HR: 14:25h
AN: ED43A-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Design, Development, and Evaluation of an Integrated Mathematics and Science Course to Teach Earth System Science to Preservice Middle School Teachers
AU: Adams, P
EM: padams@fhsu.edu
AF: Fort Hays State University, 600 Park St, Hays, KS 67601,
AU: * Heinrichs, J
EM: jheinric@fhsu.edu
AF: Fort Hays State University, 600 Park St, Hays, KS 67601,
AB: Pre-service middle school teachers receive a mixed representation of science during their university education. Science disciplines and mathematics are taught with little attention to integration. Earth system science is seldom presented. Fort Hays State University (FHSU) has addressed this issue through the development of an Integrated Mathematics and Science Course (development partially supported through National Science Foundation's CCLI Program under DUE#0088818 and DUE#0311042). The course was designed by an interdisciplinary team using a "cycles-of-nature" theme to integrate across earth and space science, physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. Several of the themes were earth system science based (e.g. Climate Cycles, Seasonal Cycles, Geophysical Cycles). The course also incorporated statistical analysis of data, estimations, and reading scientific literature. To promote pre-service teachers abilities to do authentic science, six to eight weeks of the fifteen week course were utilized for the preservice teachers to design, conduct, and present a self-designed research project based on the content of the course. Evaluation data from the course indicated that it was successful in a) changing university faculty perceptions of teaching science, b) illustrating novel approaches to preservice teachers, c) improving an understanding of the nature of science in preservice teachers, and d) increasing the preservice teachers understanding of the integrated nature of science.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0830 Teacher training
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting