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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2432—
I&L 2432 – Teaching & Learning in Secondary Science 3
Spring 2015
(3 credits)
Teaching & Learning in Secondary Science 3 is a 3-credit course offered during the spring semester (Jan-Apr). The course is designed to help interns refinetheir skills fordesigning, implementing, and reflecting uponlessons in which adolescent studentsengage in cognitively challenging tasks and participate in robust classroom discussions. The course also focuses on the role of assessment, both formative and summative, in providing teachers and students with useful information and guidance to support the learning process.
SCHEDULE
Class meets every Wednesday from 4:30-7:10 PM in room 4300 WW Posvar Hall.
In addition to these face-to-face course meetings, interns will participate in a significant amount of group work (related to the design of an instructional unit). Therefore, interns should be prepared to use electronic collaboration tools (e.g. Google hangout, Courseweb group pages, etc.) or schedule additional face-to-face sessions with their colleagues throughout the term.
FACULTY
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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2432—
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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2432—
Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Hufnagel
5526 WW Posvar Hall
412-648-7305 (office)
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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2432—
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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2432—
Because the MAT program includes significant off-campus time commitments for students, I will hold office hours by appointment. This enables me to best meet the needs of students with complex schedules.
SPECIFIC GOALS
Through participation in and completion of learning activities and assignments within this course, interns should -
Goal / Level of Mastery Expected / Related Product or Performance / Related Standards- Select and/or design high cognitive demand tasks that provide opportunities for all learners to engage in science and engineering practices (SEPs).
PDE 430 1a, 2b
- Select and/or design high cognitive demand tasks that provide opportunities for allstudents to develop understanding of core science ideas.
PDE 430 1a
- Plan to make connections among lessons in a lesson arc and between lessons and the overarching core concept (big idea) explicit.
PDE 430 1a, f
- Plan lessons that explicitly connect to PA standards, CCS, and NGSS.
PDE 430 1c, 3b
- Develop clear and specific learning goals for each lesson.
- Develop clear, specific, and measurable objectives for each lesson. Objectives are aligned to the lesson learning goals.
PDE430 1g
- Identify safety concerns related to all lessons. Plan for strategies to clearly communicate safety concerns and appropriate procedures to students.
- Adequately anticipate students’ engagement in the lesson. Anticipation includes: consideration of students’ relevant prior experience and knowledge; description of possible stumbling blocks; description of key building block skills or ideas students are likely to bring; questions and other appropriate strategies for eliciting and building on students’ knowledge and experience at all stages of the lesson.
PDE 430 1d
- Plan grouping strategies purposefully to maximize students’ opportunities to engage in the lesson and learn from peers.
- Select appropriate and varied instructional formats (e.g. whole class, cooperative group, etc.).
PDE 430 1b, 1h
- Design and/or select sufficient and effective tools to support student engagement in the lesson. This includes note-taking frameworks, physical models, charts and other organizers to capture classroom discourse, etc.
PDE 430 1d, 1e
- Plan to incorporate technological tools to enable students to access, organize, visualize, and communicate information as appropriate.
PDE 430 1e
- Plan a lesson launch that includes: (1) clear information about the purpose of the main activity/ies in the lesson; (2) explicit connections to prior lessons/knowledge; (3) explicit expectations for students’ work (e.g. where to acquire materials, with whom to work, how much time will be provided, what students will turn in, etc.).
- Plan to monitor and support student thinking and engagement throughout the main lesson task/s by (1) purposeful questioning; (2) redirecting; (3) use of tools/scaffolds, etc. Explicitly connects anticipated student ideas and challenges to specific support strategies.
- Plan a lesson close that includes: (1) summary of key learning goals; (2) foreshadowing of next steps (how the next lesson will build on what was accomplished in the current lesson).
- Utilize formative assessment strategies at various stages of the lesson (e.g. a monitoring tool, an exit slip) to gather data about students’ achievement of the lesson objectives.
