D.I. BLOCK at Penn State

1. D.I. BLOCK at Penn State Discipline Inquiry

2. What is the D.I. Block? • D.I. stands for “discipline inquiry.” • In the D.I. Block, we focus on inquiry about teaching and learning in three disciplines (mathematics, science, and social studies) through three methods courses (MTHED 420, SCIED 458, and SSED 430W) and a practicum in local elementary schools (CI 495B).

3. SCIED 458: Teaching Science in the Elementary School MTHED 420: Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary Schools CI 495B:Clinical Application of Instruction – Elementary and Kindergarten Education D.I. BLOCK SSED 430W: Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades

4. MTHED 420 is designed to help you . . . • come to see mathematics, mathematics learning, and mathematics teaching as complex and to develop an inquiry approach to these domains • improve your understandings of the mathematical concepts and procedures you will teach, and improve your understanding of children’s mathematical learning and thinking about these concepts and procedures • increase your ability to choose among tasks, lessons, and curriculum materials from a variety of print and electronic sources based on intended mathematical understandings • increase your ability and inclination to create a thriving, supportive classroom mathematics culture • develop an informed personal vision of effective mathematics instruction

5. SCIED 458: Teaching Science in the Elementary School MTHED 420: Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary Schools CI 495B:Clinical Application of Instruction – Elementary and Kindergarten Education D.I. BLOCK SSED 430W: Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades

6. SCIED 458 is designed to help you . . . • engage in opportunities for scientific inquiry, to deepen your scientific knowledge for teaching, and to transform that knowledge into appropriate teaching and learning practices with children • learn about the research on children’s thinking in science, use that knowledge to develop and analyze children’s responses to state and national standards-based assessments, and adapt or design lessons that are developmentally appropriate for children • engage in powerful, scientific classroom practices and discourses, both in the methods classroom and in your own placements, to support conceptual understanding of science and to build a collaborative and inclusive community of diverse learners • develop a professional inquiry stance towards research- and standards-based elementary science teaching, with a focus on evidence-based explanation as central to scientific understanding and progress • use technology to collaborate, reflect, design, represent, and share your thinking, plans, teaching, and learning with others

7. SCIED 458: Teaching Science in the Elementary School MTHED 420: Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary Schools CI 495B:Clinical Application of Instruction – Elementary and Kindergarten Education D.I. BLOCK SSED 430W: Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades

8. SSED 430W is designed to help you . . . • consider how citizenship education relates to public schooling, what kind of citizen you are, and what kind you mean to educate • consider how to create an inclusive and egalitarian learning community, especially considering today’s increasingly diverse classrooms • leave with several powerful teaching methods, or teaching strategies, to make anthropology, economics, geography, history, civics, and sociology come alive in your classroom • use various sign systems to “transmediate” history, or tell it from a new perspective to consider how the telling of history is perspective-laden • learn how to apply Pennsylvania and National Standards in your classroom instruction

9. SCIED 458: Teaching Science in the Elementary School MTHED 420: Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary Schools CI 495B:Clinical Application of Instruction – Elementary and Kindergarten Education D.I. BLOCK SSED 430W: Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades

10. CI 495B is designed to help you . . . • develop an inquiry stance toward teaching and a sense of efficacy – becoming the best teacher you can become! • understand students and how they learn so that you can address their diversity and individual needs • become “students of teaching” by using the professional knowledge base including research and the wisdom of practice • begin to become practiced professional by teaching and interacting with children, colleagues, and families • develop the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to analyze your teaching and its impact on learners

11. Across your Discipline Inquiry Block courses and experiences, you will . . . SCIED 458 MTHED 420 engage in inquiry in the disciplines to extend your understandings develop an understanding of how children learn, and use principles of learning and development during planning, instruction, and assessment learn to use evidence of children’s understanding as a basis for instructional decisions CI 495B design and analyze discipline-specific tasks and lessons, and explore different teaching strategies and methods learn to create a well-managed, inclusive, nurturing, and stimulating classroom environment so that all learners are engaged SSED 430W learn to value and seek professional growth use technology for important teaching and learning purposes