Lesson Plan: The nature of science

Secondary School Science Teaching Methods 4570

Sharon Ohlhorst

 

By now you have reflected on the nature of science (NOS) and the role you think it will play in your classroom and you are somewhat familiar with the role NOS plays in the Utah Science Core Intended Learning outcomes.  Your readings should help clarify what we mean by NOS and the way in which it is fundamental to science literacy.  This assignment involves creating a lesson for teaching NOS in your own classroom.  Although the NOS is something which should be a thread throughout everything you do in the science classroom, it is also important to give it explicit attention.

 

Design a lesson in which students will learn about how science is a specific and distinct way of knowing.  I want this lesson to be something which you can actually use, so you should make the specific NOS aspect something that you feel is of particular value for your students.

  

As you design the lesson, keep in mind that it will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• How well does the lesson explicitly address a concept regarding the nature of science?
• Is there a clear plan of how your students’ understandings will be assessed?
• Can your lesson be understood by another teacher who doesn’t know anything about you or your classroom?  Is it clear and coherent?
• A cover letter/essay should be included that explicitly describes the goal of your lesson, why you’ve designed the lesson the way you did, and how you will know if your students “get it”.  (Of course, all of this will be in your lesson as well, but this will give you the opportunity to be especially clear.)

 

            BONUS – extra credit will be given to lessons which are explicitly incorporated into a standard within your core curriculum.

 

You will have 15 minutes to “teach” some part of your lesson.  Giving us an opportunity to experience part of this lesson will receive more credit than a “talk through”.