Assessment Assignment / NSTA 2c, 3c
PDE 430 1g
- Design fair and representative summative assessments for a unit of instruction.
PDE 430 1g
- Articulate the relationships between aspects of instructional design and the influence those aspects will have on student activity and reasoning.
- Participate in regular planning and reflection with other members of a professional learning community.
Assessment Assignment / NSTA 6b
POLICIES
Disability/Special Needs
We want to fully include persons with disabilities or special needs in our classrooms. Ifa student requires special circumstances to enable his/her participation in the course, he/she should talk to the instructor as soon as possible.
Important Note to Students:
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 140 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890/(412) 383-7355 (for P3 ASL users), , as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
Participation
Your grade for this course will be based on your performance on assignments and your participation in class. These twin criteria reflect our view of learning as participation. In all organizations—scientific, educational, civic—learning is not something private and internal to individuals: it is fundamentally social. Scientists, for example, do not make facts in private. They collaborate, compete, cajole, and even convince. We expect you to do the same in this class. It both makes the class more interesting and the subject matter more authentic. This also means that we expect you to attend every class. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from attending a class meeting, please contact Dr. Hufnagel in a timely manner.
Professionalism
As you embark on a new profession, it is important to understand the role of professionalism. In this course, professionalism is evidenced by actively participating in class discussions and activities, collaborating in group projects, being sensitive to the ideas of others, completing assignments on time, arriving on time and attending all classes, being “present” (i.e. focusing on your learning community and not the internet and/or your phone), and completing reading assignments.
Assignment Quality
Assignments that you submit should be polished, including proper grammar, spelling, and presentation. In addition, assignments that require references to readings and other sources should include references in APA style (6th edition). All written work should be typed, unless we tell you otherwise.
Academic Integrity
StudentsinthiscoursewillbeexpectedtocomplywiththeUniversityofPittsburgh'sPolicyonAcademicIntegrity(alinkisprovidedonourBlackboardsite).Anystudent suspectedofviolatingthisobligationforanyreasonduringthesemesterwillberequired to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination (or written work) of any individual suspected of violating University Policy.
TheSchoolofEducationAcademicIntegritypolicycanbefoundonpg.19oftheNewStudent Handbook (linked through Blackboard).
Pleasenotethefollowingacademicintegrityissuesrelatedtoplagiarismareespecially relevant within the context of this program—
- Youmaynotrepresentideas,text,orotherproducts/workthatwascreatedby others as being your own.
oThismeansthatyoumustprovideappropriateandcompletecitationswhen incorporatingideasofothers. Moreover,youshouldputtheideasofothers into your own words when incorporating them into documents. Even so, it is appropriate to cite the source of the idea (honor intellectual ownership).
- It is common (and acceptable) practice for teachers to use lesson plans and materials that have been developed by others (published in texts or online, written by classmates or mentor teachers, etc.). When drawing from these resources in work submitted for a course, please be explicit about which elements are original and which are adapted or copied from other sources. If you are in doubt about the appropriateness of using pre-published work or materials designed by others, please consult your course instructor.
oThis also means that you may not represent yourself as having contributed to a project when you have in fact not done so.
oRelated to this, you may not allow another class member to represent him/herself as a fully contributing partner on a group project if you have knowledge that his/her contributions were minimal or nonexistent.
oFinally,youmaynotsubmitworkthatyouhavesubmittedpreviously(in other courses or professional contexts) to fulfill the requirements of a course without obtaining express permission from the instructor(s).
Department of Instruction & Learning (DIL) Student Grievance Procedures.
Thepurposeofgrievanceproceduresistoensuretherightsandresponsibilitiesoffacultyand students in their relationships with each other. The rights and responsibilities of faculty and students are described in the University’s Academic Integrity Guidelines at: are also linked through Blackboard.)
