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Course ListingsVSI TIER 1 COURSESPhysics and Astronomy: SED-5565Year 1 - SummerThis course covers selected topics in physics and astronomy suitable for elementary school teachers. Within this framework, the student will study the physics of motion, forces, momenturm, energy, conservation laws, universal law of gravitation, stars and planets, the solar system, meteorites, asteroids, and comets. Issues in Science Education: EDU-5145Year 1This couse is a critical analysis of current research in science education as it relates to classroom practices. Class events and products will be focused on developing knowledge and skills required of elementary/middle school science teacher-leaders. Geology and Inorganic Chemistry: SED-5435Year 2 - SummerThis course will cover fundamental aspects of inorganic chemistry and geology. Inorganic chemistry course content will include measurement, atoms and molecules, chemical reactions, solutions, gases, bonding, liquids and solids, and environmental applications. Geology course content will include plate tectonics, minerals and rocks, weathering and erosion, geologic time, folds and faults, the effects of water, wind and ice, and earth resources. Educational Assessement in Science Education: EDU-5465Year 2This course will focus on building an understanding of assessment and its relationship to improved student learning. Participants will learn about several key forms of formative assessment including selected response, constructed response, and performance and on-going assessments. Topics of validity and reliability, choosing appropriate assessments for a variety of purposes, creating valid classroom and district assessments, and using assessment data to inform instruction will be examined. Organic Chemistry and Biology: SED-5275Year three - SummerOur study of life begins with the basic chemical building blocks of living things (organic chemistry) and their organization into the fundamental building block of life, the cell (cell structure and function). A discussion of major cellular processes (replication, respiration, and gene expression) will provide insight into how cells and organisms function. The analysis will conclude with an investigation of how life forms found have changed over time (evolution). This course addresses Vermont Framework standards 7.12 (Matter, Motion, and Energy) and 7.13 (The Living World.) Application: Action Research: EDU-5925Year 2In this culminating course, teachers will have the opportunity to develop and implement action research in an area(s) of leadership, curriculum design, or assessment. Teacher Leadership: EDU-5520Year 3This course will focus on building understanding about what it means to be a teacher-leader and the relationship of this role to improved student learning. Participants will learn about the many forms of teacher leaderhsip including mentoring, coaching, performing action research, using data, and observing others in the classroom. Topics related to the knowledge, skills, and dispositions one needs to serve as a teache-leader, as well as the cultures that can help sustain and support teacher leaderhsip in our schools will be explored. The process of building collaborative relationships with colleagues, administrators, and central office leaders will be examined. Independent Study: Science Researcch: SED-5910Year 3Teachers will directly experience the inquiry process in a research project that is planned and implemented in collaboration with a research scientist. The teacher will have the opportunity to implement the scientific method and tools of analytical thinking deveoped over the course of this graduate program. VSI TIER 2 COURSESHands On A WatershedJune 22-26, 2008; The University of VermontThe workshop is designed to immerse teachers in the way that practicing, University-level scientists learn and teach about watersheds. For five days we will be in the field, getting our hands and feet wet and dirty and learning how watersheds work by becoming part of them. By the end of the week, teachers will gain an appreciation for how the Vermont landscape functions and how people and the landscape have interacted. We will use both simple observational techniques that are readily transferred to the K-8 classroom as well as state-of-the art instrumentation. Participants will have daily contact with nationally-know experts as you work with faculty, graduate students, and staff associated with the UVM initiative for Research in Water and the Environment. The World of the Cell - The Essence of LifeJuly 7-11, 2008; Johnson State CollegeOver 150 years ago, Virchow stated in his classic publication, Cellular Pathology, that “All diseases are reducible to active or passive disturbances in cells.” During our five day study of cells we shall develop an appreciation of Virchow’s insight. Our study begins with an investigation of the organelles (subcellular compartments) within cells making connections on how structure suits function. Then, with this knowledge we’ll investigate the consequences of “disturbances” to these compartments as manifested in human disease. Hands-on lab work will enhance our understanding of cell structure/function with microscopic observations and analyses of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Our week culminates with an inquiry-based investigation of cellular membranes. Reading the LandscapeThe University of VermontThis course focuses on the tools and skills needed to read, interpret, and tell the stories of landscapes. Over the course of one short week we explore a variety of frameworks (including vertical structure analysis, natural community concept, landscape timeline, and phenology) for practicing field science, interpreting natural history, and sharing landscape ecology with students in an engaging way. During the week we visit 5 unique Vermont landscapes to explore the pieces, patterns and processes that characterize each site. By the end of the week, participants will feel more comfortable reading landscapes and giving voice to their rich stories. |
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