Semester: 2
Credits: 3
Pre-requisites: None

Rationale

It has for long been recognised that for a nation to progress economically, it must invest substantially in the science and technology education of its citizens. Historically, technology education has been accorded a lower status than science education worldwide. This is partly because the former is associated with those who do manual work, whereas the education system is primarily controlled by those who do not. This course, therefore, aims at familiarising participants with the (a) nature of science and technology, (b) relationship between science and technology, (c) technology in the school curriculum, (d) the quest for relevance in science and technology education, (e) teaching strategies for presenting ethical dilemmas in science and technology, and (f) science and technology in the third world.

Objectives

Students should be able to

1. discuss the similarities between science and technology and their contrasting
features;
2. critically analyse the goals and content of technology in the primary and
secondary school curricula;
3. analyse some case studies in technology education in general education and
appraise the problems of introducing technology into the secondary school
curriculum;
4. evaluate the objectives, justification for and the content of science, technology,
and society (STS) curricula and the problems of introducing them into schools;
5. reflectively discuss ethics and social responsibilities in science and technology
education and the teaching strategies for presenting their ethical dilemmas; and
6. discuss the status of science and technology in developing countries and why their science and technology enterprises have lagged behind those of the developed countries.

Semester: 1
Credits: 3
Pre-requsites: None

Rationale

Several psychological issues influence the teaching and learning of science. To enable science teachers to organise and teach their science lessons effectively, it is necessary for them to be aware of some of these issues. This course is, therefore, designed to enable participants develop a critical awareness of (a) some of the psychological theories that underpin students’ cognitive development, (b) students’ ideas about science concepts (c ) how students’ conceptions change under the impact of new ideas and new evidence, (d) some of the sources of students misconceptions and alternative conceptionss in science, and (e) some of the teaching strategies that can be employed to bring about students’ meaningful learning of science concepts.

Objectives

Students should be able to

1. critically discuss Piaget’s stage theory and use it to analyse the cognitive demands
of some Caribbean science textbooks;
2. compare and contrast the main postulates in the learning theories of Bruner, Schwab,
Ausubel, and Gagne and how they can be applied in science teaching;
3. discuss (a) some of the various forms of constructivism, (b) research into students’ conceptions and alternative conceptions in science based on the constructivist perspective, ( c ) constructivist teaching strategies with particular reference to their use in teaching specific science disciplines (d) conceptual change theories, and
(e) carry out and report individual/group research into high school students’ science conceptions from the constructivist perspective;
4. discuss some of the sources of student alternative conceptions in science; and
5. develop and use concept maps and vee heuristic in the teaching of science concepts and the evaluation of science textbooks.

Objectives:

To develop in participants:

a. An understanding of assessment and related terms
b. An appreciation of the nature of classroom assessment and large-scale assessment and their roles in teaching and learning.
c. An awareness of the range of traditional and alternative assessment techniques in science.
d. A critical awareness of the approaches used in recording, interpreting and communicating assessment results.

Semester : 2
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Rationale

The primary and secondary science curricula developed during the mid-1960s to the early1970s worldwide curriculum reforms, emphasised student-centred, process-based instructional approaches, primarily to improve students’ attitudes to and performance in science. But towards the end of the 1970s, evidence from many parts of the world indicated that many secondary students were not doing well in science. In order to encourage more students to study science, attempts have been made since then to introduce science curricula with social relevance into schools in many parts of the world. Consequently, over the last 30 years the following are among the trends that have emerged in secondary science education: science-for-all-curriculum, a re-emphasis of integration and interdisciplinarity in science teaching, environmental education curricula, and science, technology and society (STS) curricula.. Despite these trends, the results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study conducted in 45 countries in 1994-1995 indicated that many primary and secondary school students’ performance in these subjects was poor.

This course, therefore, aims at making the participants aware of and knowledgeable about some of the principal global trends and dilemmas in science education and the extent to which they have influenced science curriculum development and curricula in the Caribbean.

Objectives

Students should be able to

1. critique the theoretical arguments that undergird integration and
interdisciplinarity in science teaching;
2. critically appraise the “process approach” to science teaching and learning and
analyse the practical tasks in some Caribbean integrated science textbooks;
3. discuss the issues and trends in environmental education globally and
regionally since the 1977 Tbilisi conference; and
4. critically discuss the progress made and the problems encountered in the implementation of some aspects of the Jamaican reform of secondary education (ROSE) science curricula for grades 7-9.

