A Physical Science Discovery Course for Elementary School Teachers Paul G. Jasien California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096

The problem of scientific illiteracy of the general public in the United States has been discussed in this Journal and elsewhere ( 1 3 ) . Various formats for raising the inter- est level of students have been reported (4-7).At the Cali- fornia State University San Marcos, we have tried to ad- dress this problem by targeting an audience of pre-/in-service elementary school teachers. Previous re- ports in this Journal also have described programs in this area (8-10).

We have designed a course, Physical Sciences for Ele- mentary School Teachers, specifically designed to allay the fear of science in elementary teachers. By teaching them science in a laboratory-activity setting, they gain the knowledge and self-confidence needed to do the instruction themselves. The course was based on the discovery ap- proach (11) that provides valuable laboratory experience often lacking in general education science courses.

Instruction centered around a series of 24 exercises spe- cifically designed to lead students toward an under- standing of selected topics in chemistry and physics. The exercises not only included traditional laboratory experi- ments, but also collaborative-learning dry lab exercises as well. The specific topics covered are based upon the guide- lines of the Science Framework for California Public Schools (12) and are listed in the table. Class met twice wee!+ for a total of about four hours. In general, the first 75% of classtime was spent performing the guided-discov- ery exercises and the last portion on a summary-discus- sion period to review the day's exercise.

Enrollment was limited to 16 students, in order to facili- tate informal instructor-student interaction. Students worked in small groups on a rotating basis. Because the exercises are intended to lead to understanding by discov- ery, specifics of each exercise were not handed out prior to the laboratory period. In addition, the instructions were very terse with only a basic outline of what should be done and what data to tabulate. In this way, students are freer to make mistakes, discover concepts, and learn. Unobtru- sive, but direct, supervision by the instructor was neces- sary to help guide the students without directly telling them the result to be expected.

Because the students will be instructing science them- selves someday, it was imperative that they learn to speak and write about it. Therefore, a mandatory laboratory re- port was assigned for each exercise. These one-to-two page reports concentrated less on quantitative data and more on the important results and ideas of the exercise. Reports were checked carefully by the instructor for proper content and use of scientific terminology. The final component of this course involved participation in a science demonstra- tion fair in which each student presented an original dem- onstration-experiment in an informal setting.

More information on this course, as well as the discovery exercises used, may be obtained from the author.

Topics Covered in Guided Discovery Exercises

The Scientific Method

Density and Phases of Matter

Mixtures and Pure Substances

Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures

Scientific Investigations of the Unseen

Composition

What Happens in Chemical Reactions?

Molecules and Chemical Bonding

Chemical Reactions that Produce Gases

Acids and Bases

Solubilities and Crystals

Heat and Temperature

Generation of Heat Energy in chemical Reactions

Velocity and Acceleration

Force, Mass, and Acceleration

Gravity, Mass, and Weight

Forces and Work-Inclined Planes, Levers, and Pulleys

Kinetic and Potential Energy

Electrical Charge, Muitimeters, and Resistance

Current, Voltage, and Resistance

Electricity and Batteries

Electricity and Magnetism

Light and Optics

Sound

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12. Science h m e w o r k for Cnlifornio Pub& Schaola, California Depattment of Eduea- tion, Sacramento 1990.

48 Journal of Chemical Education