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The following is only an outline of the full course syllabus. You can read a complete copy in Acrobat format, but be warned that it is over 6 MB long - not for the faint of heart or slow of connection! At the end of this page is some supplemental information that we will be providing over the course of the class.

Course Description

In this course, we will look at the teaching of elementary science, social studies, and mathematics using a field-based approach. Our laboratory is an afternoon summer camp for elementary students in second through fourth grades (camp hours are daily from 12:30-3:30 pm beginning August 4). We will look at both theoretical and practical aspects of particular models and ideas for effective instruction, as well as relevant issues for the teaching profession. Our content focus will be a thematic study of the Kalamazoo River.

Course Goals

The goal of this course is for us to discover together:

• how to design and teach substantive and integrated concepts in science, social studies, and mathematics;
• the experience of working in a small group, and teaching a small group of students through indoor and outdoor activities and investigations;
• how to plan and construct effective instruction that accounts for and values the diversity of our students;
• roles that computer technology can play in effective teaching and learning.

Artifacts

Critiques of Readings (30 points). You will hand in six critiques of course readings. The critiques should be at least 300 words in length, and will convey a general sense of what you felt about the reading - whether you agreed or disagreed with what was written, examples from your classroom or personal experience that support or refute what was written, citations from other sources which support or refute, etc. The intent is to provide an opportunity for you to reflect on the articles. We will be looking for thoughtful insight, rational thinking, and the use of examples or citation of other sources to illustrate your point. There will be six critiques, each worth 5 points. Points are accrued on an individual basis. The critiques will come from the following list:

Project (60 points). The class will construct a concept map which describes what will be taught to the elementary students throughout the course of the science camp. Each teaching group will plan its own Òsub-mapÓ, and then all the sub-maps should be seamlessly integrated (interlinked) together. 50 points are accrued on a group basis for the each sub-map, and 10 points are accrued class-wide for the whole. The map could be readily designed using PIViT, a computer program whose functionality you are already familiar with, but it is not mandated; however, your map does have to be handed in as a digital document.

Lesson Presentations (45 points). The class will organize themselves into groups, where each group is focused upon a particular aspect or theme of the Kalamazoo River. The groups may select their own theme (e.g. History, Environment, etc.), but each theme should be distinct. The elementary students will then select a group to which they want to belong. These groups will "major" on this particular theme. Each of the college student groups will be responsible for planning and teaching at least 3 lessons. One lesson will be aimed towards all of the campers; the other two will be aimed toward your elementary student group. Each lesson is worth 15 points.

The lesson presentations will be planned using PIViT (see above). The assessment here will be for how well things went "live" - how well you present what you planned, how the students respond, how well you adapt your teaching to the unexpected, how well things were timed, how well you led and managed the group, etc.

Journal Entries (50 points). These are daily entries from each of you throughout the first two weeks of the course (8/2-8/13). The journals will be a combination of free response to the unfolding events of the course and an analysis of the elementary students in your group - their prior knowledge, attitudes, and understandings about the river and about being in a learning community, as well as their learning needs. Each journal should be at least 300 words long, and will be assessed for thoughtfulness. Journals are due at the start of the next class meeting. Points are accrued on an individual basis.

Anthology (65 points). The class will publish a multimedia anthology of this summer's camp experience and the learning that took place. The audience for this will be educators, parents, and elementary students who did not attend this year's camp. This publication will be designed using HyperStudio, either on Macintoshes or PCs. Any given stack should be no larger than 1 MB or ten cards, meaning that your anthology will consist of multiple, interconnected stacks. As with the project, each teaching group should create its own stack(s) and then all the stacks should be seamlessly integrated. 50 of the points are awarded on a group basis, the remaining 15 on a class basis. Check out the HyperGroove from the Chronicles for anthologies from years past.

Participation and Attendance (50 points). You are expected to attend every day of class for the first two weeks, participating in the morning discussions, in the camp, and in Òdebriefing sessionsÓ at the end of the day. The debriefings involve an evaluation of the lesson presentations for that day, constructive feedback for each other, and planning and problem solving for the next day's course and camp activity. Your participation in this discussion will be noted and assessed, 3.5 points per day for the first two weeks (ten days) of the course. You will be working independently during the third week.

Links of Interest

The Globe Project, which is useful to look at for additional information about water chemistry and quality measurements. A good place to start reading is the Teacher's Guide. By the way, this project would be something to think about getting involved with when you get your own classroom. Mary Ellen's class is involved with GLOBE this year, so maybe later on you can ask her what she thinks about it.

Project GREEN, which stands for Global Rivers Environmental Education Network, is specifically related to water quality measurements performed and analyzed by students. While this may be geared more toward older kids, it has some wonderful information and is also a potential project for you to be involved with when you have your own classroom. A couple of my buds from U-M have worked there, and they have good things to say about it.

Some of the why's regarding water quality measurements, from an EPA handbook. Keep in mind that government documents, such as those prepared by the EPA, are free for the asking.

Here are the latest version of the Michigan Content Standards for Math, Social Studies, and Science (and other content areas), which could be more up-to-date than the standards currently in PIViT. The web interface to the standards is pretty clunky, but it's still pretty useful.

Tim Lincoln's Geologic History of Michigan, in Adobe Acrobat format. You can pick it up here, as you'll need to read it for the course.