Science Education Program
TEACH SCIENCE -
IMPACT THE FUTURE
Science Education Program
Why Consider Teaching
as a Career?
Science Education Program
WHY TEACHERS TEACH
What Teachers Say . . . and the % Who Say It
• Teaching is work they love to do
– 96%
• They would choose teaching again if starting over
– 80%
• Teaching is a lifelong choice
– 75%
• They get a lot of satisfaction out of teaching
– 68%
• They fell into teaching by chance
– 16%
Science Education Program
INTRINSIC REASONS FOR TEACHING
(internal psychic satisfactions, as personal accomplishment or joy of work)
• Joy of seeing students learn
• Performing a significant social service
• Fellow teachers/colleagues relationships
• Work you love to do
• Work gives sense you are respected and appreciated
• Time to spend with family
• Potential to affect the lives of others
• Love of subject taught
• Lifelong learning opportunities
Science Education Program
EXTRINSIC REASONS FOR TEACHING
(public, external attractions of an occupation, such as money, prestige, and power)
• Salaries – $45,000 - $95,000 range + benefits and improving
• Status – positive but sometimes difficult to discern
• Power – unique power over students
• Work Schedule – “June, July, and August”
– two semesters of 18 weeks plus 10 teacher work days
– 185 days total compared to 260 M-F in one year
• Benefits – retirement, health/dental/vision, low interest
loans
• Job Security – tenure after two years
• Opportunities for Increased Pay – pay scale (% each year
and additional step on pay scale)
• Opportunities for Advancement – curriculum specialist,
department chair, counselor, assistant principal, principal,
superintendent
Science Education Program
SAMPLE SALARY SCHEDULES
• Anaheim Union High School District
– has a student population of approximately 37,000, including Adult Education.
The District covers 46 square miles and stretches across the cities of Anaheim,
Cypress, Buena Park, La Palma and Stanton. Our students, who speak 49
different languages in their homes, attend 23 campuses and come to us from
five feeder elementary districts
– $49,436 for BA + 30 (Certificated Salary Schedule 07-08)
• Capistrano Unified School District
– $ 48,499 for BA + 30 (Certificated Salary Schedule 07-08)
• Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
– 20 miles north of San Jose and 45 miles south of San Francisco; student
population of 3,683 students of which 55% are Caucasian and 45% are
students of color
– $57,094 for BA+30 (Certificated Salary Schedule 07-08)
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 6
Science Education Program
FINANCIAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE
WHILE EARNING A CREDENTIAL
• Got loans? If not, get some! The Assumption Program of
Loans for Education (APLE) assumes up to $19,000 in
outstanding educational loan balances in return for four
consecutive years of teaching science.
– http://aple.csusuccess.org/scholarship
• Science teachers may earn their credential while fully
employed in the public schools.
– http://ed.fullerton.edu/SecEd/Professional_Track_Program/Index.ht
m
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 7
Science Education Program
Why Teach
Science?
Science Education Program
SCIENCE TEACHERS SHAPE
STUDENTS LIVES AND IMPACT SOCIETY
Click on the image to see a
short presentation by Dave,
a middle school science
teacher. He teaches several
grades and covers many
science topics, covering
things like earth science,
living things, astronomy,
and more. In this
presentation, he is working
with sixth graders to
investigate electricity.
Science Education Program
SCIENCE TEACHERS ARE PART OF THE
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
Click on
pictures to
find out what
these
teachers are
doing!
Science Education Program
SCIENCE TEACHERS INFLUENCE
THE FUTURE
• Teachers influence the science literacy of the general population,
who become voting citizens, leaders, and decision-makers of our
society.
• Elementary teachers prepare and influence the students who enter
(or don’t enter) high school science classes.
• High school science teachers prepare and influence the students
who enter (or don’t enter) university science programs.
• University faculty help prepare and influence future teachers and
scientists.
• Future teachers go back to influence students and the cycle
continues.
• Thus the future of both science and our society depends on our
science teachers.
Adapted from APS Forum on Education
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 11
Science Education Program
TOP 25 QUESTIONS FACING
SCIENCE OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS
• What Is the Universe Made Of? • How Are Memories Stored and Retrieved?
• What is the Biological Basis of Consciousness? • How Did Cooperative Behavior Evolve?
• Why Do Humans Have So Few Genes? • How Will Big Pictures Emerge from a Sea of
• To What Extent Are Genetic Variation and Biological Data?
Personal Health Linked? • How Far Can We Push Chemical Self-
• Can the Laws of Physics Be Unified? Assembly?
• How Much Can Human Life Span Be • What Are the Limits of Conventional
Extended? Computing?
• What Controls Organ Regeneration? • Can We Selectively Shut Off Immune
• How Can a Skin Cell Become a Nerve Cell? Responses?
• How Does a Single Somatic Cell Become a • Do Deeper Principles Underlie Quantum
Whole Plant? Uncertainty and Nonlocality?
