Curriculum 316, Fall, 2014 page 1 Rommel-Esham CURR 316: Teaching Science and Mathematics to Children Instructor: Dr. Katie Rommel-Esham Office phone: 585.245.5325 E-mail: [email protected] Office fax: 585.245.5220 Web Page: http://www.geneseo.edu/~rommel Office: South Hall, 229B Campus Inclement Weather Information: 585.245.6666 Office Hours: Tuesday 12:00 – 2:00 PM & Thursday 12:00 – 1:00 PM and by appointment. No appointment is necessary during scheduled office hours. If these times do not fit your schedule, please talk with me about scheduling an appointment! Class Meeting: South Hall 233. TR 8:00 – 9:40 AM (§ 01); TR 10:00 AM – 11:40 AM (§02) Final Exam Time: 8:00 class (§ 01) – Thursday, 11 December, 8–11 AM 10:00 class (§ 02) – Thursday, 11 December, 12–3 PM Library Research Help: If you need research help as you complete your assignments, speak with the Milne reference librarian on duty between 10am and closing time most days (ask for help at the service desk). You can also contact the education librarian, Michelle Costello, by emailing her directly ([email protected]) or requesting an in-person meeting using this form (http://doodle.com/m.costello OR http://www.geneseo.edu/library/research-or-technology-consultations). Required Textbooks: Martin, D.J. (2011). Elementary science methods, a constructivist approach (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Bosak, S.V. (2000). Science is…(2nd ed). Ontario, Canada: Scholastic Canada Ltd. Grading: There will be no curving of grades, and the cut scores below are those to which I will strictly adhere. There is no extra credit. Excellent: 204 – 220 A 198 – 203 A- Very Good: 194 – 197 B+ 187 – 193 B 176 – 186 B- Satisfactory: 172 – 175 C Minimally Competent: 154 – 171 C- Failure: 0 – 153 E Please note that you must earn a grade of C- or higher in this course in order to proceed to the next block of Education courses. If you are refused entrance to a field visit due to inappropriate dress, your grade will be dropped one grade level (from an A- to a B- for example) for each time you are turned away. Failure to return any materials borrowed from me will result in your grade being dropped to the next grade step (from a B+ to a B for example).Curriculum 316, Fall, 2014 page 2 Rommel-Esham Class Activities, Class Attendance, Class Participation and Professionalism Class participation is an integral part of this course. Imbedded within this category is also the idea of professionalism. Candidates are expected to display a professional attitude at all times. This includes, but is not limited to staying awake and being attentive during class, recognizing and respecting the opinions of others (even if they differ from your own), appropriately representing the college while in the field, not talking out of turn in class, and providing relevant contributions to class discussions. Candidates are expected to participate in all class activities and class discussions. Individual and group activities will be assigned during class meetings, and most will be completed during that class period. These will not always be announced ahead of time, and some have point values attached to them; attendance is strongly encouraged. Activities will include hands on experiences, reading and discussion activities, and class presentations. These are an integral part of class participation and, along with quizzes, may not be made up. Activities and Participation will be recorded, in part, according to the following rubric: Criteria Performance Candidate shows evidence of having gone beyond what is required for the course. **If you simply come to class but never or rarely participate, you will not earn full participation points.** Excellent Candidate demonstrates initiative in class to advance discussions and activities by asking questions, offering opinions, etc. (Note that this goes beyond merely attending class and participating in partner/group work!) Satisfactory- Very Good Candidate completes activities, answers questions when called on, and turns in assignments on time. Marginal-Minimum Competency Candidate does not complete activities, turns in assignments late, and does not demonstrate adequate understanding of course content. Failure Academic Honesty Attempting to take credit for work that is not yours or is not adequately cited (e.g., copying word for word from a journal article) is a serious ethical violation. Violations may result in a grade of zero for the assignment in question, an automatic E for the course, and may be cause for further disciplinary actions. For additional details or guidance, please see the appropriate pages of the College Bulletin. Grade Appeal Policy Upon receiving graded material, please take time to read my comments and the directions for the assignment. If you are concerned about the grade you have earned on an assignment, you are welcome to write a grade appeal and plan to see me to discuss the matter. Grade appeals (with complete justification for concern) must be submitted to me in writing, along with the original graded assignment, within one week of the return of the assignment. After the one-week period has passed, grade appeals will not be considered. There is no extra credit.Curriculum 316, Fall, 2014 page 3 Rommel-Esham General Information The purpose of this course is to help you continue your professional development as a teacher candidate by providing a framework within which you acquire the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to be an effective teacher of elementary science and mathematics. The course is NOT designed to provide you with recipes for success or a bag of tricks from which to choose lessons, but rather to help you discover and effectively utilize the basic skills of teaching and the resources available to you as you develop your own instructional plans. You will need to draw on your own personal knowledge of math and science as well as your increasing knowledge of children and how they learn. My main goal for you in this course is to help you prepare yourself to teach subjects that are vital, dynamic, and fun. In this section of Curriculum 316, topics will be explored through the use of lectures, discussions, out-of-class assignments, presentations by groups and individuals, elementary classroom visitations, and hands-on activities. All course information, including