Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

1996

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Biology

First Advisor

Gary Peterson

Abstract

Educators are currently trying to enhance student achievement and attitudes in science since young adolescents will have the responsibility of pinpointing, evaluating, and solving problems in the future. Consequently, there is a real need for students to improve, influence, and increase their knowledge, skills, and appreciations of science by becoming effective communicators, self-directed learners, analytical thinkers, and problem-solvers. The overall project goal was to offer secondary teachers and/or interdisciplinary teams a source of science themes to incorporate into their curriculum. Feature Creatures and Super Plants are the two themes presented in IDEAS. The four main goals of the thematic activities are to: increase the awareness of the importance of science, share unique and innovative activities, utilize cooperative skills, and increase the emphasis on science. The secondary objective was to develop a science thematic template for teachers to utilize that integrates curriculum, teaches social skills, and incorporates study strategies. The IDEAS template identifies a central theme, connects content domains to other areas, and shares specific activities that allow exploration of the concepts. Feature Creatures and Super Plant are themes that are easily woven into existing curricula using the IDEAS thematic template. These two objectives were then shared through workshop in service participation in conjunction with SDAC, SDEA, and local school districts over a period of five years. Participants were given materials, resources, and exposure to Feature Creatures and Super Plants. Participants were given time to develop their interdisciplinary concepts and practice the techniques to use within their curriculum. IDEAS is a successful program that can be used as a framework for other teachers to use.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Science -- Study and teaching
Curriculum planning
School improvement programs

Format

application/pdf

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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Rights Statement

In Copyright