general information

Field Components

There are two components of field work in the course: observations at LBJ High School and project-based teaching experiences.

LBJ Observations

Please sign up for a time to observe at LBJ. Planet Earth and Sci Tech are 2 hour block classes. Planet Earth meets at 10:17-12:03 and 1:45-3:31. Sci Tech meets at 10:17-12:03. You may sign up any day that AISD is in session for Sci Tech. Planet Earth has a project schedule that you should check before you sign up (otherwise you may be observing a movie or test). You must observe two times during the semester and post an observation report to nicenet within one week of the observation. Please post the SciTech observations to SciTech conferencing area with the date and time in the subject heading. Please post the Planet Earth observations to Planet Earth conferencing area with the date and time in the subject heading. The observation report is a detailed, neutral description of what took place. If students are working in groups a good strategy is to observe one group for a while (record their interactions) and then move to another group. Record what the teacher says/does and what the students are saying/doing. It is always best to e-mail the teachers a day or two ahead to make sure nothing has come up (like assemblies or changes in the school schedule). You do not have to e-mail the teachers if you cannot make it. Field Observations must be completed and posted by the last class day.

Project-Based Teaching Experiences
There are several options for project-based teaching experiences.

Coast Trip: The Coast Trip is an opportunity to teach high school students over a long weekend at the UT Marine Institute in Port Aransas. The coast trips are scheduled for September 30 - October 2 and October 20 - 23. Students who want to go need to sign up and indicate when their last class ends. Vans will be scheduled to leave so that students do not miss class on the departure date. The object of the first trip is to get a feel for the facilities and to generate lesson ideas. The second trip will be a joint trip with high school students. UTeach will cover costs except meals going to and from Port Aransas.

Astronomy: Astronomy students will prepare materials here on campus during times that are scheduled amongst the group. All astronomy project students will be assigned to teams that will pre-build telescopes. Each team will be responsible for two telescopes. Participating in the building process ensures that everyone knows how they work and distributes the work load fairly. The astronomy lessons will be taught as part of an all day field trip at a local high school. The lessons will be repeated with different students at the same high school one week later. Astronomy project students will teach at McNeil High School or Bowie School. McNeil students built telescopes with our students last Fall so they will be using their telescopes to observe things this year. Mathematics topics associated with using telescopes include ratio and proportion, rates, and inverse relationships. The dates at McNeill are October 27 and November 3. Bowie students will be building telescopes and the mathematics topics will typically focus on conic sections and angle of reflection. The dates at Bowie are October 18 and October 25. Click here for directions to McNeil and Bowie.

Attire

You should dress modestly for both. The dress at LBJ, McNeil and Bowie should be like the attire you wore for Step I and II. Attire for the coast experience is casual but remember, we will video you so dress appropriately.

Transportation
Students must provide their own transportation to observations at LBJ. For driving directions, click here. Students can also take the bus to LBJ. Upon arrival at LBJ, check in at the office (or they may tow your car). When you sign in ask for directions to Tim Fennell's or Alycia Ruch-Flynn's room. This is important because Sci Tech often switches rooms (between classroom/computer lab and shop area). University regulations prohibit student drivers for field activities outside the Austin metropolitan area. Consequently, students are NOT permitted to drive to the coast for the study trips. Students attending the study trips must go with the class in university vehicles (i.e., vehicles rented by the university and driven by a UT employee). Students who drive their own vehicles to the coast will be barred from study trip activities and will not receive credit for those activities.

Other University Rules
University regulations and state law prohibit consumption of alcohol and illegal activities (illegal drugs, etc.,) on University sponsored trips. This regulation applies to ALL students regardless of age (i.e. even if you are legal drinking age, you are prohibited from drinking alcohol on university sponsored trips). Students failing to comply with this university regulation will receive a grade of 0 (no credit) for the field experience and will be referred to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action.

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