improving Science Education.

 

McGilly, K., ed. 1994. Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

 

NBPTS (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards). 1991. Toward High and Rigorous Standards for the Teaching Profession: Initial Policies and Perspectives of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 3rd ed. Detroit, MI: NBPTS.

 

NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). 1991. Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics. Reston, VA: NCTM.

 

NRC (National Research Council). 1994. Learning, Remembering, Believing: Enhancing Human Performance, D. Druckman and R.A. Bjork, eds. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

 

NRC (National Research Council). 1990. Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

 

NRC (National Research Council). 1987. Education and Learning to Think, L.B. Resnick, ed. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

 

Schoen, D. 1987. Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 

Shulman, L.S. 1987. Knowledge and teaching foundations of the new reform. Harvard Education Review, 57 (1): 1-22