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Newsletter Volume 1 |
Fall 1996 |
Teacher Education for Arizona Mathematics and Science (TEAMS)
Dale BakerCollege of Education
Arizona State University
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Newsletter Volume 1 |
Fall 1996 |
TEAMS is a new fast track post-baccalaureate program at ASU. That means our students have been hard at work since July 15th! The first block of courses ended October 4th and focused on integrating science, mathematics, technology, the teacher as researcher and becoming familiar with the middle school. We have used the themes of pedagogical tools, desert ecology, and heat and temperature to structure student activity.
Students have mastered lego logo, data probes, graphing calculators, and have learned to use Power Point, navigate the net and make web pages. They have also explored different models of middle schools around the state. To learn about informal science and mathematics education, they have explored the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Zoo and Camp Tontozona. In addition, students conducted a twelve week moonwatch which involved studying the motion of the moon relative to the earth. This activity culminated in an eclipse party on the 26th of September with families and friends where we measured the distance to the moon using Aristarchus' method.
TEAMS students and Montezumas well
Some of the various ways students are working outside of class include helping teachers prepare hands-on science lessons, tutoring and helping with mathematics instruction at ASU, working on the Mars Imaging Project to create materials for teachers and creating resource and curriculum materials for the Desert Botanical Garden.
The next block of courses will focus on applying the national science and mathematics standards to the selection of curriculum and a critical look at pedagogy. This will be supported with additional work in the field and two short courses that address alternative assessment and equity issues (gender, class, race, ethnicity and special needs students) in the teaching of mathematics and science. The third block will be classroom management and student teaching in schools involved in the Phoenix Urban Systemic, another NSF funded project. Then, students will return to Arizona State University for the fourth block where they will be able to reflect on their student teaching, begin to learn about the role of the history and philosophy of mathematics and science in the teaching of those subjects in school and prepare for the presentation of their final projects.
TEAMS students Hung Van Do and Lori Birge use a CBL temperature probe to measure the temperature inside a cave near Camp Tontozona.
These final projects, which students have begun in the first block and will be working on throughout the year, will be presented in a formal setting much like a masters defense. The projects are intended to demonstrate that students can successfully translate research in science and mathematics education, their content and pedagogical knowledge, experiences and personal insights, and technology into materials for effective middle school teaching.
In addition to all of the official coursework, fieldwork and projects, the students have taken the initiative to become part of the research component of TEAMS. Rather than being the object of study in terms of program evaluation, they have decided to become full fledged partners. They presented papers at the Regional National Science Teachers Association conference in Phoenix during October 17-20th, and are helping to redesign the mid-program and end-of-program data collection and analysis to include themselves as participant observers and teacher researchers! They have warned the faculty that "The rats have escaped the cages and are now running the lab."
The TEAMS students are an exceptionally talented group with backgrounds in pure mathematics, electrical engineering, wildlife management, microbiology, exercise science, and zoology. They are thriving under the constructivist approach upon which we base our program. Each student is choosing his/her own unique path to becoming an excellent science/math middle school teacher.
TEAMS faculty will be presenting papers at the NSTA Global Summit on Science and Science Education meeting in December 1996 and at the NSTA National Convention in April 1997.
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