
Online Course: Scientists Teaching Science
Wednesday, June 3, 2020 - Saturday, August 8, 2020
Online Course
Are you interested in teaching, but your students doze off during your lectures? Do they have a hard time answering the questions you ask? Do you find yourself wondering if there’s a different way of teaching science than just talking to them and showing them slides and illustrations? How can you tell if your students really understand the information or have memorized vocabulary terms? Take the online course “Scientists Teaching Science” and learn about active learning, creating course objectives and test items, and finding ways to improve your teaching and assessment techniques for students of all ages. Learn the latest research-based techniques used by model instructors around the world.
Come practice with your peers under the instruction of a national award-winning science educator and author.
The asynchronous course is available 24/7 on any web-enabled device. Unlike other online courses, one-on-one engagement, personal review of written assignments, and personalized advice on teaching is guaranteed! There are also scheduled discussions where you can meet with the instructor in a webinar.
The time needed to complete all readings and activities is estimated to be about 3 hours a week. All participants who complete the course requirements will be eligible for a personal letter of recommendation from the instructor about teaching preparation for future employment. Participants who complete the course requirements will also receive a certificate of completion from the New York Academy of Sciences.
Course Objectives
- Identify at least three active learning strategies.
- Know the four major learning styles and three types of learning environments.
- Evaluate biases and how these can affect student outcomes.
- Design a personal statement about promoting diversity in STEM.
- Compare inquiry-based activities to directed instructional activities.
- Create course objectives based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
- Assess the level of Bloom’s Taxonomy of course objectives.
- Develop valid multiple choice and essay questions based on objectives.
- Recognize several steps in effective curriculum design.
- Compose a Teaching Philosophy Statement.
- Recommend one or more ways to notify potential students about consequences of cheating or plagiarism.
- Construct a detailed course syllabus.
- Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of teaching and learning in an online environment.
Certificate of Completion and Reference Letter Requirements
Each Scientists Teaching Science assignment builds from the previous one, culminating in two documents you can use as templates for job applications and in teaching. Participants must satisfactorily complete six written assignments and all the required elements of nine lessons in order to be eligible for a certificate of completion and a personalized letter of recommendation from the instructor.