The following inquiries are designed to provide a framework for collaboration and investigation between you and your TEEMS intern. Each inquiry is designed to engage the TEEMS intern in one of a number of important aspects of teaching. The purpose of these inquiries is to help the TEEMS intern construct ideas about teaching, and working in a partnership with you, to see the wisdom that professional science teachers provide novices in a mentoring situation.
The TEEMS intern will include these inquiries in their professional portfolio which will be presented at the end of the semester.
As a mentor your role is that of a guide or facilitator in each of these inquiries. Your experience as a teacher in your school will be invaluable to the TEEMS intern as they explore the various realms of teaching that these inquiries are designed to foster. There is no special order for carrying out these inquiries. It might be a good idea to outline on the calendar for the semester an initial plan for carrying them out.
Inquiry 1: Design a Three Week Unit Plan. The PLAN should be brief and organized on a single page (using the Unit Plan Guide). Each box in the Unit Plan should include the topic for the lesson and how students will be involved with the topic. This is best done collaboratively with your mentor. Note: The Intern is not expected to teach all of the days reflected in the three-week plan. The central purpose of this inquiry is to strengthen the Intern's ability to design coherent instruction.
Inquiry 2: Design a Mini-Unit. Develop a science teaching mini-unit based on the content of one of the courses you are teaching. The mini-unit should consist of at least five lessons, assessment strategies, references, and any ancillary materials (handouts, lab sheets, assignment sheets, etc.).
Inquiry 3: Instructional Plan for a Single Lesson. (This should be repeated over the semester, so that you have a lesson analyzed early and late during the semester. You should author your lesson using the lesson plan format of your own design, then you should "analyze" the lesson using the Lesson Analysis form. After you have analyzed the lesson plan, meet with your mentor to discuss your the lesson, and try to incorporate any suggestions prior to when you actually teach the lesson. Since you will be repeating this process, you and your mentor should discuss the evidence that shows how you have grown in your ability to plan lessons.
Inquiry 4. Instructional Plan for a Technology Oriented Lesson. Prepare a technology based science lesson (could be an Internet-based activity), and then analyze it using the Lesson Analysis form. Collaborate with your mentor to design a technology lesson that takes into consideration the kind of technology available to you and the goals of the course you and your mentor are teaching. You should then implement the lesson, and use student work and classroom observations to reflect on the lesson. How did it go? What do you think needs to be changed?
Inquiry 5. Samples of Assessment Procedures. You should include at least one assessment procedure, although you will no doubt use a variety of procedures this semester. When doing this inquiry, you should link the assessment procedure to the instructional goals to which they are connected. Include student work that is part of the assessment (such as a homework assignment, lab report, or essay). When you include student work, be sure to include a representative sample showing the range of responses to the assessment. Use the Instructional Artifacts Sheet as a cover for these inquiry.
Inquiry 6. Videotape of a class. When you do this, you should discuss with your mentor your intent. For example, you might want to illustrate in the video tape how you introduce a laboratory activity (or conduct a post-lab session), how you conduct an EEEP, carry out a class discussion of a science-related social issues (e.g. a Fuzzy), or how you establish an environment of respect and rapport. You can then have your mentor or a your TEEMS Partner use the TEEMS Class Observation Form to give you feedback about the videotaped segment. Please note, that the segment will most likely not include all of the elements on the Class Observation Form. Keep the taped segment within a 15 - 20 minute frame. The product for this inquiry should include TEEMS Class Observation Forms completed either/or by your mentor or TEEMS Partner, and the video tape. You might also want to solicit the help of your TEEMS Partner to do the videotaping.
Inquiry 7. Instructional Artifacts of Student Work. You should give careful thought to this through reflection and discussion with your mentor. Student work can include a homework assignment, or an in-class assignment (a laboratory activity, student projects (such as building a model of the cell), an EEEP, a Fuzzy Situation, a Web-based discussion using a bulletin board, such as beseen.com). When you put together samples of student work you should select a small sample (three or four) that reflects that represents the full range of student responses in your class. You should use the Instructional Artifacts Sheet as a "cover page" for your artifacts. The number of different artifacts to include is up to you. You should have at least one.