CSTE Courses & Programs | UMD College of Education

Courses


Name	Introduction
EDCI 370 Curriculum and Instruction in Secondary Education	Preparing objectives, planning lessons, selecting and organizing for classroom and laboratory instruction, determining appropriate teaching methods, selecting textbooks and other instructional materials, and measuring and evaluating student achievement.
EDCI 372 Curriculum and Instruction in Elementary Education	Objectives, methods, materials and activities for teaching science in the elementary school; emphasis on teaching strategies which help children learn the processes and concepts of science. Includes laboratory/field experiences.
EDCI 374 The Teaching of Science: Early Childhood	Objectives, materials, and activities for teaching science to young children. Includes classroom and field experience.
EDCI 375 Field Experience in Science Education	This course accompanies EDCI 370 as the fall semester field experience leading into student teaching in the spring. Students spend 1/2 day per week at their school placement.
EDCI 470 Practices in Secondary School Science Teaching	Analysis of teaching theories, strategies and techniques in student teaching.
EDCI 472 Methods of Teaching Science in Secondary Schools EDCI 473 Environmental Education	Methods for classroom and laboratory instruction, determining appropriate teaching methods, selecting instructional materials, evaluating student achievement. Includes lab and field experience. For in-service teachers.
EDCI 473 Environmental Education	Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. An interdisciplinary course covering the literature, techniques and strategies of environmental education.
EDCI 474 Science in Early Childhood Education	Objectives, methods, materials and activities for teaching science in the elementary school. Primarily for in-service teachers, nursery school through grade 3.
EDCI 475 Science in the Elementary School	Objectives, methods, materials, and activities for teaching science in the elementary school. Primarily for in-service teachers, grades 1-6.
EDCI 476 Teaching Ecology and Natural History	An introduction to the teaching of natural history in the classroom and in the field. Ecological principles; resources and instructional materials; curricular materials. Primarily for teachers, park naturalists, and outdoor educators.
EDCI 670 Trends in School Curriculum: Science	This is our introductory course to science education research. Students discuss recent developments in educational thinking and practice.
EDCI 671 Teaching Science in Elementary Schools	Identification of problems in teaching science. Methods for improving the effectiveness of science education.
EDCI 695 Teaching Science and Social Studies through Environmental Study
EDCI 770 Foundations of Science Education	Development of science education; pre-kindergarten through college; the influences on current and future practices; and the identification and critical analysis of topics in science education.
EDCI 771 Theory and Research in Science Education	A study of various techniques and paradigms for research in science education, pre-kindergarten through college. Identification and critical analysis of a researchable topic in science education and the development of a proposal.
EDCI 788N Selected Topics in Teacher Education: Doctoral Seminar	Current topics and issues in teacher education in science.
EDCU 788P Selected Topics in Teacher Education: Studying Student Learning in Diverse Settings	This course, part of the Elementary and Middle School Teacher Leader Master's Degree Program, deepens teacher understanding of student development and the cultural context for teaching through readings and focused field studies. Participants will also begin developing skills needed for investigations using methods of interpretive inquiry.
EDCI 870 Seminar in Science Education

Science Teaching Certification

We offer programs for Maryland State teaching certification at middle and secondary levels in biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space science. For more information than you see here on any of these programs, contact the EDCI advising office, (301) 405-3848 or ed-advising@umd.edu.

If you're an undergraduate...

The middle/secondary undergraduate major in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction (EDCI) requires a double major, in EDCI and in the field you want to teach. The EDCI major consists of 35 credits in the College of Education (including 12 for student teaching); science department requirements are summarized in program advising sheets. Interested students should speak to an advisor inthe Science Teaching Center as well as in Biology, Chemistry, Geology(for earth science credentials) or Physics.

Perhaps a better option is to finish your degree in the science discipline, and then apply to the Master's Certification Program. Or to move a little more quickly than that, enroll in a Five-Year Integrated Bachelor's/Master's Program. This is still a five-year plan, but it allows you to begin work toward the M.Ed. and certification during your undergraduate program, with up to 9 credits counting toward both degrees.

If you already have a degree in science...

If you have an undergraduate degree in or close to the field you want to teach, you could apply for the Master'sCertification Program. This is a one-year, full-time program leading to an M.Ed. and Maryland certification. In some cases—people teaching in shortage areas—it may be possible to begin the year as a paid, part-time teacher.

If you are a scientist and are considering a career change, please contact Kathleen Travers for information about a specialized program.

And if you don't yet have a background in science...

but you want to be a science teacher, that's great! Your first step is to get that background. To be credentialed through any of our programs, you'll need to have the equivalent of an undergraduate major in the field you want to teach. One option, of course, is to enroll in an undergraduate major, here or at another institution. Other options are to take courses through continuing education. We'd be happy to help you think about possibilities...

Doctoral Programs

Ph.D. program in Science Education
Science Education doctoral students will engage in required coursework in science, science education, learning theories, research methodologies, and urban education, as well as elective coursework that will allow them to tailor their course of study to their own unique research interests. Students are assigned an advisor from among the Center’s Science Education faculty (including Tamara Clegg, Andrew Elby, Diane Jass Ketelhut, Daniel Levin, and J. Randy McGinnis). Prospective students are encouraged to explore the Science Education doctoral program requirements in more detail at http://www.education.umd.edu/TLPL/academics/newProgram2013.html and to explore the work of the Center’s Science Education faculty at http://www.education.umd.edu/TLPL/programs/Science/people.html.

Ph.D. program in Technology, Learning, and Leadership
Doctoral students in the Technology, Learning, and Leadership (TLL) program will engage in required coursework in technology education, learning theory, educational leadership, research methodologies, and urban education, as well as elective coursework in a secondary discipline (for example, a TLL student could choose a TESOL concentration). As a result of the uniquely interdisciplinary nature of this program, students are encouraged to select a coadvisor from another discipline in addition to their assigned advisor from the Center’s TLL faculty (who include June Ahn, Tamara Clegg, and Diane Jass Ketelhut). Prospective students are encouraged to explore the TLL doctoral program requirements in more detail at http://www.education.umd.edu/TLPL/academics/newProgram2013.html and to explore the work of the Center’s TLL faculty at http://www.education.umd.edu/TLPL/programs/Science/people.html.