National Hands on Science Institute NHOSI

COURSE SYLLABUS
Hands-on Science for Elementary Teachers

Course Title: Hands on Science for Elementary Teachers
Class Time: Session 1: TBA for 2004
Session 2: TBA for 2004
Location: Colorado site TBA for 2004

Institute Director: Steve Spangler
Course Instructors: Steve Spangler, Doug Hodous, Geri Anderson

Institute Philosophy
The Hands-on Science Institute is a unique week-long teacher training program designed to meet the needs of elementary school teachers who want to make science more exciting, stimulating, and meaningful in their classrooms. All of the Hands-on Science Institute workshops continue the very successful model of in-servicing teachers in the morning and immediately practicing the demonstrations and activities with enthusiastic children who attend the science camps in the afternoon. In addition to quality instruction, teachers also receive materials in the form of books and hard-to-find equipment to take back to their schools to facilitate hands-on learning in their classrooms.

Course Description
This course centers around the following themes: All about Air, Electricity and Magnetism, Mystery Science, Soda Bottle Science (physical science activities with soda bottles), and Fun with Polymers. Teachers take home dozens of highly visual demonstrations that challenge inquisitive minds and stimulate further inquiry. They also develop specific presentation strategies for turning ordinary "hands-on" activities into inquiry-based learning experiences that challenge student to use their critical thinking skills. The material selected for the course meets the objectives of the emerging state and national science standards. The take-home materials are valued at $500.

Course Organization
A unique component of this course is the on-site assessment of classroom activities. Teachers are given the opportunity to test out the usefulness of the inquiry-based activities by presenting the science lessons to elementary age students that are brought on-site during the afternoon portion of the course. In this manner, teachers can fine tune their presentation techniques and develop the best strategies possible to meet the goals and objectives of each lesson before integrating the activities into their school curriculum.

In an effort to comply with the national science standards, school districts throughout the country are placing more emphasis on inquiry-based teacher training. In terms of long-range plans, this course will provide teachers with information and materials to meet their district's science curriculum requirements. This course will provide methods for implementing assessments with multiple validation components and will increase their effectiveness in developing activities that compliment the elements of the inquiry model. In addition, HOSI (Hands-on Science Institute) will also offer a follow-up conference for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the course materials.

Course Objectives
The Hands-on Science Institute recognizes the need for increased inquiry-based science education training of elementary and middle school teachers. The course content specifically addresses the following needs as deemed necessary by the National Science Standards and the Colorado State Standards:

Increased use of hands-on classroom activities
The increased use of discrepant events and counterintuitive demonstrations
Inquiry-based training that promotes the development of critical thinking skills
The development of secured assessments with multiple validations
Ethnic/gender equity in the promotion of science education
Technology in the science classroom

The course participants will learn the valid components of the inquiry model through the development of materials and lessons that engage the students in exploration and discovery. Most importantly, participants will be assessed on their ability to build connections between scientific knowledge and real-world applications to solve everyday problems. The participants will also return to the classroom with ready-made demonstrations, materials for hands-on activities, and written materials for future reference.

Course Reference Material
Many of the classroom kits and the written material each participant will receive were developed by Steve Spangler, Doug Hodous and Dr. Geri Anderson. Each participant will receive a master notebook filled with lesson plans, activities, demonstrations, articles, and handouts from numerous authors. A complete set of instructions and follow-up reference materials accompany the take-home materials. Participants will also receive information on suggested readings for follow-up activities to the course material presented.

Grading Criteria
Grades are based primarily on the participant's full participation in both the morning training and the afternoon authentic assessment portions of the course. Each participant is required to complete a daily course journal, a science web-page and to participate in the group discussion of the day's activities during the debriefing sessions. The course instructors will also observe each participant's presentation style during the afternoon lab session with the students.

Attendance
Attendance at every session, including the Sunday orientation, is required. Any absences must be arranged with the course instructors in advance.

Undergraduate Credit
Course participants seeking undergraduate credit will be required to fulfill all of the above general course requirements in addition to writing a thematic lesson using the elements of the modified learning cycle: motivation through presentation, information, application, exploration. This specific teaching strategy is modeled extensively throughout the course and serves as the foundation of the Institute philosophy of learning.

Graduate Level
Course participants seeking graduate level credit will be required to fulfill all of the undergraduate requirements in addition to submitting a two-page "Call for Presentation" form similar to those used by state and national science convention program planning committees. The Institute instructors will schedule a special time during the week to meet with all of the graduate level participants to discuss strategies and techniques for developing a successful workshop presentation and writing the official "Call for Presentation." There are additional tuition costs for graduate credit.