|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preceding Pages
- Looking Ahead
- Part 1: Entering the Profession
Current Page
Following Pages
All prospective mathematics and science teachers entering the education profession must possess broad and comprehensive content knowledge appropriate to their teaching level, a sense of appreciation for the application of that knowledge, skills to use it in teaching all students, and the desire to engage in continued professional growth. The certification process, the capstone to preservice preparation, is the official evidence that the future teacher is prepared to demonstrate the following competencies:
- knowledge and understanding of mathematics and science content and process skills;
- knowledge and understanding of how students with diverse interests, abilities and experiences make sense of mathematics and science;
- skills to foster and promote learning and understanding of mathematics and science content and skills for all students;
- knowledge of the techniques and perspectives of inquiry;
- knowledge and skills to use technology and its tools in mathematics and science;
- ability and inclination to use community resources to enhance mathematics and science learning; and,
- desire to continue professional growth to augment the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to become an excellent mathematics or science teacher.
In order to be certified to teach mathematics or science in the state of Maine, a candidate for certification will have successfully mastered the content, skills, and preservice experiences described in Entering the Profession.
Mathematics Content
Successful candidates for mathematics teacher certification can demonstrate the content knowledge described in the Framework Content Standards (Section II). The guidelines below suggest specific levels of knowledge for elementary, middle and secondary certification in mathematics. NCTM has recommended these guidelines to the National Council for the Accrediting of Teacher Educators (NCATE).
Those preparing to teach elementary school should have a thorough knowledge of:
- Number systems, number sense, computation and operations including mental mathematics, estimation, uses of numbers, place value, algorithms and rational numbers.
- Geometry including synthetic (Euclidean), coordinate, and transformational forms, with emphasis on spatial visualization and two- and three-dimensional objects.
- Measurement including use of metric system, indirect measures and derivation of measurement formulae.
- Statistics and probability including the collection and organization of data, and rating empirical and theoretical probabilities.
- Functions and use of variables including basic understanding of the concept of functions and relations, and ways of representing functions.
Preservice teachers can obtain this knowledge through college/university courses including nine credit hours of mathematics and a three-credit-hour course in the methods of mathematics teaching.
In addition, those preparing to teach middle-level mathematics should have a thorough knowledge of:
- Number systems, number theory, and algebraic structures including complex numbers, matrices and matrix operations.
- Geometry expanded to include trigonometry, induction, conjecturing, deduction and non-Euclidean systems.
- Statistics and probability including descriptive statistics, central tendency, dispersion, intuitive curve fitting, proper uses of statistics, experimental probabilities and simulation.
- Concepts of calculus including concepts of differentiation and integration, limits, functions and graphs.
Preservice teachers can obtain this knowledge through college/university courses including 21 credit hours of mathematics and a three-credit-hour course in the methods of mathematics teaching.
In addition, those preparing to teach secondary-level mathematics should have a thorough knowledge of:
- Number systems, number theory, algebra and linear algebra including complex numbers (geometric and polar representation), interpretation of complex solutions, algebraic structures, vector spaces and coding theory.
- Geometry including vector geometry, non-Euclidean, matrix and algebraic representations of transformations.
- Statistics and probability including descriptive and inferential statistics, empirical and theoretical probability, discrete and continuous distributions.
- Calculus and analysis including limits, differentiation, integration, continuity, techniques and applications.
- Discrete mathematics including symbolic logic, induction and recursion, equivalence relations, functions, sequences and series.
Preservice teachers can obtain this knowledge through college/university courses including 33 credit hours of mathematics and a three-credit-hour course in the methods of mathematics teaching.
Science Content
Successful candidates for science teacher certification can demonstrate the content knowledge described in the Framework Content Standards (Section II). The guidelines below, recommended by the National Science Teachers' Association, suggest specific levels of knowledge for elementary, middle and secondary certification in science.
Those preparing to teach elementary science should have a thorough knowledge of:
- Biological/Life science including human biology, zoology, botany, genetics and ecology.
- Earth/space science including astronomy, geology, meteorology, oceanography and natural resources/environmental studies (with an emphasis on field-based activities).
