Mark Enfield Elementary Science Teacher Educator

School of Education Campus Box 3500 Peabody Hall University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 COLE Program Coordinator menfield@email.unc.edu 919-843-4813

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Education
Vita

Research
Emergent Science literacy
Dissertation
Selected Papers

Teacher Education
MSU - Elementary Methods
UNC - Elementary Methods
Science for Elementary Teachers

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Science Teachers
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Science For Elementary Teachers

I taught this course during one academic year at Michigan State University.  This course, offered by the Michigan State University Division of Science and Mathematics Education, intends to prepare future elementary teachers with the subject matter knowledge needed to teach elementary science. 

Teaching this course helped me reflect on the subject matter knowledge that elementary teachers need to teach science and the importance of robust understandings of science needed to teach effectively. Furthermore, since I was a teaching assistant leading my own section but following the syllabus of another, helped me develop a richer sense of the kind of course similar to this that I might plan independently. Based on this experience I have re-examined what I think is most important for future elementary science teachers to know.  The Division of Science and Mathematics Education describes the course in the following way:

Science for Elementary Schools (NSC 301)

The goal of this course is to promote confidence in and mastery of scientific concepts. This is done by teaching college science in such a way that it models the teaching of elementary science in terms of content, methods, and materials. The course follows the science objectives for elementary and middle school as outlined in the Michigan Essential Goals and Objectives in Science Education (MEGOSE). Emphasis is placed on in-depth science learning that is connected to other science topics, other curricular areas, and everyday life. Connections between science topics are emphasized using the seven themes of the MEGOSE. Connections between other curricular areas are made through the use of vocabulary words, oral presentations, writing, maps, drawings, music, and movement. Connections to everyday life are made through personal experiences, daily observations, and experiments with everyday phenomena. The course teaches science in a "hands-on, minds-on" approach. This approach allows the integration of discovery-based science (hands-on component) with reflection and theory (minds-on component). Instructional strategies include group discussions, experiments, demonstrations, presentations, writing, and reading. The classroom imitates a typical elementary school classroom with few science resources. Thus, explorations of the various topics are done with everyday items found in the home rather than with laboratory equipment. The classroom climate is one of a sense of community in which each person matters as an individual and as part of the community of learners. An open acknowledgment of the importance of making mistakes and taking risks within the learning environment will play an important role in overcoming these attitudes and in building confidence.