A total of 36 hours will be required for completion of the program, with at least 27 completed at The Graduate School - College of Charleston. Courses must be selected from the following four categories:
- Fundamental Education Curriculum (9 semester hours) Category A
- Fundamental Science and Mathematics Curriculum (at least 14 semester hours - a student must take at least one mathematics course and at least two science courses in this category) Category B1
- Integrated Science Courses (6 semester hours) Category B2
- Capstone Experience (at least 6 semester hours) Category C
* Note: Capstone presentations are required for students admitted after February 13, 2002.
Students are required to do course work in each of the following four areas:
Category A: Education (9 hours)
- EDFS 632 Learning, Cognition, and Motivation (3)
- EDFS 635 Educational Research (3)
- EDFS 660 Nature of Science, Mathematics, and Science/Mathematics Education (3)
Category
B1: Fundamental Science and Mathematics
(at least 14 hours)
The student must take at least
one mathematics course and at least two science courses.
Mathematics
- SMFT 510 Introduction to Problem Solving (3)
- SMFT 511 Introduction to Probability and Statistics (3)
- SMFT 514 Geometry for Elementary and Middle School Teachers (4)
- SMFT 516 Applications Across the Mathematics Curriculum with Technology (3)
- SMFT 518 Applications of Calculus for Teachers (4)
- SMFT 523 Earth Science for Teachers (4)
- SMFT 524 Space Science for Teachers (4)
- SMFT 537 Topics in Botany for Teachers (4)
- SMFT 538 Topics in Zoology for Teachers (4)
- SMFT 540 Fundamentals of Physical Science (4)
- SMFT 548 Atomic Theory of Matter from Lucretius to Quarks (4)
Physics
- SMFT 555 Applications of Physics for Teachers: How Things Work (4)
- EDEE 670 Elementary Science Instruction (3)
Category B2: Integrated Science (at least 6 hours)
Geology
- EVSS 640 Earth Systems Science (3)
Mathematics
- SMFT 516 Applications Across the Mathematics Curriculum with Technology (3)
Biology/Geology
- SMFT 639 Genetics and Molecular Biology for Teachers (3)
- SMFT 644 Marine and Coastal Science (3)
- SMFT 645 The Physics of Force and Motion for Teachers (3)
- EVSS 650 Energy Production and Resource Management (3)
Chemistry/Physics
- SMFT 647 Determination of the Structure of Matter (3)
Geology/Physics
- SMFT 524 Space Science for Teachers (4)
- EDFS 703 Curriculum, Policy, and Systems in Science and Mathematics (3)
- Courses offered by Master of Science degree programs in the School of Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Charleston, S. C. may be applied toward the capstone experience requirement. A student must meet the prerequisites for enrollment.
Note: Capstone presentations are required for students admitted after February 13, 2002.
Field Experience (at least 75 hours)
The SMFT Program requires significant field experience prior to graduation. Students may acquire this experience in their own classroom, as a visitor in a classroom, or in a non-classroom educational setting such as a museum or aquarium. The required field experiences in EDFS 632 and EDFS 660 will be 25 hours each. The remaining required field experience will be attained by the development of an individual project, a class project, and/or a capstone project of the students choice that is implemented in any of the above settings. Each student will complete at least 25 hours of field experiences to meet this requirement, and the total number of formal field experience hours across the program will be at least 75 hours.
The field experiences will be designed, imlemented, and evaluated by the candidate with written reports. These reports will be submitted to the project advisor. The proposal should include a detailed summary of the planned project (including lesson plans, worksheets or handouts) and the planned objective measures of success. The final field experience report should include a self-evaluation of the success of both the project and the presentation, and some objective measure of the success of the project. The project advisor must approve the candidate's proposal, the completed project, and the self-evaluation. Prior to successful completion of the program, each candidate must prepare a field experience portfolio for review by the SMFT Steering Committee that includes reports for all field experiences. Each report should include:
- Field experience project
- Student's self-evaluation (including objective measures of success)
- Project advisor's evaluation (including evaluation for content, pedagogy, K-12 student learning, meeting of standards/benchmarks)
Program accreditation also requires the SMFT steering commitee to evaluate the effectiveness of the field experience requirement. To evaluate programmatic effectiveness, the steering committee will analyze the portfolios for strengths and weaknesses, and adjust the requirements to ensure the educational value of the field experience across the program. The field experience requirement will be evaluated and updated as necessary to promote field experiences that are:
- Learning focused (content rich, activity rich, non-redundant)
- Subject centered (relevant, neither teacher nor student centered)
- Pedagogically appropriate (affective use of teaching practices, focused on K-12 learning)
Note: Field experiences are required for students admitted after June 26, 2002
Note that the minimum hours required in the above list does not add up to the 36 hours required for graduation. The student will need to structure their program and exceed one or more minimum such that the necessary 36 hours are achieved.
To register for the EDFS courses, you must register throught the Education, Foundation and Policy course listing. These courses will not be listed through the SMFT course listings. For the EVSS classes you must register through the EVSS course listings since these classes are not listed through the SMFT course listing.
Courses are designed for one or more target audiences of elementary, middle, and high school teachers. However, there may be individual cases where a course would be good for someone outside of the recommended target audience, depending on your experience and qualifications. When in doubt please consult the program director, your advisor and/or the course instructor.
The new course designation - SMFT - stands for science and math for teachers. SMFT courses have been designed specifically for this program. EVSS courses are in our Masters of Environmental Science Program (MES). At least a couple of the MES courses are well suited to some candidates in this program.