Content Area Study: Science ((3 Credits))

Catalog description

This course provides Grades 5-12 science teacher candidates an opportunity to advance in their science education understanding using national, international, and trans-national lenses. Using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, we will investigate trends in American students' science learning along with contextual factors that impact their performance. Using a comparative approach, we will uncover factors that influence student science performance and science teacher instructional approaches. We will reflect upon science education policy borrowing and lending which results from the use and analysis of large-scale international assessments like the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). As a course project, science teacher candidates choose and conduct research on an area of interest within their content area’s curriculum and investigate a demographic factor, a content-area knowledge factor, and a science practice or disciplinary literacy in the United States and the country of their choice.