1. Developing a set ofintroductory science coursesfor pre-service teachersA (possibly premature) successstoryPresenter: Anne EggerCentral Washington University

2. Whats the problem? Elementary educationmajors in science methodscourses report likingscience until they got tohigh school/college The science courses theytake fulfill Gen Edrequirements = introcourses These tend to be taught aslarge lectures +/-disconnected labs Yet we expect them to eventually teachhands-on, inquiry-based, process-orientedscience in their own classrooms 3. The solution is already out there. Many institutionsalready offerintroductory sciencecourses gearedtowards elementaryeducation majorsthat Incorporate pedagogywith content Model the teachingmethods we wantfuture teachers to use No need to reinvent the wheel at CWU, but wedo need to change the tires on an 18-wheeler. 4. A little background: SCED ScienceEducationdepartment 7 FTT faculty 6 joint appts: 2 chemistry 2 biology 1 physics 1 geology All teach contentcourses indisciplines andscience educationcourses 5. A little background: Physics Mike Jackson talked about CWUs introphysics sequence Includes PHYS 106, Physics Inquiry,specifically for elementary ed majors Taught by Bruce Palmquist, SCED/PHYS 6. What we did Decided as a department that developing a set of introscience courses for elementary ed majors was apriority Talked to chairs of El Ed, Biology, Chemistry, Physics,Geology Started writing an internal proposal to the provost Shared it with department chairs, who expressedconcerns: FTEs, WLUs, fees, etc. Revised proposal to include more numbers and tomake case for a full-time lecturer or faculty member Shared it with the department chairs and departmentcurriculum committees, who gave more feedback Revised the proposal to incorporate concerns andcontingencies and eventually got signatures from all Presented the proposal to the Dean of the College ofthe Sciences, who 7. Funded a new full-time, tenuretrack position!It worked! 8. Of course, we havent started todevelop the courses yet, much lessteach them, butWhat the heck did we say in thatproposal? Why did it work? 9. Goals that match university, college,and department strategic plans Utilize best practices derived from research onlearning (e.g. Bransford et al., 1999; NationalResearch Council, 2012) in designingintroductory science courses; Provide opportunities for future teachers tofulfill their natural science general educationrequirements through courses that build theircontent knowledge, their ability to engage ininquiry, and their confidence in teachingscience; Build a community of faculty who are engagedin teaching science using high-impact practices(Kuh, 2008). 10. Pointed outthat ourcompetitorswerealreadydoing it 11. Used numbers to show we were serious(and did our homework) 12. Got buy-in at multiple levels Department chairs and curriculum committees Other faculty interested in teaching Elementary education programs University curriculum committee Dean could hardlysay no it fit rightin to bigger plans 13. Tasks that remain Write and submit proposals for courses tomeet Gen Ed requirements Develop courses Explore existing curricula, particularly at WWU Develop advising strategy to get studentsto take the courses Eventually reach out to colleges wherestudents transfer from 14. Ultimate (subversive) goal:To transform all introductoryscience courses in the universityto this format