SCI EDU 10SL
Classroom Practices in Middle School Science
Description: (Formerly numbered Life Sciences 72SL.) Seminar, 90 minutes; fieldwork, three hours. Enforced requisite: course 1SL. Introduction for prospective science teachers to field of secondary education and teaching and learning of science in middle school classrooms. Pairs of students are placed in local middle school classrooms to observe, participate, and assist mentor teachers in instruction. Discussion of learning in middle school culture, cognitive development of students at this level, and best means to teach appropriate science concepts at this level. P/NP grading.
Units: 0.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - This seminar was probably the highlight of my quarter this year. Just as a heads up, Dr. Russell does not actually teach this class at all. The teacher I had, and as it would seem many future students will have, is Anne Yi. She is a middle school science teacher that has a PhD in Education and went to UCLA many years ago. She is really great. Honestly the seminar was fantastic as was the fieldwork experience. I learned a lot about myself and future career goals by taking this class and that is exactly the point of this seminar. Enjoy it. Anne creates great lesson plans that teaches you a lot about the behavior of kids, science standards in California, and the education system in general. I learned a ton in this class and a lot of my perspectives on some education issues have become more defined, particularly since I was in the teachers chair. As for the fieldwork itself, it depends a lot on who the teacher is and what times you go. The program coordinators, Janice and Arlene, are super flexible and will help you go. Ideally you go 3 hours a week so that it totals up to 24 hours throughout the quarter. Anne has required reflections for you to do as does the official CA Teach website where you write additional reflections and log your hours. Honestly I just copy pasted Anne's reflections into the CA Teach one. At the end of the quarter you will need to design your own lesson plan and then make a presentation on it that you show to the class, although we ran out of time and didn't get to everyone. Have fun with this class and go in with an open mind. It's only about 6-8 hours of your week at most, including travel time. Figure out who is going to the middle school that you are so you can carpool potentially. I couldn't wake up early enough to make it to the bus stop. It's a breath of fresh air away from major classes which was greatly appreciated, although it still is another thing to juggle on top of everything else, so don't pretend like it's nothing.
Fall 2017 - This seminar was probably the highlight of my quarter this year. Just as a heads up, Dr. Russell does not actually teach this class at all. The teacher I had, and as it would seem many future students will have, is Anne Yi. She is a middle school science teacher that has a PhD in Education and went to UCLA many years ago. She is really great. Honestly the seminar was fantastic as was the fieldwork experience. I learned a lot about myself and future career goals by taking this class and that is exactly the point of this seminar. Enjoy it. Anne creates great lesson plans that teaches you a lot about the behavior of kids, science standards in California, and the education system in general. I learned a ton in this class and a lot of my perspectives on some education issues have become more defined, particularly since I was in the teachers chair. As for the fieldwork itself, it depends a lot on who the teacher is and what times you go. The program coordinators, Janice and Arlene, are super flexible and will help you go. Ideally you go 3 hours a week so that it totals up to 24 hours throughout the quarter. Anne has required reflections for you to do as does the official CA Teach website where you write additional reflections and log your hours. Honestly I just copy pasted Anne's reflections into the CA Teach one. At the end of the quarter you will need to design your own lesson plan and then make a presentation on it that you show to the class, although we ran out of time and didn't get to everyone. Have fun with this class and go in with an open mind. It's only about 6-8 hours of your week at most, including travel time. Figure out who is going to the middle school that you are so you can carpool potentially. I couldn't wake up early enough to make it to the bus stop. It's a breath of fresh air away from major classes which was greatly appreciated, although it still is another thing to juggle on top of everything else, so don't pretend like it's nothing.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - Overall, Sci Edu 10SL (now 10XP, I think), is a very chill class and very helpful if you're considering a career in teaching secondary school science. The class meets once a week and Ms. Yi, the instructor, is really sweet and tries to make the class as interactive as possible. Even in a remote environment, she got us to talk to each other in breakout rooms - we would discuss education topics, or just check up on how our weeks went. The once a week seminar is accompanied by a fieldwork assignment/internship in which you help out at a middle school science classroom for about 2.5 hours a week for ~8 weeks. This is where you'll actually get experience in the classroom, and you'll be able to work alongside a mentor teacher who'll show you the reins of teaching. The best part of this was that we got to teach a lesson to the students at the end of the quarter, which I honestly really enjoyed. tl;dr - if you're considering a career in secondary school teaching or just want to see if teaching is right for you, take this class!
Fall 2020 - Overall, Sci Edu 10SL (now 10XP, I think), is a very chill class and very helpful if you're considering a career in teaching secondary school science. The class meets once a week and Ms. Yi, the instructor, is really sweet and tries to make the class as interactive as possible. Even in a remote environment, she got us to talk to each other in breakout rooms - we would discuss education topics, or just check up on how our weeks went. The once a week seminar is accompanied by a fieldwork assignment/internship in which you help out at a middle school science classroom for about 2.5 hours a week for ~8 weeks. This is where you'll actually get experience in the classroom, and you'll be able to work alongside a mentor teacher who'll show you the reins of teaching. The best part of this was that we got to teach a lesson to the students at the end of the quarter, which I honestly really enjoyed. tl;dr - if you're considering a career in secondary school teaching or just want to see if teaching is right for you, take this class!
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