When a student in DIL believes that a faculty member has not met his or her obligations (as an instructor or in another capacity) as described in the Academic Integrity Guidelines,thestudentshouldfollowtheproceduredescribedintheGuidelines(p.16) by(1)firsttryingtoresolvethematterwiththefacultymemberdirectly; (2)then,if needed, attempting to resolve the matter through conversations with the chair/associate chairofthedepartment;(2)ifneeded,nexttalkingtotheassociatedeanoftheschool; and (4) if needed, filing a written statement of charges with the school-level academic integrity officer.
The more specific procedure for student grievances within DIL is as follows:
1. The student should talk to the faculty member to attempt to resolve the matter.
2. Ifthemattercannotberesolvedatthatlevel,thestudentshouldtalktothe relevant program coordinator (if the issue concerns a class) or his or her advisor. The Secondary Science program coordinator is Dr. Ellen Ansell. The Instructional Team Leader is Dr. Beth Hufnagel.
3. Ifthematterremainsunresolved,thestudentshouldtalktotheassociatechairof
DIL (currently Dr. Crawford).
4. If needed, the student should next talk to the SOE associate dean of students (currently Dr. Gunzenhauser). If the matter still remains unresolved, the student should file a written statement of charges with the dean’s designated Academic Integrity Administrative Officer (TBD).
Sexual Harassment
The University of Pittsburgh is committed to the maintenance of a community free from all forms of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment violates University policy as well as state, federal, and local laws. It is neither permitted nor condoned. It is also a violation of the University of Pittsburgh’s policy against sexual harassment for any employee or student at the University of Pittsburgh to attempt in any way to retaliate against a person who makes a claim of sexual harassment. Any individual, who, after thorough investigation and an informal or formal hearing, is found to have violated the University’s policy against sexual harassment, will be subject to disciplinary action, including, but not limited to, reprimand, suspension, termination, or expulsion. Any disciplinary action taken will depend upon the severity of the offense. For more information, see the Web site:
The University of Pittsburgh policy for reporting sexual harassment is also described in the New Student Handbook, pg. 24.
G-grades
Ifunforeseenevents(suchasmajorillness)preventastudentfromtimelycompletionofcoursework,he/shemayrequestameetingwiththeinstructortodiscussthepossibility of earning a “G” grade for the term. If both student and instructor agree to the “G” grade, they collaboratively write a document that describes exactly what the student needs to do to complete the required course work and the time frame within which he/she must do so.
“G” grades are rarely given and only in unusual circumstances.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The federal government’s policies governing educational loans stipulate that a student must be making good progress toward his/her degree in order to continuetobeeligibleforfinancialassistance.“Goodprogress”ismeasuredinpartby thestudent’scompletionofatlest2/3ofallcreditsforwhichhe/sheisregistered.Thus, receiving a “G” grade—which indicates that the course has NOT been completed—may negatively impact a student’s ability to receive federally-subsidized loans.
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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2741 —
Classroom Recordings
To ensure the free and open discussions of ideas, students may NOT record classroom lectures, discussions, and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor,andanysuchrecordingproperlyapprovedinadvancecanbeusedsolelyfor the student’s own private study.
GRADES
The following activities and contributions form the basis for your course grade:
- Participation and Professionalism (20 points): In this course, participation and professionalism are evidenced by sharing ideas, especially ones that enhance class discussions and activities, collaborating in group projects, being sensitive to the ideas of others, completing assignments on time, being “present” (i.e. focusing on your learning community and not the internet and/or your phone), completing reading assignments, and bringing appropriate materials to class as listed on the syllabus so that you may engage in analysis of your practice.
Points / Participation and Professionalism
17- 20 /
- Consistently engaged according to learning community norms.
- Prepared for class sessions.
14-16 /
- Occasionally disengaged or unprepared, but usually participating according to agreed-upon norms.
- Usually prepared for class sessions.
