Using PBL to Integrate Content and Pedagogy in an

Interdisciplinary “Science Semester” for Future

Elementary Teachers

National Research Council (2001)Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology

Science...departments should assume greater responsibility for offering college-level courses that provide teachers with strong exposure to appropriate content and that model the kinds of pedagogical approaches appropriate for teaching that content.

[C]olleges and universities should reexamine and redesign introductory college-level courses in science and mathematics to better accommodate the needs of practicing and future teachers.

What would such a course be?

Inquiry-based

Multidisciplinary

Instructors would model instruction

Student collaboration

Science Semester: A Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Biological SciencesGeologyAstronomy & PhysicsSchool of EducationEducation Research and

Development CenterMathematics & Science Education Resource Center

Structure of the Science Semester

Richard Donham, Mathematics & Science

Education Resource Center

Science Semester15 Credits

Life Science 4 Credits

Earth Science

4 Credits

Physical Science4 Credits

Science Education Methods 3 Credits

Science Semester

Sciences: Five

2-hr meetings/wk

Methods: Two 1½

hr meetings/wk

Earth, life and physical science laboratories each week (6 hr)

Science Semester

Science SemesterGoal: to foster

future teacher’s understandings of science, teaching and learning and to support use of inquiry in their own classrooms

Four PBL problems

Group & Individual

products

Mixed instructional

methods

Science Semester Structure

Science Semester: Instructor Responsibilities

Lead one of the investigations

Participate & collaborate on other investigations

Attend all class meetings

The PBL Investigations

Deborah Allen

Department of Biological Sciences

Conflicting Practices inScience Education

K-12 reform

Standards-based

content & skills

Inquiry

Integrates

disciplines

Higher education

Textbook- & lecture- driven content & skills

Transmission

Separates disciplines

Characteristics of Ideal PBL Investigations

Complex enough for interdisciplinary themes

Engaging and motivational from student perspective

Allow for college-level exploration of big ideas that connect to K-6 science education standards

Allow for products that flow naturally

Allow for gradual introduction and building of PBL skills

Can be integrated with lectures, active learning activities, and whole class discussions

Overview of the Four Unit Investigations

Problem Scenarios

Interdisciplinary content themes

Products

Labs and special activities

Unit One - Physical Science: What is Energy?

Scenario: Students assume roles of 8th grade teachers. They apply to and attend a summer curriculum development institute sponsored by NREL. They learn about energy as they fill out an extensive application for the institute, then attend initial sessions.

Unit One (cont).

Products:Informal presentation on energy-related topicReport on standards-based curriculum themes related to energy

Content themes:Sources of energy, electricity, environmental consequences of energy use, flow of energy through the biosphere, energy in chemical reactions, global carbon cycle

Unit Two - Biology: Kids, Chemicals & Cancer

Scenario: A child in Tom’s River, NJ develops leukemia. Citizens in the town begin to notice what seems to be a high incidence of childhood cancers. They think they have a “cancer cluster,” and suspect that a local chemical manufacturing plant and an illegal toxic waste dump are to blame.

Parents of the child about whom the

problem is written

Unit Two (cont).Products:

Report on chain of evidence and inference necessary to establish a cancer cluster; peer review of 1st draftIn the role of a teacher in whose class there is a child with cancer, design classroom activities that address children’s questions about cancer

Unit Two (cont)Supporting Labs

DNA extraction and structural modelsEffects of tobacco on mutation in bacteriaCluster Busters – computer-based investigation

Content themes:Structure & function of DNA; cell cycle; causes, effects, & treatment of cancer; cancer clusters; environmental health; organic chemistry; soils; ground water; hydrologic cycle

Unit Three - Elementary Science Education: Did my students learn what

they’re supposed to?

Scenario: Students explore and evaluate a science curriculum kit. They write an extensive report on their evaluation, teach an activity from the kit (with their peers as students), and present a poster to the university and local science education community.

