Each methods student participates in a one-half day practicum with elementary students at the School of the Wild. The School of the Wild is a weeklong environmental education program at the Macbride Nature Recreation Area. Methods students participate with instructors and elementary students in a variety of areas such as wetlands, prairies, woodlands, birds, and outdoor adventures. This practicum provides opportunities for preservice teachers to experience field trips, outdoor environmental education, and teaching with hands-on activities. To help science methods students learn more about incorporating community resources into elementary school classrooms, each section of students will take a field trip to the Iowa Children's Museum in Coralville, IA. While at the museum, students will take a tour of the museum with the education director, discuss ways to integrate a field trip into the curriculum, and experience some of the exhibits at the museum. Many elementary science methods students chose to be a judge for a science fair for a local elementary school as part of an independent project for the course. Through this opportunity, methods students interviewed young students at the science fair and provided feedback for the projects. To learn more about science education for gifted and talented students, Dr. Laurie Croft visited the science methods class to speak about problem solving and Invent Iowa. Methods students had the opportunity to participate as judges in the 2000 Invention Convention in which K-12 students from all across Iowa came to Iowa City with their unique creations.
