Houghton Mifflin Textbook - Instructors' Textbook Site

Textbook Site for:

Science Stories: Science Methods for Elementary and Middle School Teachers
Third Edition

Janice Koch, Hofstra University


From the Author This web site, and the companion student site, are designed to help you make your science methods course as exciting and enriching as possible. There is nothing in the text or in these web resources that I have not personally tried with my own education students. What I have found to be particularly successful is the practice of encouraging education students to begin to think of themselves as "scientific." I refer to this as "locating your scientific self." My students have seen this course as a first step in their journey toward becoming scientific adults and modeling their own curiosities to their students. I hope you can encourage the same approach in your own students. As the course draws to a close, you may find that your students can begin to write their own "science stories." —Janice Koch

Sample Course Syllabus The sample syllabus can be adapted for either a ten-week or a fifteen-week course. It reflects my many years of teaching the science methods course. I offer it as a guide to your own course development and as a useful tool for engaging students in their own thinking about teaching and learning science.		Chapter Instructional Resources Besides an overview of each chapter of the text, this section provides related activities, connections to the National Science Education Standards, and tips about how best to use the text.

Assessment Approaches The assessment strategies described here match the instruction that is modeled and recommended by the text.		Your Course Web Site Since the sample syllabus suggests establishing a discussion board on your course web site, I offer some recommendations for getting the most out of your site.

Using the MST Material Here I present suggestions for taking advantage of the MST section on the student side of this web site. MST—the integration of mathematics, science, and technology—is an exciting new approach to the curriculum, and you may want to have your class explore it in depth.		California Science Standards Correlation This correlation chart shows you how Science Stories, 3/e aligns in both philosophy and orientation with the 'Science Framework for the California Public Schools' (2003)





	Sample Course Syllabus

	Chapter Instructional Resources

	Assessment Approaches

	Your Course Web Site

	Using the MST Material

	California Science Standards Correlation