Science Education Minor Course Descriptions

Optional Freshman Seminar

Is knowing science more important now than ever before? What are students expected to know in science? How can instruction in science be improved? What is like to be a science teacher these days? These and other questions will be addressed in this freshman seminar on teaching science.

Participants in this course will learn about recent research on human learning and how it translates into practice in the science classroom; they will have an opportunity to examine their own understandings about science; they will experience some innovative approaches to science instruction; and they will carry out practice exercises in teaching with their peers in the course.

May be taken alone, but intended to be taken with: EDS 39

Undergraduate students are placed in local schools and work with children in classrooms. Students work on educational activities with K-12 students a minimum of 20 hours/quarter. 

The aim of this course is to strengthen students' ability to teach science subject-matter, by deepening their understanding of the nature of science, the process of scientific inquiry, and fundamental concepts in the core subject-matter areas of physics, chemistry, biology, and Earth science. Participants in this course will be challenged to apply their cumulative scientific knowledge to basic problems and questions in science. The regular group work and class presentations during the course will be important opportunities for teaching practice.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Teaching Science, Chemistry 6C

In this course students will experience a variety of approaches to learning and teaching science. By analyzing and experiencing an array of science curricula and course materials, and by working on problems in basic science, we will see how different learners approach specific science content. Topics for discussion arising from the study of these materials will span the nature of science, the process of scientific inquiry, and fundamental concepts in the core subject-matter areas of physics, chemistry, biology, and Earth science. The course will also include discussions of several important topics in science education research.

Prerequisites: Foundations of Teaching and Learning Science, Chemistry 6C

The mutual influence of language, culture, and education. Explanations of students’ school success and failure that employ linguistic and cultural variables, bilingualism, and cultural transmission through education are explored.

This course series is for undergraduates who are exploring a career in teaching secondary school. Topics addressed include: theories of teaching and learning processes and motivation for science, mathematics, and English instruction. EDS 129A focuses on the analysis of the needs of individual learners and small group instruction techniques; EDS 129B emphasizes the various roles of the classroom teacher and planning individual lessons; and EDS 129C emphasizes the assessment of student work and longer-range curriculum planning. Department stamp required.

Must be taken with: EDS 139

Students are placed in local schools and work with students in classrooms and the community. Students work on educational activities with K–12 students a minimum of four hours/week. Department stamp required.