10-15 /
- Frequently disengaged or unprepared
0-9 /
- Almost never engaged in the learning community
- Assignments (100 points total): Students will complete the eight assignments below. Rubrics for assignments are available through Blackboard. It is expected that all assignments will be polished, and grades will be adjusted if they are not.
- Alternative Conceptions Lesson Framework replaced with Conceptual Interview Assignment (10 pts)
- NoS Lesson Plan Reflection (15 pts)
- Everyone at the Table Lesson Plan Reflection (15 pts)
- Peer Feedback (post-teaching) assignment (10 pts)
- Sustainability Assignment (10 pts)
- Unit Plan 1 (40 pts)
Your grade will be calculated on a percentage basis (number of points earned out of the possible 120) and assigned a corresponding letter:
97-100%A+80-82%B-67-69%D+
93-96A77-79C+63-66D
90-92A-73-76C60-62D-
87-89B+70-72C- 0-59F
83-86B
TEXTS & REQUIRED RESOURCES
Students will need to have access to the Courseweb (Blackboard) system through my.pitt.edu (
Students will be required to submit assignments using the following software:
- Courseweb (Blackboard)
- Taskstream
Instructions for obtaining login information and using these software tools will be provided during class sessions.
In addition, students will need the following texts:
- The Next Generation Science Standards published by Achieve, Inc. (2013). Available digitally at
- 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science. Jennifer Cartier et al. ©2013.
- Teach Like A Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College. Doug Lemov. ©2010 Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-470-55047-2
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University of Pittsburgh School of Education — Department of Instruction & Learning — I&L 2432
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Date / Topic / Readings for Today / Assignments Due TodayClass 1 / Wednesday
1/7 /
- Planning for the Semester
- Building Science Vocabulary
- Peer Feedback Plan
- current curricular materials
- laptop
- resources from Prof Kucan’s presentation in T&L2
Class 2 / Wednesday
1/14 /
- What is Understanding?
- Alternative Conceptions
Gooding (2011) on Courseweb
/ Bring laptops & current curricular materials
Class 3 / Wednesday
1/21 /
- Nature of Science
Class 4 / Wednesday
1/28 /
- Discourse & Science
Class 5 / Wednesday
2/4 /
- Assessments
- Science Writing Heuristic
Class 6 / Wednesday
2/11 /
- Everyone at the Table
- Unit Plan Work Day (1 hour)
Bring materials for workshop
Class 7 / Wednesday
2/18 /
- High Demand Tasks
- Unit Plan Work Day (1 hour)
Class 8 / Wednesday
2/25 /
- Learning Cycle
- Socioscientific Issues
TBA / Change: NoS Lesson Plan Reflection (related to IP4 in Seminar) to Courseweb
[this will involve you providing and receiving peer feedback ahead of time]
Class 9 / Wednesday
3/4 /
- Sustainability
Class 10 / Wednesday
3/11 / SPRING BREAK
Class 11 / Wednesday
3/18 /
- Unit Plan Work Day
Background, Map, and Resources sections
Class 12 / Wednesday
3/25 / PERC JOB FAIR
Class 13 / Wednesday
4/1 /
- Scaffolding While Maintaining Cognitive Demand
- Peer Feedback of NoS Lesson (post-teaching)
5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science, Chapters 5 & 7. / Everyone at the Table Lesson Plan Reflection to Courseweb
[this will involve you providing and receiving peer feedback ahead of time]
Bring: Materials from a high demand task you have taught. This should include copies of the task, marking tools, and any other representational tools used. Be prepared to discuss how you maintained the cognitive demand during this task as well as ways in which you might alter your approach.
Class 14 / Wednesday
4/8 /
- Peer Feedback Workshops: Assessments & Unit Plans
Class 15 / Wednesday
4/15 /
- Reflecting on Your Learning & Practice
Unit Plan due 4/20 to Courseweb
Class 16 / Wednesday
4/22 /
- Reflecting on Your Learning & Practice