Science Education (ESCI) 4430, Fall 2008 Dr. David F. Jackson, Associate Professor
Science Curriculum for the Middle Grades University of Georgia
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 11:15-12:05 212 Aderhold Hall, (706) 542-4637
215 Aderhold Hall
corequisite: EDMS 5020
pre- or corequisite: GEOL 4750/6750 or equivalent 		djackson@uga.edu
Ms. Amber Jarrard, Teaching Assistant
ajrod@uga.edu

Course description, from UGA Bulletin:
Examination and selection of science curriculum materials and assessments. Evaluating and reformulating materials for relevance to middle grades classrooms. Special attention to examples and problems drawn from the life, earth, and environmental sciences.

Text materials will be extensive and will consist not of a textbook but of photocopied material drawn from a wide variety of sources, in accordance with accepted Educational Fair Use guidelines. A large (at least 2 inch) three-ring binder for them is highly advisable. For those who are interested in further detail, a library of the entire books from which these readings are drawn will be continously built and maintained in Room 215 during the semester for reference and informal lending.

The specific schedule will be determined, week-to-week and day-to-day, based on the progress and input of the class, the occasional availability of field experience opportunities or guest instructors, coordination with GEOL 4750 or EDMS 5020 activities, and, in the case of several outdoor lab activities, the weather. Although the issues considered in this course are inherently interrelated, topics will be first introduced approximately in the order in which they are listed as objectives below, so this list can also be considered a crude topical outline for the course.

A web site for the course may be accessed at http://djackson.myweb.uga.edu//ESCI4430.html and will be continuously developed and revised during the semester. To allow for maximum flexibility/responsiveness in teaching approach and emphasis, daily updates listing activities, readings, and assignments will typically be posted within a few hours immediately following (only partially and tentatively before) each class. As stated by UGA policy, "the course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary."

My available office hours are: most of the day on most Tuesdays and Thursdays; after class or after Geology class most Wednesdays and Fridays.

Formal assignments, of which there will be approximately six during the course of the semester, will be reflective essays or practical design projects, designed to require creative and critical thinking about the issues being addressed.  In order to accomodate preferences in working styles and schedules, students may choose to prepare and submit these either alone or as groups of as many as three people. The most common assignments in the past have included, but those this semester may not be limited to:
 Note: "Reaction paper" assignments are considered required, but (in order to encourage maximum frankness and freedom of expression) may be submitted anonymously or pseudonymously if desired.

Late work policy: A formal assignment will be penalized 10% for lateness if submitted after it has already been returned to those who submitted it on time.

Mastery Learning policy: Any assignment may be redone as a whole (in a significantly different way or on a different specific topic) for a fully revised grade, if desired

Grading Scale: Elements of Grade:
A = 90-100% 90% approximately 6 written and/or electronic-media-based assignments,
B = 80-89% 10% final exam* (time to be arranged during final exam period)
C = 70-79
D = 60-69%  
F = <60%  
*Required, but with format and schedule highly flexible - see below.

General grading rubric for each assignment/project/exam question: Final exam items will be a series of practical problems, designed to require creative and critical thinking in applying general principles learned in the course to the potential use of specific, previously unfamiliar curriculum materials. The final exam will require some reading and preparation based on materials (text, video, and/or software-based) distributed or demonstrated during the last week of classes, and will be given on a time-limited but open-notes basis. The option of either a 30-minute oral interview or a traditional 3-hour written exam be offered. The oral interview format is strongly suggested, has been customary for nearly all students in this course for many years, and may be scheduled at any mutually convenient time during the exam week (as with written exams, not earlier).

Attendance policy: Attendance and class participation are not in themselves a formal aspect of the course grade. My goal is to try to design class activities so that you feel that you are clearly missing something important if you are not present (both physically and mentally!). Polite but pointed inquiries will be made, however, about the reasons for repeated or habitual absence or lateness.

 In accordance with the University Honor Code and Academic Honesty Policy, academic work must meet the standards contained in the UGA document A Culture of Honesty. Each student is responsible to inform themselves about those standards before performing any academic work.
Music will be played regularly during the 10-15 minutes immediately preceding class (in order to, as Bugs Bunny would say, soothe the savage beasts). Everybody should take turns bringing in CDs, or else risk being subjected to my own wildly eclectic tastes.
Course Objectives ("Students will be able to..."):
Science Curriculum and Assessment Issues

 Basic Principles of Science Teaching

 Electronic Technologies in Science Teaching Ethical, Cultural and Social Issues in Science Teaching Final note:
Science and middle school kids are two of the most exciting, fascinating, and (yes) challenging aspects of our world! We can't possibly have as much fun (or work as hard) this semester as you will in the future, but let's try to do both! :->