Syllabus

Course Prerequisite: Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations II.A., Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning.

Required Text: Earth Science Today, 1999, by Brendan Murphy & Damian Nance, Published by Brooks/Cole Publishing, 668pp. Available at Aztec Bookstore. There will be weekly reading assignments from this book which presents a process-oriented approach to understanding how Earth systems work. Emphasis is placed upon understanding fundamental principles and concepts over memorizing terminology. The authors’ vision of Earth as a "planet in process" reinforces dynamic properties of Earth’s systems. This book can serve you later as an encyclopedic Earth Science reference appropriate to elementary and middle school teachers.

Recommended Text: Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, National Academy Press, 2000. This is available on-line via http://books.nap.edu/html/inquiry_addendum/ or can be purchased through the National Academy of Sciences web site http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9596.html for about $16.

Natural Sciences 412D fulfills one of the upper division science requirements for the Liberal Studies degree at SDSU. Because this degree is designed primarily for students who intend to go on for multisubject credentials and teach at the elementary & middle school levels, there are several overarching goals beyond simply learning earth science "content" in NS 412D. These include:

• Acquiring a comfortable grasp of basic geological concepts and building personal confidence in solving scientific problems.
• Learning to facilitate and practice constructivist learning in the classroom using effective teaching methods and materials.
• Developing a highlighted awareness of local geology and the relevance of science to your own life.
• Facilitating positive attitudes toward science in elementary and middle school children and intrinsic motivation to become lifelong learners via Earth Sciences investigation.

This course is designed to be discovery-oriented (directed constructivism). The typical class will have a short lecture period followed by a lab/activity period for the remainder of the class. There will be variations on this theme so please be flexible.

From the NAP Website: "Science can--and should be--be about so much more than rote recitation of complicated facts. It can be about understanding the nature of things. It can satisfy the natural curiosity that we're all born with. It can ultimately illuminate the world and nurture our sense of wonder. The challenge that confronts anyone who wants to improve education and motivate children to learn is to create a system in which the teaching of science achieves these goals. With the publication of the National Science Education Standards in 1996 the National Research Council spelled out a vision for making science literacy a reality for all children in the 21st century. As we celebrate the dawn of the millennium, the new book, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, allows us to more clearly understand how to achieve this vision."

Exams - There will two in-class lecture exams. These tests will be about 1 ½ hours long and will involve a variety of questions based primarily on in-class activities and reading materials. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS – IF YOU ANTICIPATE BEING ABSENT PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENTS AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE TO TAKE THE TEST EARLY.

The final portion of the course is devoted to a project "Think Globally, Teach Locally", that involves directed research on a topic, development of a lesson plan, construction of a poster, making a class presentation, and submitting a final written report.

In-Class Activities - The foundation of this class is weekly in-class activities that will engage you in scientifically oriented questions, collecting evidence, formulating explanations, and communicating results. Activities will be conducted as group efforts and. cannot easily be "made up" if you are absent; are late, or leave early. Exam questions will draw heavily from these activities.

Homework - Homework will assigned on a regular basis.

Late work and late assignments are –50% for the first class period late, -100% for later.

Any group work we do is also expected to be a collection of individual efforts, not the work of one person copied many times over.

Your final letter grade for the course will be based on a percentage scale. A level work represents extraordinary effort, not just completing assignments. B level work means above average, and will require more work than just going through the motions. A C grade means that you completed all tasks adequately, but no more. D and F are pretty self explanatory. Cheating on tests or academic dishonesty such as plagarism will not be tolerated.