• How Does Earth's Interior Work? • Is an Effective HIV Vaccine Feasible?
• Are We Alone in the Universe? • How Hot Will the Greenhouse World Be?
• How and Where Did Life on Earth Arise? • What Can Replace Cheap Oil -- and When?
• What Determines Species Diversity? • Will Malthus Continue to Be Wrong?
• What Genetic Changes Made Us Uniquely BE A SCIENCE TEACHER
Human?
PREPARE THE MINDS THAT DISCOVER THE ANSWERS
See the Top 125 Questions of the 21st Century in Science
Be a Science Teacher Presentation http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/125th/ 12
Science Education Program
What are the Steps to
Earning a Teaching
Credential?
Science Education Program
TEACHING SCIENCE IN
CALIFORNIA
• To earn a secondary science teaching credential, candidates must
– demonstrate subject matter competency and
– complete a program of professional preparation.
• The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing authorizes eight different
science credentials for teaching in grades 7-12.
– Each credential requires demonstration of subject matter competence through completion of
specific undergraduate or graduate degrees OR successful passage of several subtests of the
California Science Examination for Teachers (CSET) in Science.
– Candidates with a regular credential in a science area are authorized to teach in their specific
discipline as well as general and integrated science, including middle school science.
– Candidates with a Specialized credential in a science area are authorized to teach only in their
specific discipline.
• The most common route to subject matter competency is a major in a specific
discipline and passage of the appropriate CSETs.
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Be a Science Teacher Presentation 15
Science Education Program
CREDENTIAL PROGRAM COURSEWORK:
PREREQUISITES
• PREREQUISITES:
– EDSC 310: The Teaching Experience: Participation (3)
– EDSC 320: Adolescence and Education (3) (GE)
– EDSC 330: Developing Literacy in Secondary Schools (3)
– EDSC 340: Student Diversity in Secondary Schools (3)
• PRESERVICE COURSES REQUIRED OF ALL INTERN CANDIDATES:
– EDSC 400: Methods for Internship Credential Candidates (3)
– EDSC 410: Teaching English Learners in Secondary Schools (3)
ALL PREREQ AND PRESERVICE COURSES ARE OFFERED WEB DURING
FALL, INTERSESSION, SPRING, AND SUMMER
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 16
Science Education Program
CREDENTIAL PROGRAM COURSEWORK
• EXTERN SEMESTER (FIRST SEMESTER):
– EDSC 304: Personal Proficiency Educational Technology (3)
– EDSC 440F: Supervised Fieldwork in Secondary Schools (2)
– EDSC 440S: General Pedagogy of Secondary School Teaching (4)
– SCED 442: Teaching Science in Secondary Schools (3)
– SCED 449E: Externship in Secondary Teaching– Science (3)
• STUDENT TEACHER SEMESTER (SECOND SEMESTER):
– SCED 449I: Internship in Secondary Teaching-Science (10)
– SCED 449S: Seminar in Secondary Teaching—Science(3)
– EDSC 460: Teaching Assessment Seminar (3)
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 17
Science Education Program
WHY CHOOSE CSUF FOR YOUR
SINGLE SUBJECT CREDENTIAL PROGRAM?
PROGRAM QUALITY
• We are the first choice of Orange County district administrators and principals.
• Programs are nationally accredited by the National Council on Teacher Education (NCATE).
• Candidates complete the California Teaching Performance Assessment and prepare an
Individualized Induction Plan for their employing district.
RELEVANT CURRICULUM AND FIELDWORK
• Field-based program allows students to apply theory to practice in classroom settings.
• Methods courses and supervision are content specific.
• Intern program allows qualified candidates to earn their credential while employed as teachers.
INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING
• Students complete the Intel® Teach to the Future program during EDSC 304/307.
• Faculty and students use innovative technologies, including Web 2.0 tools, Blackboard, podcasting,
video streaming, online thinking tools, and audience response systems.
FACULTY AND LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS
• Program faculty are involved in our neighboring schools, collaborating with teachers to improve
policy and practice. They have published numerous articles; obtained millions of dollars in
annually funded grants; and are recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 18
Science Education Program
What Science Would You
Teach?
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 19
Science Education Program
WHAT GUIDES SCIENCE INSTRUCTION IN
CALIFORNIA?
California Science Framework
This is the blueprint for how to teach science, containing
information about:
– Education Reform
– Science Instruction and Instructional Materials
– Professional Preparation of Science Teachers
Science Content Standards
– California has identified and adopted academic content
standards for kindergarten through grade twelve.
– These standards are designed to ensure that all students have
a rich experience in science at every grade level and that
curriculum, builds on previous learning.
