SC-01 Science 2.0: Using Web Tools to Promote Inquiry Based Science
In this course, participants will explore the use of online resources to enhance inquiry-based teaching and learning in science. Over the course of this seven unit course, participants will become familiar with science-themed websites, online collaborative projects, science blogs and wikis, and the mapping applications Google Maps and Google Earth. Considerable attention is paid to helping participants identify ways that they can integrate these tools into their practice, and thus enrich their students’ engagement with science content. Promoting scientific inquiry is a central theme, and serves as a lens for this course. Participants consider the issue of assessment, specifically as it relates to inquiry and the use of online tools, later in the course. As a final project, participants develop plans for an inquiry-based science lesson that uses an Internet-based data source.
SC-02 Designing a Virtual Field Trip in Science
This course will
enable teachers of all grade levels and subject areas to use Internet
resources to design a "virtual field
trip" for their students. Participants will become familiar
with the strategies and resources that educators use to design
these field trips, as well as tips and tricks to ensure their success.
By the end of the course, participants will have designed effective
and engaging virtual field trips for their students that are aligned
to state and national standards.
SC-03 Transforming the Classroom with Project Based Learning in
Science
This course is designed to familiarize participants with
the principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL). Throughout this
six-week course, exemplary projects will be analyzed, critiqued,
and evaluated for applicability to participants' classroom needs.
Participants will gain hands on experience using software tools
to support the planning and execution of projects, and develop
collaborative, inquiry-based projects that support their curricular
goals. Participants will learn to blend PBL and standards-based
design strategies to create curriculum units that enhance student
learning at all grade levels and subject areas. Each participant
will leave the online course with preliminary plans for a PBL project.
SC-04 Differentiating Instruction to Accommodate Learning Styles
in Science
Addressing the individual learning styles of students
can be a challenge for teachers. The World Wide Web contains a
vast number of resources to assist teachers in understanding and
planning for the different avenues through which students learn
best. Suitable for participants of all grade levels and subject
areas, this course will review a range of web sites providing information
about learning theory related to learning styles and multiple intelligences,
as well as resources to assist teachers in both identifying students'
learning styles and intelligences and engaging students in activities
which best suit those styles and intelligences. Participants will
become familiar with teaching strategies and tools targeted for
each learning style and intelligence and develop a preliminary
lesson plan using those strategies and tools.
SC-05 Matter and Energy: Basic Concepts of Science Literacy 1
This course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the nature of the matter and energy from which the universe is made. These concepts are basic to the development of science literacy in both teachers and students alike. Throughout this seven-week course, you will explore and discuss the meaning of the fundamental concepts necessary for literacy in science. The course will increase foundational knowledge and understanding of the nature of science, Newton’s laws of motion, energy, atoms and bonding, and quantum mechanics. Video from Annenberg Media (www.learner.org) will be used to enhance the content. You will be facilitated through an inquiry-based approach to learning as you explore web sites and online tutorials to uncover concepts. The course is appropriate for educators of all positions and grade levels. This course is the first in a series of three courses based on “Science Matters: Achieving Science Literacy” by Robert Hazen and James Trefil (Anchor, 1991).
SC-06 Atoms and Galaxies: Basic Concepts of Science Literacy 2
This course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the nature of the organization of the matter from which the universe is made. These concepts are basic to the development of science literacy in both teachers and students alike. Throughout this seven-week course, you will explore and discuss the meaning of the fundamental concepts necessary for literacy in science. The course will increase foundational knowledge and understanding of atomic structure, nuclear and particle physics, astronomy, cosmology, and relativity. Video from Annenberg Media (www.learner.org) will be used to enhance the content. You will be facilitated through an inquiry-based approach to learning as you explore web sites and online tutorials to uncover concepts. The course is appropriate for educators of all positions and grade levels. This course is the second in a series of three courses based on “Science Matters: Achieving Science Literacy” by Robert Hazen and James Trefil (Anchor, 1991).
SC-07 Cycles and Systems: Basic Concepts of Science Literacy
This course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the patterns and order which are commonly found in complex systems throughout the universe, such as living systems. These concepts are basic to the development of science literacy in both teachers and students alike. Throughout this seven-week course, you will explore and discuss the meaning of the fundamental concepts necessary for literacy in science. The course will increase foundational knowledge and understanding of earth cycles, diversity of life, genetics, evolution, and ecosystems. Video from Annenberg Media (www.learner.org) will be used to enhance the content. You will be facilitated through an inquiry-based approach to learning as you explore web sites and online tutorials to uncover concepts. The course is appropriate for educators of all positions and grade levels. This course is the third in a series of three courses based on “Science Matters: Achieving Science Literacy” by Robert Hazen and James Trefil (Anchor, 1991).
SC-08 Understanding the Science of Life: Characteristics, Classification, and Cycles
How would you answer the question: “What is life?” In the last decade there have been major exciting advances in our knowledge of life and living things. Essential Life Science for K-6 Teachers focuses on helping teachers build their understandings of both the fundamental life science concepts and fascinating new information. . This course provides background Life Science information for K-6 teachers as well as any teacher wishing to learn about these new Life Science understandings. Participants will use a combination of video, readings, reflection and online discussion during the seven weeks of the course. Topics covered in this course include: What is Life?; Classification; Animal and Plant Life Cycles. There is a companion course: Understanding the Science of Life: Communities, Ecosystems, and Natural Selection which includes the topics of Natural Selection; Evolution; Energy Flow in Communities; and Material Cycles in Ecosystems.
SC-09 Understanding the Science of Life: Communities, Ecosystems, and Natural Selection
Understanding the Science of Life: Community, Ecosystems, and Natural Selection serves as a companion to Understanding the Science of Life: Characteristics, Classification, and Cycles. Each course offers unique and important material enhancing your knowledge about the Fundamentals of Life and Living Things. This course is designed for K-6 teacher and others wanting to see Life Sciences developments in the last ten years. This online course explores the following areas: Natural Selection; Evolution; Energy Flow in Communities; and Material Cycles in Ecosystems. It surveys the process of evolution and the importance of variations in natural selection, shows how energy flows in communities and reviews how material cycles within ecosystems. The course also allows participants to develop their own science unit lesson.
SC-10 Understanding Force and Motion
The world of Force and Motion is always all ways around us. We see objects travel across space. We observe a baseball or football being hit of thrown. And these balls do so in at defined times. Or they can stay in place. In other instances they can collide with others. This online course covers the basic physics of Force and Motion. It looks at Position and Motion and Newton's First, Second and Third Laws. It is designed for k-6 teachers or any other education wishing to be acquainted with the physics fundamentals. It is also designed for those who want to review progress in that field in the last ten years.
Courses Under Development
|
