Science Education

Degrees and Certificate Offered

• BS, MAT, EdM, CAGS in Science Education
• EdD in Curriculum & Teaching
• Certificate in Global Ecology Education

The Science Education Program focuses on preparing effective pre-service and in-service teachers and education researchers. Emphases are on preparing educators and leaders in science education who are knowledgeable about the content and process of their discipline, well informed about the current trends in science education, and equipped to grow with the changes in educational research and technology of the 21st century.

Undergraduate Science Education majors complete a course of study that includes the equivalent of at least a minor in the content field through courses taken in the College of Arts & Sciences. These courses are coupled with education courses and practical school experiences.

Graduate study includes a Master of Arts in Teaching Program (MAT), a Master of Education Program (EdM) and a Doctoral Program in Curricullum & Teaching (EdD).

The MAT program in science education is designed for the student who has completed an undergraduate science degree and who desires professional education and to prepare for initial teaching licensure.

The following are core science education courses:

• SED CT 575 General Methods of Instruction: 5–12
• SED SC 509 Student-Teaching Practicum: Science, 5–8
• SED SC 510 Student-Teaching Practicum: Science, 8–12
• SED SC 511 Selection, Curation, and Use of Biological Materials
• SED SC 571 Science Materials: Principles, Design, and Construction
• SED SC 572 Curriculum and Special Methods for Science Education: 8–12

The EdM program serves those who seek to advance their knowledge of science education but who do not need licensure. EdM students work closely with their advisors to design a program unique to their interests.

The doctoral program prepares candidates who are pursuing research and leadership roles in the science education community. Students work in collaboration with faculty advisors to identify an area of research and design their dissertation study. For further information, please refer to the description of the EdD program in Curriculum and Teaching.

The science program is also home to the sedGreen sustainability group that, along with the Global Ecology Education Graduate Certificate, reflects our interest in education that promotes fostering a more compatible relationship between human beings and the planet that sustains us.

Global Ecology Education Graduate Certificate

There is no greater science-based need today in our world than fostering a citizenry that can help maintain a healthy, sustainable environment. All of our resources that determine survival and success depend on this. The Global Ecology Education Graduate Certificate program is a unique 16-credit program designed to:

• Convey up-to-date, evidence-based content on how the biosphere as a dynamic system functions and how we as humans can be a better “fit” with those systems.
• Share and practice inquiry-centered, activating pedagogy that helps students of all ages and the citizenry at large to become more literate in ecology.

The program includes two core courses, Global Ecology and Sustainable Human Ecology, as well as two courses from a selected list of electives.

This Certificate builds greater understanding of important issues such as anthropogenic-influenced climate change, deforestation, oil spills, ocean acidification, and so on. The program is particularly geared for practicing middle and secondary life/general science teachers, science chairpersons, educators in the informal science domains (science museums, arboreta, botanical and zoological gardens, nature sanctuaries), science media professionals, environmental advocates in need of a stronger science basis, and students seeking to pursue greener pathways. MAT students may also qualify, for their four science course electives could be the four within this Certificate. Thus, these students may graduate with a master’s, licensure, and a Global Ecology Education Graduate Certificate, all at 42 credits.

For many, the Global Ecology Education Graduate Certificate may serve as a steppingstone to the Master of Education (EdM), Global Ecology Education track. This 36-credit program offers comprehensive preparation in this field. Both this EdM and the Certificate welcome part-time enrollees.

For more information on the Certificate and EdM Global Ecology Education programs, contact its Director, Professor Douglas Zook at dzook@bu.edu. Dr. Zook is the Boston University official representative to the National Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, based in Washington, D.C.

Related Programs

Healthy Futures Education Initiative

Through this focus, those students in science education studying to become science teachers receive timely training on environmental themes. This exposure revolves around our current development of a demonstration exhibit in science education which features solar, wind, and human power generation displays. The science behind global warming concerns and the need for alternative energy must be integrated into the core of young peoples’ learning. This initiative, woven into the methods classes in science education and within many content courses offered, will help prepare youth for a future where human beings can act more compatibly with our home—the Earth. sedGreen is a unique group of students, faculty, and staff who meet regularly and devote time to making SED and the University overall more sustainable and energy-efficient.

Exploring Quantum Concepts in General Chemistry

This project focuses on introducing undergraduate students 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 how computer visualization tools can provide students with a descriptive introduction to quantum phenomena in atoms and molecules. For further information, contact Peter Garik, 617-353-4735, garik@bu.edu.