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Teaching Elementary Life Science
is designed to enhance educators' understanding
and teaching of life science. This course begins with the principles of
constructivist learning and exploration-based science and works through content
and methodology to give teachers a comprehensive understanding of life science
to encourage the learning success of students at the elementary level.
Course Objectives
- Develop content knowledge about the characteristics of living things,
plants as producers and animals as consumers, cells and organisms,
heredity and adaptation, ecosystems, and humans and their environments
- Introduce teachers to the constructivist learning model
- Provide teachers with a range of effective teaching methodologies and
strategies for use in teaching science concepts
- Introduce teachers to a media-rich learning environment they can use
with their students
- Provide models to illustrate ways to teach beyond the textbook.
- Guide teachers in understanding and utilizing the scientific process
Course Syllabus
Session 1:
The Nature of Science
Participants learn about the nature and process of science.
Teaching and learning strategies focus on bringing the scientific
process into the classroom.
Session 2:
Living Things
Participants distinguish between living and nonliving things and
identify the characteristics of life, including growth, reproduction,
and dependence on air, water, and energy. Teaching and learning strategies
focus on ways to uncover participants' prior understanding.
Session 3:
Plants as Producers
Participants consider plants as producers — living things that transfer
the energy of the Sun to substance. Teaching and learning strategies focus
on the use of concept maps.
Session 4:
Animals as Consumers
Participants consider animals as consumers — living things that
must ingest food. Teaching and learning strategies focus on effective uses
of live animals in the classroom.
Session 5:
Cells and Organisms
Participants recognize that cells are the basic building blocks of
all organisms and that some organisms are composed of a single cell.
Teaching and learning strategies focus on teaching about phenomena
that are difficult to observe directly.
Session 6:
Heredity and Adaptation
Participants differentiate between characteristics that are inherited
(e.g., shape of leaves, number of limbs) and those that are affected
by the environment (e.g., withering of plants due to drought).
Teaching and learning strategies focus on ways to prepare participants for
future study of natural selection.
Session 7:
Interactions of Organisms
Participants recognize that ecosystems are made up of populations of
animals and plants that live in the same area along with the physical
factors in the environment. Teaching and learning strategies focus
on effective questioning techniques.
Session 8:
Humans and Their Environment
Building on Session 7, participants recognize that humans depend on
natural and constructed environments. Teaching and learning strategies
focus on group discussion. This session concludes with a final
assessment assignment.
Additional Course Information
- 45 contact hours
- A series of course modules on these topics and
teaching strategies is also available:
See also: example
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