WGU D679: Elementary Science and Engineering Methods

What D679 Is and Why It Matters

WGU D679: Elementary Science and Engineering Methods is a School of Education course that teaches future elementary teachers how to plan and deliver science and engineering instruction for young learners. Rather than testing your own science content knowledge, it asks you to demonstrate that you can design lessons that get K-6 students investigating, questioning, and building. The course centers on the three-dimensional model of modern science education, hands-on inquiry, and the engineering design process, all aimed at classrooms where children learn science by doing science.

Direct answer: You pass D679 by treating it as a lesson-design task, not a test. Read the performance assessment rubric line by line, build your science or engineering lesson so that every rubric row has a clear match, and write your reflection with specific evidence from your plan. Careful alignment to the rubric, not clever writing, is what earns a passing evaluation.

If you are pursuing an elementary or educational studies degree at WGU, this course usually sits in the methods block alongside your other subject-specific teaching courses. It matters because it connects directly to what you will actually do in a classroom: turning a standard into an engaging, developmentally appropriate lesson that respects how children build understanding. The skills you practice here, especially designing for inquiry and reflecting on your own instructional choices, carry straight into student teaching and your first year on the job.

What the Assessment Involves

D679 is evaluated through a performance assessment, not a proctored objective test. In practical terms, that means you produce and submit written work, typically one or more science or engineering lesson plans built on a provided template, along with a reflective component explaining your reasoning. An evaluator scores your submission against a rubric, and you revise and resubmit if any section does not yet meet the standard.

Based on the course description and program materials, the topic areas you should expect to work with include:

• Three-dimensional learning — integrating disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts into a single coherent lesson.
• Inquiry-based instruction — designing lessons where students investigate phenomena and construct explanations rather than receiving facts.
• The engineering design process — helping young students define a problem, plan, build, test, and improve a solution.
• Scientific literacy and the nature of science — building students' understanding of how scientific knowledge is developed and revised.
• Lesson structure — sequencing instruction, often with a 5E-style flow (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate).
• Safe, inclusive, developmentally appropriate practice — planning hands-on activities that are safe and accessible for elementary learners.
• Assessment of learning — designing formative checks and aligning them to your stated objectives.

How Hard Is It, and How Long Should You Plan For

Because D679 is a writing-and-planning task rather than a memorization exam, many students report that the difficulty comes from precision, not conceptual overload. If you have classroom or lesson-planning experience, the ideas will feel familiar; the challenge is meeting every rubric requirement exactly. If you are newer to instructional design, the harder part is usually learning what a fully three-dimensional lesson actually looks like on the page.

Time to completion varies widely with your background and how much focused effort you can give it. Many students report finishing a well-scoped methods performance assessment in a few weeks of steady work, and some move faster when they can dedicate concentrated blocks of time. Treat any timeline you read online as a rough signal, not a promise. Building in time for at least one round of evaluator feedback and revision is the realistic way to plan.

A Study and Preparation Plan That Fits This Course

Passing a performance assessment rewards a different workflow than cramming for an objective test. Use these course-specific tactics:

• Start from the rubric, backward. Before you write a single objective, read the full task and rubric and list what each "competent" (passing) box actually requires. Turn each requirement into a checklist item your lesson must satisfy.
• Learn the framework through active recall. Rather than rereading about three-dimensional learning, close the materials and try to write out the three dimensions and what each contributes to a lesson. Where you stall is exactly where to review.
• Practice by drafting, not just reading. The equivalent of practice testing here is drafting a lesson component and checking it against the rubric. Draft an objective, then ask: is it measurable, is it grade-appropriate, does it tie to a specific standard and practice?
• Use spaced revision. Write your draft, step away for a day, then reread it as if you were the evaluator. Distance makes gaps in alignment much easier to spot.
• Study strong models. Review the lesson-plan templates and exemplars provided in the course to internalize the expected structure and depth. Learn the shape of a complete answer, then write your own original lesson.
• Submit early and use feedback. If your program allows draft review or you can submit and receive evaluator comments, treat the first evaluation as data. Revision is part of the process, not a sign of failure.

Methods courses reinforce one another, so patterns you learn here transfer. If you have taken or will take D700 Early Mathematics Methods and Interventions or D171 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, you will recognize the same expectations around measurable objectives and standards alignment.

Common Mistakes Students Make in D679

• Writing a good lesson that ignores the rubric. A creative, classroom-ready lesson can still fail if it does not explicitly address each scored element. The rubric, not your instincts, defines "complete."
• Treating engineering as an afterthought. Because the course pairs science with engineering, evaluators look for a genuine design-process component, not a science lesson with a craft tacked on.
• Vague or unmeasurable objectives. Objectives that cannot be observed or measured undercut everything downstream, including your assessment section.
• Skipping the "why." The reflective portion asks for your reasoning. Describing what you did without justifying why, tied to how children learn science, is a frequent point loss.
• Ignoring safety and accessibility. Hands-on elementary science requires attention to safety and to learners with diverse needs; leaving these out reads as an incomplete plan.
• Copying template language instead of personalizing. Templates guide structure, but evaluators expect your own original, specific content for your chosen grade level and standard.

D679 Readiness Checklist

Before you submit, confirm you can honestly answer yes to each of these:

• Can you explain the three dimensions of modern science learning and point to each one inside your lesson?
• Can you state your lesson objective in measurable, grade-appropriate terms tied to a specific standard?
• Can you identify the science and engineering practice your students will actually engage in?
• Can you show where students investigate or design, rather than only listen?
• Can you describe how you will formatively check for understanding during the lesson?
• Can you match every rubric requirement to a specific part of your submission?
• Can you justify your instructional choices in your reflection with reasoning about how children learn?
• Can you point to the safety and accessibility considerations built into your plan?
• Have you proofread for clarity and confirmed your work is entirely your own?

D679 FAQ

Is D679 an objective assessment or a performance assessment?

D679 is a performance assessment. You submit lesson planning work and a reflection that an evaluator scores against a rubric; there is no proctored multiple-choice exam for this course.

How long does D679 usually take to finish?

It varies with your experience and available study time. Many students report completing a methods performance assessment like this in a few weeks of focused work, and building in time for a round of evaluator feedback is the realistic approach.

Do I need a strong science background to pass?

You need enough comfort to design an accurate, age-appropriate lesson, but the course is about teaching methods, not advanced science content. Your ability to plan inquiry and engineering experiences for young learners matters most.

What is the single most important thing to get right?

Rubric alignment. Read the task and rubric closely and make sure every scored element is clearly and specifically addressed in your submission before you turn it in.

Is it normal to have to revise and resubmit?

Yes. Revision after evaluator feedback is a routine part of performance assessments and is not a mark against you. Use the comments to strengthen the exact areas flagged.

How does D679 connect to my other education courses?

It shares expectations with other School of Education methods and planning courses, such as D702 Elementary Health and Physical Education Methods and D184 Standards-Based Assessment. You can browse more in the School of Education hub or the full guide index.