Teaching Biology

专业详情

Emphasis is placed on those competencies necessary for effective science teaching as a means of enhancing professional growth of in-service and pre-practice through group and individualized instruction in a general methods course and in courses applicable to specific sciences.

In order to meet New York State Teacher Certification requirements, the M.A. degree for teacher preparation programs is comprised of 36 credits of coursework in the areas of professional education, science content, and science methods. The 32-point M.A. degree program in Supervision/Teacher of Science Education serves students whose professional interests are centered in the enhancement of science teaching and learning including teacher professional development, curriculum improvement, personal professional development, and preparation for more advanced studies leading to advanced master’s degrees in science teacher supervision. In consultation with the academic advisor upon acceptance to a degree program, a program plan will be outlined based on the student’s specific content certification area.

For pre-service candidates, i.e., those who intend to fulfill the requirements of New York State for initial certification to teach science in secondary schools, MSTC 4000 and MSTC 4363 are required and should precede the semester in which student teaching is completed. MSTC 4000 and MSTC 4363 are both offered in the fall and student teaching in the spring.

Other requirements that must be met before graduation include completion of a science safety workshop, successful completion of the program’s Gateway Performance Assessments for Teaching, and a final master’s portfolio project. See the Teacher Education section of this bulletin for details on other requirements.

Initial Teacher Certificaiton Science Education M.A. applicants may refer admissions questions to the Masters program director. Inquiries should be sent to Dr. Jessica Riccio (riccio@tc.columbia.edu).