Department of Science Education - CSU, Chico

Latest News

New BA in Science and Environmental Literacy in the Works

The department has applied to the chancellor of the California State University system to offer a new Bachelor of Arts in natural sciences with a concentration in science and environmental literacy. If approved, the degree will require about 40 units across all of the natural science disciplines and will prepare students for entry into the single subject credential program for certification to teach foundational level general science. The degree will be especially appropriate for students who are interested in teaching integrated or basic general science at the middle school level. Spring 2009

Science Teacher Club Earns NSTA Approval

Tanya Heaston, advisor, has announced the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has officially sanctioned the Chico chapter of the national science teachers club. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Tanya at 530-898-5425, sheaston@csuchico.edu or Jamie Mills, NSTA president, at jamie.mills08@yahoo.com. Fall 2008

News of Our Faculty

Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI)-- Feb. 2009

California is currently poised to lead the nation in environmental literacy. This effort is termed the EEI.   The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) and the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) are actively engaged in the implementation of the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) pursuant to AB 1548 (Pavley, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2003-PDF) and AB 1721 (Pavley, Chapter 581, Statutes of 2005-PDF). These landmark laws mandate the development of a unified education strategy to bring education about the environment into California’s primary and secondary schools. Other current key partners include the State Board of Education, the Office of the Secretary for Education, the Curriculum and Supplemental Materials Commission, the State Department of Education, and the California Resources Agency. Anne Stephens, SCED teacher-in-residence, began working with the California Department of Education in February 2009 as that agency’s representative on the EEI.

Learning in Museums--Jan. 2009

What effects do different setups of museum exhibits have on visitors' conversations and interactions? This study by Dr. Leslie Atkins and colleagues is an investigation of the role that labels and associated materials play in visitors' conversations and interactions at a heat camera exhibit. After they introduced a label to help visitors explore the insulating properties of clothing, they found a dramatic shift in the kinds of activities and participation structures of visitors. Not only were visitors, as expected, discussing why clothing was warm, but they were doing so in a fashion more consistent with formal education than the typically more collaborative conversations seen in informal learning environments. Overall, their analyses revealed that labels and activities presented serve to frame both the activities that visitors engage in and the types of conversations that ensue and that this has deep influences on visitors' experiences at the exhibit. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 93:161-184, 2009

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Student Generated Scientific Inquiry--Dec. 2008

Drs. Leslie Atkins and Irene Salter were awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a new course that introduces inquiry to future science teachers.  In many universities, experiences in designing and conducting research that address scientific questions are limited to graduate students or upper-division undergraduates. This leaves many students unfamiliar with methods of experimental design and the role of argumentation in science, and presents a view of science that is inconsistent with practice. These concerns are particularly troubling to future teachers. The project develops a course for pre-service teachers using open-inquiry in science that engages students in crafting and investigating their own scientific questions in topics that span several disciplines. The coursework scaffolds students' inquiry activities, requiring them to move beyond simple experiments and seek to find correlations. The inquiry activities move students toward a deeper understanding of investigation and experimentation as methodologies for evaluating scientific arguments. Evaluations of the course assess the degree to which the course supports students in developing a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of science and improves their confidence in teaching scientific ideas and inquiry. The project develops an instructor's guide to aid in the implementation of open-inquiry courses at other institutions. The guide is patterned after facilitation guides as described in social work literature, with careful attention to fostering dialog and building community. The guide will aid faculty in undergraduate sciences in promoting discussion and inquiry.

Fostering Self-Reflection and Meaningful Learning--Oct. 2008

In a recently published article, Assistant Professor Dr. Julie Monet describes her work with middle school earth science teachers in New Jersey. The findings of the research suggest that learning to reflect on one’s learning should be an integral part of teachers’ professional development experiences. 

...A critical problem in fostering reformed teaching and learning practices is that “Most teachers have not had opportunities to learn science through inquiry or to conduct scientific inquiries themselves” (NRC 2000, p. 87). If students are to understand inquiry and use it to learn science, then teachers need to be knowledgeable in inquiry and inquiry-based methods. However, the majority of the teachers learned in the traditional environment. Thus, teachers’ acquisition of new content or teaching methods in professional development programs should involve inquiry, not lectures (Eisenhower National Clearinghouse 1999).

Read more about the study in Monet, J. and E. Etkina (2008). Journal of Science Teacher Education,19:455-475

Science and Academic Learning--Oct. 2008

Dr. Bev Marcum received a large grant from the Department of Education under the Improving Teacher Quality program of the No Child Left Behind Act to work with elementary school teachers in the Gridley Unified Public School District.   This professional development and research project aims at reducing the achievement gap in science and academic literacy among English Language Learners and English proficient speakers. Teachers work together to develop instructional materials using the Japanese Lesson Study approach and then implement and assess their materials in the Hands-On Lab at Chico State. It is anticipated that the four-year project will significantly enhance science understanding, confidence in science teaching and ability to create an inquiry-oriented learning environment among the participating teachers.

 

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Teaching About Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration--Sept. 2008

Many science lessons can be transformed into open-ended inquiry investigations with just a little bit of extra time, materials and effort. An article recently published by Dr. Irene Salter and her colleagues in Science Scope magazine (Sept 2008) describes how a typical lab investigating photosynthesis and cellular respiration using the acid-base indicator bromothymol blue and living organisms was changed into a more engaging experience that resulted in deeper student learning. 

Misconceptions Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers--Aug. 2008

Dr. Joel Mintzes is working with colleagues in the Science Education Department at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics to develop a set of test questions in the life sciences that are aligned with the National Science Education Standards. The assessment items are available free of charge to all K-12 teachers and teacher educators and are designed to document conceptual understanding and misconceptions in the natural sciences.

“…Project MOSART was funded by the National Science Foundation primarily to provide no-cost assessment support to NSF-funded MSP Institutes via test instruments for administration to teacher participants and to their students. Each instrument comprises a set of multiple-choice items that were developed linked to the K–12 physical science and earth science content in the NRC's "National Science Education Standards," as well as to the research literature documenting misconceptions concerning science concepts.” These assessment resources are available at the Harvard University MOSART Web site.

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