Earth Sciences B.S. – Secondary Teaching Emphasis - Licensure: Science (Grades 7-12)

College of Natural and Health Sciences

Contact: Timothy Grover, Ph.D., Department Chair

Location: Ross Hall 3235

Telephone: [phone]

Website: esci.unco.edu 

Advising Information:

Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.

Assigned advisor is available through the Ursa login; ursa.unco.edu; under Student tab Academic Profile channel and is term specific. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.

The program consists of three parts:

1. Liberal Arts Core (LAC) Credits
2. Required Major Credits
3. Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits

Program Description:

The coursework and experiences in this major are designed to provide the student with a broad background in the four earth science disciplines (astronomy, geology, meteorology and oceanography) and supporting sciences, including biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics.

Graduates of this program are prepared to teach earth science in grades 7-12. Graduates will have satisfied all the requirements to receive Secondary Science Licensure from the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

Program Admission Requirements:

Academic Good Standing

Program Requirements:

• The course of study for this major, including both required and elective courses, must total at least 60 credits and must be developed in consultation with and be approved by the student's academic advisor.
• At least one half of the credits in AST, ESCI, GEOL, MET and OCN courses must be numbered 300 or above. No more than 8 credits of AST, ESCI, GEOL, MET and OCN courses numbered below 200 may be counted toward the major.
• Science and mathematics courses approved for the Liberal Arts Core that are taken as part of this major may also be used to satisfy Liberal Arts Core requirements.
• A grade point average of 2.5 in the major courses is required to receive approval for admission to the Professional Teacher Education Program, for eligibility to student teach, and for graduation.

• In accordance with University Policies, coursework earned more than 10 years prior to the date of matriculation to UNC may not be used to satisfy any major or minor requirements.  Any exception to this policy is at the discretion of the academic program.

PTEP Program Requirements:

If you are seeking licensure in your program area, the following items are required to complete your program.

• Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP

• Completion of Full Admission to PTEP

• Completion of Application for Student Teaching

• Completion of content specific PRAXIS test prior to Student Teaching

• Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.

• All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.

• Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.

• Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they were once students or where they have a close relative attending and/or working.

• Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.

Please work with your content advisor to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout your program.

Degree Requirements — 121 Credits

Degree Requirements

1. Required Specified LAC — 22 credits

LAC area 2 — Mathematics

MATH 124

College Algebra

4

LAC area 6 — Physical and Life Sciences

BIO 110	Principles of Biology	4
CHEM 111	Principles of Chemistry I	4
CHEM 111L	Principles of Chemistry I Laboratory	1
MET 205	General Meteorology	4
PHYS 220	Introductory Physics I	5

Remaining LAC — 21 credits

 See “Liberal Arts Core”.

(If you select courses from areas 7 and 8 that also count for areas 3, 4, or 5)

2. Required Major — 42 credits

Course selection may vary, depending upon the educational background of the student, with approval of the advisor.

The following courses are recommended:

AST 301	Classical Astronomy and the Solar System	3
AST 302	Stars and the Milky Way	3
GEOL 201	Physical Geology	4
GEOL 202	Historical Geology	4
GEOL 390	Colorado Geology	3
MET 452	Paleoclimatology	3
OCN 301	Physical and Chemical Oceanography	4
OCN 302	Geological and Biological Oceanography	4

Complete the following courses:

Science and math support courses, required to meet CDE Licensure in Secondary Science, are to be selected in consultation with the major advisor.

BIO 111	Survey of Organismal Biology	4
CHEM 112	Principles of Chemistry II	4
CHEM 112L	Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory	1
PHYS 221	Introductory Physics II	5

3. Required PTEP — 36 credits

Phase I (5 credits taken concurrently).

STEP 161	Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching I	2
EDF 366	Conceptions of Schooling: Context and Process	3

Phase II (8 credits taken concurrently)

STEP 262	Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching II	2
EDSE 360	Adaptation, Modification, and Integration of Curriculum for the Secondary Exceptional Learner	3
PSY 349	Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers	3

Phase III (9 credits taken concurrently)

STEP 363	Clinical Experience: Secondary	2
EDRD 340	Developing Language and Literacy in the Content Areas	3
SCED 440	Strategies in Teaching Secondary Science	1
SCED 441	Methods of Teaching Secondary School Science	3

EDRD 340: maybe taken outside of Phase III

Phase IV (14 credits).

STEP 464

Secondary Student Teaching

1-14