- Physical sciences including chemistry and physics.
Preservice teachers can obtain this knowledge through college/university courses including 12 hours of science and a three-credit-hour course in elementary science methods and curriculum.
Those preparing to teach middle-level science should have a thorough knowledge of:
- Biological/Life science including zoology, botany, genetics, human anatomy, human physiology, cell biology, biochemistry and ecology.
- Earth/space science including astronomy, geology, meteorology, oceanography and natural resources/environmental studies (with an emphasis on field-based activities).
- Physical sciences including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, mechanics, electricity, light energy, sound energy and magnetism.
Preservice teachers can obtain this knowledge through college/university courses including 24 hours of science and a three-credit-hour course in middle-level science methods and curriculum.
Those preparing to teach science at the secondary level may choose one of three types of science teaching certification.
The Single Discipline Model prepares the individual to become a specialist in a primary discipline.
- Those preparing to teach in a Primary Discipline (biology, chemistry, earth science or physics) should take a minimum of 32 credit hours in the primary discipline and 16 credit hours distributed among the remaining three disciplines.
- Those preparing to teach Physical Science should take 30 credit hours in chemistry and physics (15 in each), twelve credit hours of earth/space science, and six credit hours in biology.
- Those preparing to teach General Science should take 48 credit hours evenly distributed among the four disciplines.
The Dual Discipline Model prepares teachers to teach two of the primary disciplines, either separately or in an integrated course.
- These candidates should take 24 credit hours in each of their two selected Primary Disciplines and an additional six credit hours distributed between the remaining two disciplines.
The Broad Discipline Model prepares teachers to teach courses in three or all four of the primary disciplines.
- These candidates should take 24 credit hours in one of the four Primary disciplines, 15 credit hours in any two of the remaining disciplines and nine credit hours in the fourth primary discipline.
At the secondary level, the four primary disciplines are:
- Biology/life science including zoology, botany, anatomy and physiology, genetics, ecology, microbiology, cell biology/biochemistry, evolution and human biology.
- Chemistry including inorganic, organic, analytical, physical and biochemistry.
- Earth/space science including astronomy, geology, meteorology, oceanography and natural resources/environmental studies.
- Physics including classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, waves, optics, atomic and nuclear physics, radiation and radioactivity, relativity and quantum mechanics.
Alternatives to Traditional CertificationEach year, a relatively small percentage of those newly certified to teach mathematics and science in Maine have completed a traditional university or college teacher preparation program within the state of Maine. Most are certified by a process that includes transcript analysis by Maine's Department of Education and subsequent completion of courses and teaching experiences deemed necessary by that analysis. Both academic and professional experiences of the candidate are reviewed.
The individual or agency which determines certification eligibility by transcript analysis should have a comprehensive knowledge of mathematics and science and a familiarity with the mathematics and science content of university and college courses, based on course descriptions. Candidates seeking certification to teach mathematics and science may have career or life experiences that are equivalent to college or university practicum courses.________________________________________________________
Snapshot An engineer who has worked for a utility company for nearly ten years has a Bachelor of Science degree and some credits towards a Master's degree in Business Administration. Having recently decided to enter the teaching profession, she seeks Maine secondary certification in Physical Science.
At the utility company, she has been involved in the biological aspects of the business, preparing environmental impact statements for the Environmental Protection Agency about the effects of electromagnetic fields from high voltage power lines on organisms in the area. In addition, she has been the company's primary trainer of incoming engineers for the past five years.
Based on the requirements of the Single Discipline Model, she has already taken the 30 required credit hours in physics and chemistry, as well as twelve credit hours in earth/space science. However, she does not have the six mandated hours in biology. Upon examination of the engineer's transcript and an evaluation of her experiences, the certification agent determines that the biological science requirement can be waived because of the candidate's intensive experience in preparing environmental impact statements.
Although the engineer has had teaching experience in the workplace, she lacks knowledge in pedagogical psychology, teaching methods and evaluation. Therefore, the certification agent decides that she needs to complete 12 credit hours in human development, the history of education and curriculum development. In addition, she will need to complete a teaching practicum under the supervision of a college or university.