Design of Tools and Learning Environments in Science Education

Catalog description

This course is designed to develop future science teachers' ability to critically select and implement instructional materials and design learning environments that support meaningful, effective, and standards-aligned science instruction. This course builds foundational pedagogical content knowledge and focuses on deepening teacher candidates' capacity to use instructional materials, technologies, and teaching strategies that promote student engagement, address student misconceptions, and connect classroom science to real-world contexts. Teacher candidates will examine instructional materials such as lab equipment, educational apps, models, virtual simulations, and the use of animals (living and dead). Pedagogical approaches such as modeling, gamification, questioning strategies, and argumentation are explored. Science teaching & learning that occurs in informal settings, such as citizen science projects, VR experiences, and field trips, is also addressed.