LEVEL: 3 CREDITS: 3

PREREQUISITE ED 24H
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RATIONALE

Effective primary science requires that teachers recognize and appreciate the nature of the scientific activity and as such are able to provide meaningful learning activities for children. This understanding comes out of one’s experience of “doing” science. It is important that teachers with a limited science background be exposed to hands-on science as a part of their training so as to help in the acquisition of this experience. To this end a high premium is placed on using inquiry-oriented techniques in teaching the course so that the participants can be motivated to employ similar methods in teaching their students.

OBJECTIVES

The course is designed
1. to develop the students’ understanding of the nature of the scientific activity and to use this understanding in exploring some selected topics that they teach in grades 1-6 in the primary school.
2. to develop a deeper personal knowledge of science as well as the ability to criticize, adapt, extend and create further activities for children.

Rationale
Environmentalism took root in the 19th century. But, it was not until the 1970s that environmental education (EE) was institutionalised globally by some United Nations’ Organisation. Indeed, it was at the first Intergovermental Conference on EE that UNESCO in cooperation with the United Nations Environmental Programme organised at Tbilisi in 1977 that the philosophy for EE activities everywhere and at all levels was explicitly spelt out.
While many developed countries have introduced specially designed EE curricula into their school curricula, many developing nations (including Caribbean nations) have not. A course on EE is, therefore, considered necessary to prepare high school teachers who (a) EE literate and (b) have the knowledge, skills and dispositions essential to effectively infuse relevant EE issues into the curriculum they teach in addition to the use of other EE instructional strategies.

Objectives
Students should be able to
1. outline and justify a perspective on EE;
2. recognise the potential for EE within existing primary and secondary level curricula;
3. use information relative to the nature of EE to make decisions for infusing and delivery of appropriate EE concepts into all disciplines the student is assigned;
4. draw a range of appropriate contents, materials, teaching strategies, learning activities and evaluation strategies for EE;
5. display competence in using a range of skills related to teaching EE; and
6. display mastery of the knowledge of the causes and consequences of selected national, regional and global environmental problems.

Rationale
Science is a core subject offered at the primary and secondary schools. Both the content and approach to science teaching have been influenced by events from the history of science. Hence, science teachers need to have a broad understanding of the nature of science from historical perspectives in order to help students develop an appreciation for the learning of science. It is also important that teachers understand the ways in which science has evolved in order to help students develop a greater appreciation of the human involvement in science development, the theories and ideas in science, as well as the approaches to science investigations.

Objectives
To enable participants to
a. develop a suitable definition of science;
b. become familiar with events, some significant people, problems and ideas in the history of science and understand how these do or could contribute to the learning of science at school;
c. examine the roles of induction and experimentation in the production of scientific knowledge; and
d. develop ways of integrating the history and development of science into the teaching of secondary school science.

Semester: 2
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None

Rationale

It has long been recognised that scientific knowledge is socially constructed, science is a social enterprise and that the teaching and learning of school science occur within social contexts inside and outside the science classroom. This course, therefore, seeks to intimate participants with (a) some of the sociological factors that determine the science curriculum, (b) the representation of the nature of science in students’ discourse (c) students’ views of science as a social enterprise and the social contexts of science, (d) the sociological climate and interactions in the science classroom,(e) ecocultural paradigm in science education,and (f) science textbook sociopedagogic features and their implications for science education.

Objectives

Participants should be able to

1. critically discuss some of the sociological factors that determine the content of the science curriculum and the representation of the nature of science in students’ discourse;
2. analyse students’ views of science as a social enterprise, the contexts of science and the portrayals of science in the curriculum;
3. examine students’ learning styles, modes of classroom interactions and science classroom environment and their implications for science teaching and learning; and
4. identify some science textbooks’ sociopedagogic characteristics influencing science teaching and learning.
Content

Science as a Social Enterprise
* Sociological underpinnings of the science curriculum.
* Representation of the nature and status of science in students’ discourse.
* Students’ views of science as a social enterprise.
* Social contexts of science.
* Portrayals of science in the curriculum.
Sociology of the science classroom environment
C Modes of classroom interactions and gender-bias in science classroom interactions.
C Students’ learning styles.
C Students’ perceptions of their science classroom learning environment.
C Classroom talk: language interactions between teachers and students.
C Discussion in the science class: learning science via talking.

Sociopedagogic Features of Science Textbooks
C Textual factors influencing students’ comprehension of textbooks.
C Communication strategies in science textbooks.
C Defects in science textbook materials (e.g., illustrations, and textual content).
C Gender bias in science textbooks.

Delivery modes: Lectures, group work, seminar presentations, video showing science classroom interactions, a written in-course test (30%) and an individual assignment (70%).