Instructional techniques designed to promote student thinking were an integral part of the course. Students were asked to explain observations that challenged their current beliefs about how the world works. They drew pictures, diagrams, and concept maps to clarify and organize relationships among science concepts. As students designed and conducted experiments and presented interpretations of the data they collected, they were actively involved in discussing science concepts with each other and the faculty. Faculty asked probing questions to expand student thinking and clarify conceptual development.
Assessments requiredstudents to apply the science concepts they had learned in a new situation.
Students met weekly with the science teaching methods instructor to discuss instructional methodologies that could be used to transfer the science they were learning to their future classrooms. Activities in the science methods portion of the course were designed for the elementary classroom but correlated with and reinforced the science concepts presented in the interdisciplinary science portion of the course. These instruments guided our thoughts about what all students should know and be able to do to be scientifically literate. In addition, we based our course design on inputs from hundreds of science teachers with whom we had worked. Consequently they viewed science as something reserved for only a few special individuals and had great difficulty helping their students understand what science is and why it is important to them.