Welcome to Science 2201 !

Michael Dias, Ph.D. Sci Ed

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Manuel & Gloria `63 St Mary HS ‘82 W. KY Univ ‘87 Cobb CoPS 87-00 Laurie 8/1/92 GSU Doctorate 12/00 KSU: SC 308b

2201 Goals & Guiding Intentions • …provide hands-on experiences that foster thinking and a “sense of wonder” • …involve students in ongoing dialogue and development of science knowledge for teaching • …equip students to modify and apply these science activities for their K-8 students

Grading Plan & Important Dates

• Course Webpage • • • • • •

MicroTeach: 15% Field Trip: 10% Quizzes: 30% Exam 1: 15% Exam 2: 15% Exam 3: 15%

Only the brave should teach…

“It is noble to teach oneself, it is still nobler to teach others” --Mark Twain (…and how great an honor to teach teachers!)

Why Teach?

On the first day of school…

“It was boring. We talked about the number one and I fell asleep. It was nothing like in my dreams.” (Lauren, 6)

On the second day of school…

“I sat there, like a dog, begging to go home.”

(Lauren, 6)

Your

philosophy of education…

• Axiology = What is of value?

• Ontology = What is real?

• Epistemology = How do you know?

What is the single most important factor in influencing learning?

Kid quotes on love…

What is the proper age to get married?

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“Eighty-four! Because at that age, you don’t have to work anymore and you can spend all your time loving each other in the bedroom.” (Judy, 8)

Kid quotes on love…

What do most people do an a date?

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“ On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.” (Mike, 10)

Kid quotes on love…

On the role of good looks in love… “If you want to be loved by somebody who isn’t already in your family, it doesn’t hurt to be beautiful.” (Jeanne, 8)

What is the single most important factor in influencing learning?

Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View

(Ausubel, 1968) “The single most important factor in influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach accordingly.”

Teaching is a basic human act.

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behaviorist psychology

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constructivist epistemology

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Beware of false dichotomies. Both are of use in our “best practice.”

Discussion…

Science teaching at its worst and best.

Rachel Carson,

The Sense of Wonder

"If children are to keep alive the inborn sense of wonder, they need the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with them the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."

Activity:

Draw a Scientist

Take a few minutes with a pencil and paper and draw a scientist at work.

Draw a Scientist? What’s the point?

• • • • • • • • • • • Scoring: (1 point for any of the following: lower score is a higher rating) labcoat eyeglasses facial hair symbols of research - test tubes, flask symbols of knowledge - books, filing cabinet sign of technology - solutions, machines captions - Eureka, I’ve got it!!! male signs/labeling - Fire, Danger, Poison pencils and pens in pocket protector unkempt appearance

Draw a Scientist? What’s the point?

Agree or Disagree?

• When cows fall asleep standing up, it is easy (and fun!) to sneak up next to them and tip them over.

• Birds eating rice thrown at weddings swell up and die (even burst).

• Animals exposed to radioactive waste mutate and turn into other types of animals.

Agree or Disagree?

• Earthworms come up onto the sidewalks after heavy rain to avoid being drowned in their underground tunnels.

• People licking toads have hallucinations.

• Lennon wrote better music than Tchaikovsky.

• Heaven is not in our solar system, but it is somewhere in the universe.

Science…

• Much of science is organized common sense about the physical world.

• Science is a body of knowledge.

• Science is the process of discovering and explaining the order of nature

SCI 2201: Concepts in Science

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Science: A Way of Knowing Trefil & Hazen, The Sciences chapter 1 Great Idea: Science is a way of asking and answering questions about the physical universe.

From Science for All Americans (1990, AAAS, Project 2061)

• --things and events in the universe occur in consistent patterns that are comprehensible through careful, systematic study.

• --through the use of the intellect, and with aid of instruments that extend the senses, people can discover patterns in all of nature.

Life Sciences Physical Sciences • Biology • Botany • Ecology • Genetics • Zoology • etc • Astronomy • Chemistry • Geology • Meteorology • Physics • etc

• Subject Matter Knowledge for Teaching • Science Literacy

Knowing it well enough to teach!

“Pedagogical Content Knowledge”

• Evaluate your PCK in Physical Science: • Physics • Chemistry • Astronomy • Meteorology • Geology

“The Scientific Method”

1) Question or Problem 2) Hypothesize 3) Predict Consequences 4) Experiment 5) Interpret Experimental Results

The Scientific Method

• There is simply no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow, no one path that leads them unerringly to scientific knowledge.

Science involves…

• Using and extending the senses • Observing and collecting • Probing and testing • Deductive hypothesis testing • Inductive search for patterns • Building increasingly accurate explanations based on evidence

Mendeleev and the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements

Fleming and the serendipitous discovery of the first antibiotic

Goodall and the willingness to break with convention

“If I have seen farther it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants.”

“Science Is Not Words”

by Richard P. Feynman

• “Shoe leather wears out because it rubs against the sidewalk and the little notches and bumps on the sidewalk grab pieces and pull them off. To simply say it is because of friction is sad, because it is not science.”

The world looks different after learning science… “Trees are made of air, primarily. When they are burned, they go back to air. In the flaming heat is released the flaming heat of the sun which was bound in to convert the air into tree…” These are beautiful things, and the content of science is wonderfully full of them.”

The Scientific Attitude

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Inquiry Experimentation Humility before the facts

Fact, Hypothesis, Law, Theory

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Fact = a stated observation Hypothesis = a proposition that may be investigated

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Law or Principle = a description of observable phenomena

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Theory = an explanation based on extensive evidence

Science, Art, Religion

Three ways that humans experience and express: art, science, and religion.

Art Religion Science

Helps us reflect.

Asks “Why?” Asks “How?” Allows us to express the best of our humanity Deals with ultimate purpose, wisdom & belief Search for patterns, builds explanations on evidence

The Borderlands of Science

Shermer, (2001)

• Normal Science – Empirical claims – Vast body of evidence • Borderland Science – Empirical work – Growing body of evidence • Pseudoscience – Fake science disguised as normal science – Lacks evidence

10 different areas of inquiry:

• Acupuncture • Astrology • Big Bang • Big Foot • Chiropractic • Heliocentrism • Hypnosis • Neurophysiology of Brain Function • Punctuated Equilibrium • Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

The Borderlands of Science

Shermer, (2001)

• Heliocentrism, .9

• Neurophysiology of Brain Function, .8

• Punctuated equilibrium, .7 ……normal science • SETI, Hypnosis, .5

• Chiropractic, .4 ……………borderland science • Acupuncture, .3

• Astrology, Big Foot, .1 ………pseudoscience

The Sciences

Read Chapter 1

• Bookmark course webpage & pacing guide • Discussion Questions 1,2,4,8, & Problem 1 • Read McDuffie article posted pacing guide • When does lab start?