Project Title:
Piloting a Problem-Based Environmental Science course for Pre-service Elementary Education major at Winona State University
Project Director and Other Associated Faculty and Staff:
Catherine Summa, Assoc. Professor, Geoscience, Winona State University, Contact: csumma@winona.edu, Tel. (507)457-5269
Jean Leicester, Professor, Education, Winona State University, Contact: jleicester@winona.edu, Tel. (507)457-5654
Project Design:
In order to better prepare students enrolled in elementary education for science-education and for licensure requirements, 3 one semester courses have been developed that include emphasis on content and on application. The focus of the 3-course sequence is on “science in your community” with the broad goal of teaching pre-service students science content in a context that will enable them to develop similar activities in their classrooms. This project will allow development of the second course in the 3-course sequence and then implementation of the final course that emphasized application of science concepts to a community problem. The 5 goals of these courses were: (1) to build student confidence in science, (2) to build student content knowledge, (3) to build pedagogical content knowledge, (4) to build enthusiasm for teaching science, and (5) to foster student curiosity about science.
Project Evaluation and Outcomes:
During the 2004-05 academic year, the second science-content course was piloted and the Project Director developed the third course titled SCIE 401: Investigative Science III: Scientific Investigation of Your Community. The 401 course was team taught by 5 faculty from the sciences and Education at WSU. The students were evaluated by requiring each student to submit a learning portfolio which was graded after the completion of each course module and this provided them with feedback based on a portfolio grading rubric. Students used the digital camera purchased with CTL funds to document their research and included this in their portfolios. The course took a modular approach in which students engaged in field research on 3 topics (wetlands, energy, hazardous waste). Each student had to design increasingly complex research problems. Finally each student developed and taught 3 lessons as part of a K-5 course requirement.
Lessons Learned, Dissemination and Sustainability
The project will continue as they institutionalize the sequence of 3 courses in the Fall semester, 2005. Upper-level science education majors will serve as teaching assistants in the courses. The Project Director is negotiating with administration to team teach all 3 of these which they believe is critical for continued success. This course has been a model for development of interdisciplinary curriculum across campus and as part of the “New University” endeavor.