Unit Three (cont)

Content Themes:• Aligning standards,

curriculum & assessment

in instruction

• Pedagogical content

knowledge

Unit Four – Earth Science: Limulus polyphemus!

Scenario: Students grapple with the complex issues surrounding an ongoing, heated controversy about establishment of the annual catch limit for the horseshoe crab, an environmentally and economically important organism in the Delaware Bay.

Unit Four (cont)

Products:Presentation on horseshoe crab

biology, role in Bay ecosystem, and economic importance

Analysis of evidence from public testimony on the issues – conclude with a recommendation based on the best evidence

Unit Four (cont)

Content themes:

Life cycles & niches of horseshoe crab and other Bay organisms; seasons; phases of the moon; tides; coastal geology; water chemistry; technology & science

Remaining Questions/Issues

Instructor interpretations of PBL are not the same – can students make sense of our differing perspectives in a way that will be useful to their future teaching?

If initial investigations are more structured by instructor, will students graciously allow the instructor presence to “fade away?”

Will “message” be lost with subsequent courses, particularly if they are science courses?

Teaching Education in the Science Semester: Benefits &

Challenges

Danielle Ford

School of Education

Issues with integrating education

Does the Science Semester meet the needs and goals of the elementary teacher education program?

Can we achieve a successful integration of education into a discipline-dominated semester?

The Education Course in the Science Semester

Elementary Curriculum: Science (EDUC 341)

Introduction to teaching science in the elementary school. Includes the study of current elementary school programs, instructional materials, teaching strategies, lesson planning and implementation and the appraisal of pupil achievement. Practicum included.

Goals for EDUC 341

Develop an understanding of the nature of scienceGain familiarity with current research on children’s learning of science and their conceptions of science contentExplore the concepts of community, identity, diversity, equity and relevance

Goals for EDUC 341

Become familiar with the current theoretically-based practices in science instruction, including inquiry instruction, alternative assessmentGain experience in planning, conducting, and analyzing science instructionBecome familiar with the tools used in science instruction, including science curricula, science talk, science texts and technology, people, and places

Challenges in the Traditional Version of EDUC 341

Uneven science content prior to curriculum course

6 concurrent education courses to compete with

ETE culture

Science Semester Benefits

Model of content Shows students what integrated science

curriculum looks likeProvides specific content examples, can be

coordinated precisely with education theory and pedagogy

Model of pedagogy – PBL and other science teaching strategies

– “practicing what we preach”

Science Semester Concerns

Would education issues be lost in the emphasis on science content?

Meta level understanding of pedagogical models too conceptually challenging for sophomores?

Conflicting pedagogical models across faculty?

What actually happened

Students were clearly focused on education, wanted more

Content concurrent with education course sometimes worked, but sometimes didn’t

Capitalized on differences in pedagogy to explore multiple models of instruction

Remaining Questions/Issues

Supporting learners post-science semester

Field experiences

Sustainability

Project Evaluation & Research

Steve Fifield

Education Research & Development Center

Questions Research methods

How do students’ science & pedagogical understandings develop in response to this PBL-based experience?

Content assessments Coursework Student writing Interviews Classroom

observations

How do students make sense of unfamiliar approaches to learning & teaching?

Surveys Student writing Interviews

Preliminary Findings

Science content & pedagogical knowledge

Science Semester impacts students’

views of:

Knowledge sources

Knowledge contexts & connections

Learning processes & products

Preliminary Findings

Responses to unfamiliar approaches to

learning & teaching

Science Semester challenges students’:

beliefs about the roles & responsibilities

of teachers & learners

criteria for knowing & learning

self-understandings as learners &

future teachers

An Administrator’s Perspective

George Watson

Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Administrative support for innovative teaching

Promoting interdisciplinarity within a discipline-based organization

Achieving sustainability of innovative practices

Striving for scalability from a pilot project

Benefits accrued

To the students

To the faculty

To the institution

To the public