UNDERSTANDING AND TEACHING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS
HSS 408Syllabus Professor James M. Lipuma Fall 2008
HSS 408, “Understanding And Teaching Science And Technology Concepts,” is a Humanities
Capstone course that examines how experts understand
complex disciplinary ideas and can convey them to a general non-expert group.
It explores common communication and teaching methods to prepare students
to convey knowledge from particular areas of expertise to other people that are
both somewhat knowledgeable in that area as well as those who are complete
novices. Case studies and examples will be used to demonstrate how
technical ideas and complex concepts in highly specialized fields can be
understood, communicated about, conveyed, and taught to others effectively.
The course will focus on form and content as well as methods of delivery
for different situations requiring communication or exchange of information.
In the end, the student will demonstrate the ability to present concepts
from their major to others who are not so that those ideas are understood as
might happen when an employer or client receives a technical report in the
business world.
Attendance
will be taken randomly throughout the semester.
A greater emphasis is placed on participation rather than simple
attendance; however, you cannot participate if you do not attend. Absences and late work are excused only by
prior arrangements with the instructor.
Any late assignment is assessed a 10% reduction of grade per class day
after the due date. Throughout the
semester, there will be homework and paper assignments that each student must
complete in order to receive a grade in the class. There is an in-class presentation and a final
that is required for this class.
The
papers handed in for this course are to be college-level research papers. A college-level paper is type written, has
page numbers, contains references to research and includes a reference page at
the end for works quoted or otherwise referenced to in the document. Citations for the research used needs to be
included with the paper and should follow the APA format for citations. This means parenthetical citations within the
text with a reference page at the end of the document. Only works that are actually quoted from or
referenced directly should be cited. Do
not list all works that were read for the creation of the paper. This is not a bibliography but rather a
“Reference Page.” Please remember,
simply lifting text from a dictionary or encyclopedia is something found mainly
in high school. Though it may be
necessary to quote from these types of sources, rarely are they the only works
used for references.
It should be stressed that the work for this class
should be formal research papers. There should be no contractions, spelling
errors, punctuation errors, or mistakes in grammar. Please be consistent within the paper with
abbreviations and other acronyms.
Double-space the paper. Please
use Times New Roman 12-point font, as it is clear and easy-to-read. Your margins should be a uniform 1-inch on
all sides and the paper should minimize large areas of white space within the
text. If you wish to have assistance
with writing, the HSS department has a writing tutor who can be contacted for
assistance with all aspects of the paper.
The lead contact is Dr. Janet Bodner (Bodner@njit.edu). You may also ask your professor, Dr. James
Lipuma, for further assistance or more detailed information. All assignments handed in for this course should
be original and the sole work of the student.
The rules and procedures set down in the student handbook as
administered by the Dean of Students office will be used to judge plagiarism. DO NOT
PLAGIARISE. If you are unclear about
the rules, please see the NJIT student handbook.
http://turnitin.com
Turnitin.com will be used to check for plagiarized
work. All major writing assignments must
be submitted to this page for review.
You will be able to view the report and make revisions for the rough drafts
of your work. You must register for an
account and then log into our class using the class ID and password provided
via email from Dr. Lipuma
PORTFOLIOS
Students are required to submit a portfolio of their work in the class at the end of the semester. All the work for the class should be kept in a binder. The binder is to be submitted at the end of the semester and should contain all work, including rough drafts, completed in the class along with the completed front matter that will be handed out electronically. A Table of Contents should be included that lists all the material contained in the portfolio along with the grade received (if any) on the assignment. A copy of the syllabus and assignments for the class should also be included at the beginning of the portfolio. All work submitted should be arranged in an easy to follow manner using separators and tabs. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your accomplishment in the class and make an argument for the grade you feel you deserve. The portfolios will be collected at the end of the semester and reviewed by the department administration to assess the continuity between and among different sections of the course as well as different courses. Students wishing to have their portfolios returned should contact the department at the end of the semester to make arrangements for pick-up of the work once the review has been completed by the department. Part of your course grade will be given for completion of the portfolio according to the guidelines given in the binder. In addition, students should keep their work in a series of word files in one folder with the student’s name as its title so that if a problem arises, the electronic portfolio can be submitted to Dr. Lipuma. It is also helpful if a student wishes to discuss a course grade with the professor.
GRADING
Participation = 10% WebCT = 10% Proposal = 20% Portfolio = 5%
Individual Oral= 15% Group Oral = 15% Final Essay= 25%
SYLLABUS
WEEK |
SUBJECT MATTER |
|
ASSIGNMENT DUE |
|
1 |
Introduction |
FUEL—Chapter1-3 |
WebCT1-
Introduction/Definition |
|
2 |
Reviewing the
Basics |
FUEL—Chapter 4 |
WebCT 2—Definitions
2 |
|
3 |
Science Research
and Understanding |
FUEL—Chapter 5 |
WebCT 3—Articles |
|
4 |
Science Research
and Understanding |
WebCT Articles |
WebCT 4—Information Literacy |
|
5 |
Example, Analogy,
Case study |
WebCT Articles |
WebCT 5—Proposal
Topic |
|
6 |
Example, Analogy,
Case study |
WebCT Driver |
|
|
7 |
Misconceptions in
Science and Technology |
WebCT Driver |
Group Oral Report |
|
8 |
Graphical
Organizers |
Graphic Organizers |
Group Oral
Report |
|
9 |
Communicating/teaching
Science & Technology |
Rubrics &
Assessment |
Proposal |
|
10 |
Communicating/teaching
Science & Technology |
Rubrics &
Assessment |
|
|
11 |
Simplifying Complex
Idas |
|
In-class Orals |
|
12 |
Project
Reviews—In-class Orals |
|
In-class Orals |
|
13 |
Project
Reviews—In-class Orals |
|
In-class Orals |
|
14 |
Project Reviews /
Summation |
|
Final paper |
CONTACTING
THE PROFESSOR
Office: Culimore—Room
420 Phone: 973-642-4743 http://web.njit.edu/~lipuma
njitlipuma@comcast.net Fax: 973-642-4689
WebCT will be used
to handle some homework submissions along with out-of-class communications and
participation. You must register for a
WebCT account and log yourself into this class.
