BI/CH/GS 456 Pedagogical Paper Guidelines
In BI/CH/GS 456 you are required to write a scholarly researchpaper related to the teaching of any of the science disciplines (biology, chemistry, physical science, etc). In essence, you are to craft a paper related to what researchers, philosophers, teachers, and science educators have said about the pedagogical side of our field. The following questions may (or may not) guide your thinking and writing:
1. What is the best way to teach a discipline…?
2. What is the purpose for doing science in schools…?
3. What are the challenges of our field, and how might they be addressed…?
4. What are the major trends in our field…?
5. What philosophies serve as the foundation of our field…?
6. What do researchers say about science teaching (pedagogy)…?
7. What is the relationship between content and pedagogy…?
8. What role does the university play in teaching science teachers…?
Technical Requirements for Paper
• APA format is required. The paper must be written according to the guidelines set forth in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010). APA information can be found under course information in BB.
• Manuscripts should be typed on 8.5 x 11-inch paper, double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. Be sure to check “Do not add space between paragraphs of the same style” or your spacing will be too much.
• All manuscripts should have an abstract of 150 to 250 words, found on the second page. Abstracts should concisely and comprehensively summarize your paper. It should include the purpose and content of the paper with no personal commentary or opinions.
• Pages should carry only a running head and page numbers in upper right corner. Subheads should be used at reasonable intervals to break the monotony of the text. Words to be underlined (according to APA style manual) should be in italics.
• Reference citations should be used extensively (i.e. I want to know what the research says, not the author’s opinions)
• Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out at first mention unless found as entries in their abbreviated form in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.
• Font should be Times New Roman, point 12.
• Microsoft Word Processed (or saved as .rtf file)
• Paper length: 8-10 pages (not including title page, abstract, references)
• References: minimum of 5 references; APA format. Only books, e-books, or scholarly journals will be counted as references. Educational websites may be referenced but will not be counted in the total and should be used very minimally. Newspapers and magazines are NOT acceptable references for this assignment.
• References, tables, figures, and appendices must be placed at the end of the paper and do not count toward the paper length requirements.
Library Search Terms:
Science Education
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, etc. Education
Journals and Books:
• Be sure to use only peer-reviewed journals (in the library search engine, there should be a place where you can check “peer-reviewed”).
• Suggested journals:
o NSTA journals-The Science Teacher, Science Scope
o The Journal for Research in Science Teaching
o Science Education
o Any content specific journal-Ex. The American Biology Teacher
• The National Science Teachers Association has a wide variety of books available.
• Contact and use the librarians and library resources for this paper. The following library resources may be helpful:
✓ How to login: Databases and eBooks http://libguides.athens.edu/c.php?g=117461&p=764673
✓ Find Scholarly Journals: http://www.athens.edu/library/how/find-scholarly-journals/
✓ Find JN Articles in Databases/ Peer Reviewed articles/catalog search (these are PPTs): http://libguides.athens.edu/c.php?g=117461&p=764653
Writing Center
You are encouraged to utilize the writing center while you work on your paper. The writing center provides sessions in a variety of formats (in person, online, etc.) so that your needs are accommodated. The writing center is NOT an editing service, but can help you develop your ideas.
Writing Center information can be accessed from the home page of the Athens State University website or you can use the following link.
http://www.athens.edu/writing/
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