Towson UTeach - Secondary School Biology Concentration

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Secondary School Biology Concentration

Secondary School Biology Concentration

Biology majors in the secondary education concentration are eligible, upon graduation, to apply for certification to teach biology at both the middle and high school levels in the State of Maryland. Students in this concentration should be prepared to do their student teaching experience in their senior year.

The biology secondary education concentration requires 130–145 units. To qualify for Student Teaching in Secondary Education – Science, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 in the major field, including those required for secondary education, and an overall GPA of 2.50 are required. A GPA of 2.00 or higher for the 97–109 units in the major field is required for graduation.

Required Content Courses (58–70 units)

BIOL 201	Biology I: Cellular Biology and Genetics (4 units)
BIOL 202	Introduction to Ecology and Evolution (4 units)
BIOL 204	Educational and Career Planning for the Biologist (1 unit)
BIOL 309	Genetics (4 units)
BIOL 205	General Botany (4 units)
BIOL 207	General Zoology (4 units)
BIOL 408 or BIOL 409	Cell Biology (4 units) or Molecular Biology (4 units)
BIOL 325 or BIOL 213 and BIOL 214	Animal Physiology (4 units) or Human Anatomy & Physiology I (4 units) and Human Anatomy & Physiology II (4 units)
BIOL elective	Choose an elective from list (3–4 units) see below
SCIE 380	Teaching Science in the Secondary School (3 units)
CHEM 131 and CHEM 131L	General Chemistry I (3 units) and General Chemistry I Laboratory (1 unit)
CHEM 132 and CHEM 132L	General Chemistry II (3 units) and General Chemistry II Laboratory (1 unit)
CHEM 330 or CHEM 331 and CHEM 332	Essentials of Organic Chemistry (5 units) or Organic Chemistry I (5 units) and Organic Chemistry II (5 units)
MATH 211 or MATH 273 or MATH 237 or PSYC 212	Calculus for Applications (3 units) or Calculus I (4 units) or Elementary Biostatistics (4 units) or Behavioral Statistics (4 units)
PHYS 211 or PHYS 241	General Physics I – non-calculus based (4 units) General Physics I – calculus based (4 units)
ASTR 161 or GEOG 377 or GEOL 121 or GEOL 123	Astronomy (4 units) or Meteorology (3 units) or Physical Geology (4 units) or Historical Geology (4 units)

Required Towson UTeach Courses for Secondary Education (39 units)

SEMS 110	Introduction to STEM Teaching I: Inquiry Approaches to Teaching (1 unit)
SEMS 120	Introduction to STEM Teaching II: Inquiry-Based Lesson Design (1 unit)
SEMS 230	Knowing and Learning (3 units)
SEMS 240	Classroom Interactions (3 units)
SEMS 250	Perspectives on Science and Math (3 units)
SEMS 360	Research Methods (3 units)
SEMS 470	Project-Based Instruction (3 units)
SEMS 498	Internship in Secondary Mathematics and Science (2 units)
SCIE 393	Student Teaching in Secondary Education – Science (12 units)
SCIE 430	Seminar in Student Teaching – Science (1 unit)
SCED 460	Using Reading & Writing in the Secondary Schools (4 units)
SCED 461	Teaching Reading in the Secondary Content Areas (3 units)

Additional Required Courses to Satisfy the Core Curriculum (33–39 units)

TSEM 102	Towson Seminar (3 units) [satisfies core curriculum 1]
ENGL 102	Writing for a Liberal Education (3 units) [satisfies core curriculum 2]
COMM 131 or PHIL 101 or PHIL 111 or Any Foreign Language	Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 units) or Introduction to Philosophy (3 units) or Introduction to Logic (3 units) or [any of these satisfies core curriculum 5]
PSYC 101 or SOCI 101	Introduction to Psychology (3 units) or Introduction to Sociology (3 units) [either satisfies core curriculum 6]
EDUC 202	Historical and Contemporary Perspectives: America’s Urban Schools (3 units) [satisfies core curriculum 10]
EDUC 203 suggested	Teaching and Learning in a Diverse Society (3 units) [satisfies core curriculum 13]
	Courses to satisfy Core Curriculum Categories: 4, 9, 11, 12, 14 [15 units]
NOTE:	If one of MATH 211 or MATH 233 or MATH 273 is not taken in the Required Requirements, then one must be taken here to satisfy core curriculum 3.

Biology Elective Choices List — choose one

BIOL 301	Field and Natural Science (3 units)
BIOL 304	Natural History Interpretation and Public Environmental Education (3 units)
BIOL 310	Environmental Conservation (4 units)
BIOL 315	Medical Microbiology (4 units)
BIOL 318	Microbiology (4 units)
BIOL 334	Humans, Science and the Chesapeake Bay (3 units)
BIOL 347	Marine Biology (3 units)
BIOL 353	Invertebrate Zoology (4 units)
BIOL 371	Animal Behavior (4 units)
BIOL 382	Environmental Education and Service Learning in the Tropics (3 units)
BIOL 402	General Ecology (4 units)
BIOL 405	Molecular Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (4 units)
BIOL 406	Limnology (4 units)
BIOL 413	Evolution (3 units)
BIOL 435	Plant Ecology (4 units)
BIOL 446	Tropical Ecology and Conservation (3 units)
BIOL 447	Tropical Field Ecology (4 units)
BIOL 452	Wetland Ecology (4 units)
BIOL 455	Fish Biology (4 units)
BIOL 456	Ornithology (4 units)
BIOL 458	Mammalogy (4 units)
BIOL 461	Entomology (4 units)
BIOL 467	Herpetology (4 units)

Typical four-year sequence of courses in this concentration
Core Curriculum Requirements checklist (PDF) (note: opens in a new window)

$Documents$
	• Core Curriculum Requirements Checklist (PDF)