PrISM Curriculum

 

K-8 Teachers:
COMPLETE THE PrISM CERTIFICATE!!!

You will need to take six courses in all for a total of 12 semester or 18 quarter credits. You will find that nearly all of the PrISM courses are either 3 quarter hour credits (public universities) or 2 semester hour credits (independent colleges/universities). Yes, you may "mix-and-match" courses between the seven participating universities. You should check with the PrISM advisor at your chosen "home institution" for more specific advising.

Most students will take one introductory course, three courses focused on either mathematics or science content, one integrated practice course, and one capstone course. Together these courses will:

• Increase your confidence in teaching math and science
• Help you develop concrete lessons tied to Oregon standards
• Build your capacity in basic math and science content
• Help your students design science investigations
• Enable your students to think mathematically

Course Organization and Design

PrISM courses are based on the following four themes. Different courses may emphasize different themes, but a brief overview of the four themes is embedded in all courses.

• Place-Based Education
  

  Curriculum and instruction that helps students develop a "sense of place" by focusing teaching on exploration of the local environment, culture, and community. Students learn to inquire about their own world, thus relating curricular content to student lives in more meaningful ways. Students also better understand and contribute to their families and local communities.

• Multiple Literacies
  

  Literacy involves apprenticeship in the discourse practices and ways of knowing in social communities. These discourses include language, but also identities, relationships, values, intentions and various other modes of communication, media, and technology. Individuals are members of many different discourse communities throughout their life span. This vision of multiple literacies will guide the development of math/science curriculum and coursework for English language learners and members of other marginalized groups. Teachers will explore their own literacies in preparation for understanding and fostering the literacies of their students across all parts of the curriculum.

• Integrating Math and Science across the Curriculum
  

  Science and mathematics are embedded in multiple aspects of living and learning. They regularly form the content of popular culture, major social issues, and are fundamental in decision-making for purchasing, voting, vacationing, leisure time, and everyday finances. Science and mathematical knowledge must be put to use in all aspects of the curriculum in order to make it a living knowledge.

• Integrated Math/Science Preparation

  Similarly, all PrISM courses will integrate the teaching of math and science both for inservice teachers' courses and as a core principle for teachers to use in designing math and science instruction for K-12 students. In this way, students will experience these disciplines not as a set of rules or algorithms to be memorized, but rather as tools for thinking and discovery in their own lives and communities.
  
  

PrISM Pathways

PrISM includes a developmental sequence of courses that will lead to a PrISM Certificate. Teachers who complete the certificate might go on to acquire existing or proposed additional endorsements.