science curriculum redesign team

The objective of the Science Curriculum Redesign Team is to increase preservice teachers' knowledge of urban student populations and develop the performance skills and strategies needed to succeed in science education in K-8 inner city school environments.

Specifically, the team will be restructuring USTU 311 Science Concepts and Perspectives in Elementary Schools and EDUC 412 Teaching Science in the Elementary and Middle School.

The following changes were implemented in the summer of 2000 and will be incorporated into the syllabus for the fall semester, 2000.

• Provide an orientation to the goals and objective of the Urban Impact Grant
• Identify the major aspects of multicultural education that are an integral part of specified science and environmental education programs such as Project Learning Tree (PLT) and Project WETT (WETT)
• Provide formal instruction in at least two models for the use of learning cycles for the organization and implementation of instruction while demonstrating the advantages of using such models in multicultural learning environments.
• Require the use of learning style format for designing lessons in science and environmental education that will be taught through a field placement experience at local schools. Note: UTC students will be placed in a grade K-3 setting or a grade 4-8 setting. Only the latter will be considered a part of the Urban Impact Grant.
• Provide a walkthrough for both PLT and WETT
• Demonstrate selected activity from PLT and conduct Water H₂Olympics for project WETT
• Participate in a one hour orientation and observation experience at an assigned field placement school
• Working in teams of two teachers, two lessons from PLT and two lessons from WETT

Note: approximately 12 hours of instruction are associated with the Project WETT and Project Learning Tree experiences.

The intial reports from the summer exercises have been promising. The PLT and WETT lessons engage and motivate students at the same time supplying relevant science information and conceptualization. Observers noted a rapid increase in the maturity of student teachers. Their classroom management skills and methods of translating information into forms useable by students were both greatly improved.

For more information on the lessons, visit our Project Learning Tree and Project WETT pages.