This can be done at Http://webct.njit.edu
with your UCID. These assignments are
part of the class participation grade.
Some class files and assignments will also be posted on WebCT for you to
download. You should write all posts for
WebCT in MS Word or another word processing program before posting and then
paste them into a blank submission page as well as keep the file with all your
posts so that the file can be placed in your journal and portfolio. Do not attach assignments to WebCT or use it
as an email to contact the professor. It
is designed for class interaction. Late
assignments will not count towards participation grades.
WebCT 1—Introduction/Definition Introduce yourself to the
class. Then, define the following terms
in your own words: Science, Technology, Society, & Communication. You may use outside sources but I do not want
you to just copy and paste or retype what they have written.
WebCT 2—Definitions 2 Define the following: Teaching, Learning, &
Understanding. You may use outside sources
but you must use your own idea of what these words mean. If you use a source, please indicate it
properly in the APA style.
WebCT 3—Article Summary: For this assignment, you need to find an
article that addresses the question: “What is the impact of pseudoscience on
American society’s view of science?”
Post a report that contains the following: the citation for the article
in the proper APA format, summary of what the article presents, and what you
think of the quality of the article. Then explain how you found the article and
why you chose this particular article.
WebCT 4—Information Literacy: The particulars of this assignment will be
given in class. You will be asked to
locate a specific article and summarize it based upon the Information Literacy
presentation given in class.
WebCT 5—Proposal Topic: Please post the topic that you feel you will
use for the proposal, individual oral report and final essay for the class..
WebCT—Articles Some readings for this class will be posted on WebCT. IN addition, there will be assignments to
find articles via the NJIT database system which you as students will need to post in folders on
WebCT along with accompanying web,, periodical and other supporting sources. IN addition, some assignments will be listed
on WebCT but will be turned in by emailing them to the professor directly at lipuma@NJIT.edu
GROUP ORAL REPORT
Each student will work in groups throughout the
semester. The group will be responsible
for assisting the members of their group with writing and working on in-class
assignments and exercises. Groups will
make an oral report beginning week 5 dealing with a major misconception of a
basic scientific principle. Each
presentation will be related to one of the misconceptions presented on the opening
quiz given during class. Each group will
select one of these and explain the misconception, the current scientific
understanding of the topic, as well as an explanation of why misconceptions
might exist and how it can be clarified.
The presentation should appear integrated so that the entire group
presents as one complete and knowledgeable team and should last approximately
10 minutes for each group.
PROPOSAL
Each
student will be required to submit a written and oral report on a complex
scientific principle that relates to his or her field of study or area of
personal interest during the semester.
This project will ask each student to explain the concept in a way that
the general class and other non-technical listeners can understand it along
with methods of explaining it to others.
Beforehand,
each student must submit a project proposal that presents a review of the paper
for the topic chosen. This written proposal report is an explanation of the
principle chosen, what are the common misconceptions about and obstacles to
understanding for that principle, and the research conducted to support
it. Though all the details will not be
included at this time, the proposal should include a paper outline, summary of
the science or technology being discussed, and an annotated bibliography that
gives references being considered for the paper along with a summary of what
information that reference provides and why it might be useful to the
report. Remember, this is still a
research paper and must contain citations.
This means parenthetical citations within the text with a references
page at the end of the document. The
proposal must be submitted to turnitin.com as well as submitted as an MS Word file attached to an email to Dr. Lipuma’s
account lipuma@NJIT.edu
FINAL ESSAY
Each student will be
required to submit a written report based upon the proposal submitted earlier
in the semester. Begin your report by
clearly identifying, summarizing, and detailing the scientific principle or technology
related to your field of study or area of personal interest. Including diagrams and visuals to assist is
recommended. Next, the situation that
surrounds the discussion of the topic must be detailed so that the teacher and
the target are clearly described. The
essay should then give common obstacles or misunderstandings related to the
selected topic. Finally, the essay
should give simple terms, analogies, and explanations so that the obstacles can
be overcome so the specified target can understand the complex topic. The paper should be approximately 8-12 pages
long. It can be longer, if necessary, in order to accomplish the
objective of persuading the reader of your points. Due to the length and
nature of the work, it should contain a separate Title Page, an Abstract, and a
Table of Contents that lists corresponding section headings along with a
separate list of tables, charts, and any other figures used in the paper.
Remember, this is a research paper and must contain citations. You must
use the APA format for citations. This means parenthetical citations
within the text with a references page at the end of the document The final essay must be submitted to
turnitin.com as well as sent as an
MS Word file attached to an email to Dr. Lipuma’s account lipuma@NJIT.edu by the last day of the semester, June 25,
2007.
INDIVIDUAL ORAL REPORT
Each student will be
required to make an oral presentation discussing the topic addressed in the
proposal and essay. The oral
presentation will briefly explain to the class the complex topic or principle
chosen by the student and the pertinent details related to that topic and the
class. The intent of the oral
presentation is not to teach the class but rather describe what you would do to
teach your target so that by the end of this presentation, the class will
understand what basic principles you are trying to teach, who you are and who
you plan to teach, the obstacles you feel you might face, and how you can
overcome them. The presentation will
last for approximately 20 minutes including time for questions. In the end, a successful presentation will
make the complex topic clear to the class so that it can be easily understood
and discussed.
Good luck and if there are other
questions, please contact me.