– See these standards by grade level at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/scmain.asp
Science Education Program
CA MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
• 6th Grade: Focus on Earth Science
– Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Structure, Shaping Earth’s Surface, Heat,
Energy in the Earth System, Ecology, Resources, Investigation and
Experimentation
• 7th Grade: Focus on Life Science
– Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Earth and Life History, Structure and
Function in Living Systems, Physical Principles in Living Systems,
Investigation and Experimentation
• 8th Grade: Focus on Physical Science
– Forces, Motion, Structure of Matter, Earth in the Solar System,
Reactions, Chemistry of Living Systems, Periodic Table, Density and
Buoyancy, Investigation and Experimentation
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 21
Science Education Program
CA HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE
• Physics
– Motion and Forces, Conservation of Energy and Momentum, Heat and
Thermodynamics, Waves, Electric and Magnetic Phenomena, Investigation
and Experimentation
• Chemistry
– Atomic and Molecular Structure, Chemical Bonds, Conservation of Matter and
Stoichiometry, Gases and Their Properties, Acids and Bases, Solutions,
Chemical Thermodynamics, Reaction Rates, Organic Chemistry and
Biochemistry, Nuclear Processes , Investigation and Experimentation
• Biology/Life Sciences
– Cell Biology, Genetics, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology , Investigation and
Experimentation
• Earth Sciences
– Earth’s Place in the Universe, Dynamic Earth Processes, Energy in the Earth
System, Biogeochemical Processes, Structure and Composition of the
Atmosphere, California Geology , Investigation and Experimentation
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 22
Science Education Program
WHAT SCIENCE DO WE TEACH AND
WHY?
Many organizations have an opinion about what science
we should teach. For example:
– Science for All Americans: The American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) founded Project 2061 in
1985 to help all Americans become literate in science,
mathematics, and technology.
– ACS Education: The American Chemical Society is just one
example of subject-specific organizations that offer
curriculum and instructional resources for teaching society.
– NSTA Teacher Resources: The goal of the National Science
Teachers Association is to promote excellence and
innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Science Education Program
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
• Website for Educators and Students
• Curriculum Materials
• Student Activities
• ACS High School Student Clubs
– Your Virtual Chemistry Club
• Public Service Announcement
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 24
Science Education Program
AMERICAN PHYSICS SOCIETY
• Website for Students and
Educators
• Color Me Physics Coloring Book
• Physics to Go
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 25
Science Education Program
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
• Education and Teacher Resources
Website
• Why Earth Science brochure
• Nature of Science and Scientific Method
• Understanding Climate Change
presentations and videos
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 26
Science Education Program
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
• Resources for Teaching
and Learning
• The Butterfly Project
• Actionbioscience.org
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 27
Science Education Program
What are Your Next Steps?
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Science Education Program
YOUR “TO DO” LIST
• Complete an undergraduate degree in the sciences or related field.
• See “Majoring in the Sciences” Presentation.
• Attend a Single Subject Credential Program overview.
– See http://ed.fullerton.edu/adtep/EDSCoverviews.htm.
• Apply to the university.
– See www.csumentor.edu
• Apply to the Single Subject Credential Program.
– See http://ed.fullerton.edu/adtep/
– Deadlines: February 28 for Fall semester entrance and September 30 for Spring
semester entrance
• Demonstrate basic skills by passing the CBEST.
– See www.cbest.nesinc.com
• Demonstrate subject matter competency by passing the appropriate
California Subject Examination (CSET) subtests.
– See www.cset.nesinc.com
• Complete required prerequisite coursework.
• Get ready for a life-changing experience!
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 29
Science Education Program
NSTA CAREER CENTER
• There are many things you can do to prepare for a career as a
science teacher before you enter the classroom. Whether you
are still a student or you are an adult seeking to enter the
field, now is the time for you to begin building skills related to
teaching, management, and organization.
• See suggestions and resources at:
http://careers.nsta.org/advice_planning.asp
Science Education Program
ADVISEMENT RESOURCES
• Center for Careers in Teaching
– www.fullerton.edu/cct/
• Science Education Program
– ed.fullerton.edu/SecEd/Credential_Prog
• Science Education Office (714-278-2703)
• Science Education Program Director
– Dr. Vikki Costa (vcosta@fullerton.edu )
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 31
Science Education Program
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
• Why Teach?
– http://www.recruitingteachers.org/channels/clearinghouse/whyteach/default1.htm
• I love Teaching
– http://www.iloveteaching.com - designed to encourage new teachers
• New Teacher.com
– http://www.new-teacher.com -designed to inspire those considering teaching).
• Occupational Outlook Handbook – Information on Teaching
– http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm - the site offers extensive information on the
nature of teaching, the employment picture, working conditions, and the job outlook
• Career Planning for Teachers
– http://careerplanning.about.com/library/weekly/aa030901d.htm - describes the nature
of teaching
• Status of the American Public School Teacher
– http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/status.pdf - snapshot of the profession today in a
historical perspective
Science Education Program
YEAR OF SCIENCE 2009
Click on image to go to Website.
Be a Science Teacher Presentation 33