FRS 004 — Sec. 007 — (2 units) — CRN 92658 — R 12:10 – 2:00 pm — 2377 Academic Surge
Learning Science Through Modeling

Instructor: Cynthia Passmore, School of Education

Description: A fundamental goal of scientists is to develop explanatory models that can account for various natural phenomena. Unfortunately, students in science classes are rarely given the opportunity to develop models, rather they are told the scientific facts and asked to memorize them. In this seminar, we will explore science as a modeling activity by developing models in two scientific domains: near Earth astronomy and genetics. We will also consider differences between "school science" and "real science" and the implications of these differences for science learning. This seminar is designed for students who do not have a lot of experience or expertise in science but are interested in learning more about how scientists approach problems and construct knowledge. Students who may pursue a career teaching science may be especially interested in this seminar.

Format: There are two primary goals for this seminar. First, students will develop deep understanding of the science topics. Second, and more important, students will develop an ability to think about the nature of science and make sense of many different types of scientific claims by applying the framework we develop. The seminar will meet for two hours each week. Seminar time will be divided between group work, discussion, and presentation about the science content and time to discuss the nature of science more generally as it relates to learning. Readings will be provided. Grading: Students will be required to turn in 3 short written reflections during the quarter. In addition they will be responsible for one group project. Grades will be assigned based on the following criteria: attendance and participation (25%), writing assignments (50%), group project (25%).

About the Instructor: Cynthia Passmore is an assistant professor in the School of Education. She specializes in science education and is particularly interested in student learning and reasoning about scientific models. Over the past several years she has worked with other university science educators, scientists, and teachers to develop research based curricula in the areas of genetics, evolution, and near-Earth astronomy.