SCIENCE OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Course Resources

Course Syllabus

Presentations
Updated through the semester

Assignments
All papers must be submitted as attachments in Microsoft Word Format. All presentations must be submitted as attachments in Microsoft PowerPoint Format.

Assignment 1 - Identify at least 3 technologies that you use everyday and and write a brief description about each. Brief does not mean one paragraph. Write each description in such a manner that describes that product/technology, its origin and evolution, how it is expected to evolve, and its relevance to society. Write as if you are communicating with your students. The criterion for a good write-up is, if someone reads about your description he/she should be motivated to learn more about the technology you have described. Friday, September 10th, is the deadline for all submissions.

Assignment 2
Assignment 3
Assignment 4
 

Reading Materials

State of Texas

1. TExES Online Course
2. Texas Educator Certification
3. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
4. Texas New 4x4 High School Graduation Plan
5. State Board of Education approves new "4X4" high school graduation plan, by Jeff Wentworth
   State Senator, District 25
6. Fort Bend 4x4 Brochure
7. Garland ISD 4x4
8. The State of Science Education in Texas, by Kenn Heydrick, TEA Director of Science

Science of Everyday Life:

1. What is Science? by Richard Feynman, Presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association, 1966 in New York City, and reprinted from The Physics Teacher Vol. 7, issue 6, 1968, pp. 313-320
   
2. How Things Work – The Physics of Everyday Life, by Louis Bloomfield, Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2006).
3. How Stuff Works
4. Mad About Modern Physics – Braintwisters, Paradoxes and Curiosities, by Franklin Potter and Christopher Jargodzki, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2005).
5. The Flying Circus of Physics, Second Edition, by Jearl Walker, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2007).
6. How to Dunk a Doughnut – The Science of Everyday Life, by Len Fisher, Weidenfeld and Nicolson (2002).
7. The Last Word from New Scientist – Questions and Answers on Everyday Science, Edited by Mick O’Hare, Oxford University Press (2000). 
8. The Science of Everyday Life Everyday Kitchen, Household Science makes Learning Fun
9. Inventing the 20th Century – 100 Inventions that Shaped the World: From the Airplane to the Zipper, by Stephen van Dulken, Barnes & Noble (2007)
10. You Are Here – Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to our Planet, Thomas M. Kostigen, Harper One (2008)
11. Tapping Into Students' Brain Power: Program Looks to Classrooms for Ideas on Reducing Energy Use
12.  

General Background Information:

1. Crossing the Finsh Line
2. Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (2005)
3. Creating A High School Diploma that Counts, American Diploma Project Network
4. Less Than Proficient, A Review of the Draft Science Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Report (2005)
5. Teacher Education: Coming Up Empty, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Publication (2006)
6. No Dream Denied, A Pledge to America’s Children, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (2003)
7. All students proficient on state tests by 2014?, Published: Friday, September 26, 2008 - 09:08 in Mathematics & Economics

Standards, Reports and Presentations:

1. The State of State SCIENCE Standards, Thomas Fordham Institute (2005) 
2. College Board 2007 Results on graduation statistics from U.S. schools 

Teacher Profiles:

1. Middle School Science Teacher
2. Teacher Profile: Rabi Whitaker
3. Serendipity in life (and) science: Christian Mellwig
   
4. The University of Toledo : Teacher Profiles
5.  

High Performance Schools:

1. High Performance Schools
2. High Performance Green Schools
3. High Performance School Design
4. High Performance Schools
5. Achieving with Data: How High-Performing School Systems Use Data to Improve Instruction for Elementary Students
6.  

Topics for Discussion:

1. What does it mean to be educated?
2. What does it mean to be a teacher?
3. What are TEKS Standards?
4. What are TExES Standards?
5. How do we compare state standards with global standards?
6. Do I feel prepared to walk into a classroom tomorrow?
7. What are the perspectives on the Texas 4x4 Plan?