Secondary School Teaching


Science Education

Degrees Offered: MAT in Science Education Ed.M. in Science Education CAGS in Science Education Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching

Faculty Contact: Douglas Zook 617-353-2030 dzook@bu.edu

Boston University’s Science Education Program prepares you for professional responsibilities in designing, teaching, and supervising science programs at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. Our program connects emerging and experienced teachers to the foundations of what makes a quality science educator today: up-to-date science content with innovative, diverse pedagogy. We challenge our students to develop and practice ways so they will engage their students in the learning process, allowing young learners to experience science actively rather than being passive receptacles. Most importantly, we are not afraid to smile, cajole, criticize, comfort, and grow. Our science education experience is one of belonging to a responsible, closely-knit learning community determined to make a difference in the lives of children and teenagers. We are particularly concerned with the need to make emerging teachers prepared for teaching critical climate change concepts and consequences.

The Science Education graduate program prepares you to teach and supervise science programs in a variety of settings, including schools, museums, and other educational organizations. The program focuses on the identification of concepts and skills helpful in teaching science and technology to students in elementary school through college. While this specialized program is individually tailored for each of our students, it contains a balance of study in teaching strategies and classroom materials as well as examination of current research.

You are encouraged to apply to our Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in Science Education (46 credits) if you earned a liberal arts degree in a scientific field and desire professional education courses to prepare for initial teaching licensure. The Masters of Education (Ed.M.) program is 36 credits and is primarily geared for those who already have licensure or who seek to be involved in informal and formal science education without licensure.

Our Curriculum and Teaching doctoral program (Ed.D.) emphasizes the development of research skills and prepares individuals for post-secondary positions in community or technical colleges and in teacher training colleges and universities. Our doctoral graduates also serve as leaders in public school science education.
More about the doctoral program

Required Courses for the MAT in Science Education

Required Courses for the Ed.M. in Science Education

Required Courses for the CAGS in Science Education

1 Research course
3 Courses in Curriculum and Teaching
4 Electives Selected with Advisor’s Consent

Required Courses for the Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching

Course descriptions


STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
This proposed track is intended for professionals in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields who are interested in becoming physics teachers. This is a pre-service program modeled on the current MAT program. A student taking this program would earn a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree with an institutional endorsement for physics, 8-12, initial level.

STEM Initial Licensure Courses

STEM Course Descriptions


Improving Teachers of Physics (ITOP)


Practicum
Boston University enjoys long-standing relationships with many inner city and suburban school systems in Greater Boston that offer our students rewarding field experiences under the guidance of expert teachers and faculty. Science education students placed in area schools for their student teaching practicum assignments are highly sought after by many public school science chairs for employment as full-time teachers. The School of Education reserves the right to determine whether a student is fully prepared to enter any professional field experience. This would include passing the SED Literacy Test prior to starting the practicum.

Related Research Programs

International Symbiosis Society
The Society is made up of researchers and educators from more than two dozens nations. Their main subject field is symbiosis – intimate partnerships among different organisms in nature. Examples include corals and their dinoflagellate algae, mycorrhizal fungi and plants, and lichens. The Society sponsors a major international meeting every three years, publishes a news journal twice a year, and conducts symbiosis-related workshops, and produces classroom materials for teachers at all levels. Science Education Program Coordinator Douglas Zook is the President of the International Symbiosis Society.

Microcosmos Project
The unique Microcosmos Project is an international effort directed by Dr. Douglas Zook that has developed new curricula and materials infusing the important world of microorganisms into the classroom. The program shows how the unseen world of microorganisms, upon which we all depend, can be a dynamic vehicle for stimulating interest in the natural sciences in children and adults.

Exploring Quantum Concepts in General Chemistry
This project focuses on introducing undergraduate student to quantum concepts. The goal is to reform undergraduate education and produce a curriculum more in keeping with modern science. The project is an outgrowth of earlier research on how high school students learn quantum ideas, and how teachers can effectively support this learning. The project emphasizes using computer visualization tools that provide students with a descriptive introduction to quantum phenomena in atoms and molecules. For more information, contact Peter Garik at garik@bu.edu.

Download a description of this program