General Requirements for Licensure in Biology:

• Completion of the College requirements for graduation including the core curriculum requirements.
• Completion of the requirements for a Biology major. Biology majors seeking teaching licensure must complete Biology 401.
• Completion of the requirements for the Teacher Education Program.

Course Requirements:

• EDU 121 (History of Educational Theory and Practice)
• EDU 242 (Educational Psychology and Teaching Exceptionalities)
• EDU 240 (Reading, 'Riting, and Race), 250 (Multicultural Education), or 260 (Social Diversity and Inequality in Education)
• EDU 400 (Organization for Teaching)
• EDU 410-411 (Internship in Teaching)
• EDU 420 (Seminar in Secondary Education)  

Other Requirements:

• Minimum scores on the Praxis Series or minimum scores on the SAT
• Students will need to meet the requirements for admission to the Program and admission to student teaching.
• Candidates must demonstrate their qualifications as Future-Ready Educators by providing the six required pieces of evidence as described here .  To demonstrate depth of content for Evidence #2, candidates for Biology licensure will complete Biology 401: Senior Colloquium, a capstone course for the major which focuses on a current issue in the biological sciences that has ethical, political, legal, and social implications. Colloquium members choose the specific topic for the semester and work collaboratively on a major project related to that topic. Students will provide a copy of their project to the Department of Education

Standards for High School Science Teachers

The following standards are mandated by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and are imbedded in the specialty area coursework.

Standard 1.  Twenty-first century science teachers understand safety and liability concerns in science and advocate for the provision and use of appropriate safety materials and enforcement practices in the classroom, laboratory, and field.

Science teacher candidates know and are able to:

• Ensure that safety precautions and procedures are included in instruction and provide supervision during laboratory and field experiences.
• Analyze the lab/activities for safety and research materials/chemicals, including use of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), to identify safety concerns before they are used.
• Have a working knowledge of, and comply with, science safety laws, codes, standards, and procedures.
• Model and enforce appropriate safety behaviors.
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop a short- and long-term plan for improvement of science safety.

Standard 2. Twenty-first century science teachers understand and are able to use the unifying concepts of science in their instruction.

Science teacher candidates understand the following unifying concepts of science, and organize their instruction around them:

• Systems, Order and Organization
• Evidence, Models and Explanation
• Constancy, Change, and Measurement
• Evolution and Equilibrium
• Form and Function

Teachers should possess the content knowledge of life sciences, physical sciences, and earth and environmental sciences, as outlined in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

Standard 3. Twenty-first century science teachers demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science, the historical development of scientific thought, the process of scientific inquiry, and the reciprocal relationship between science and society.

Science teacher candidates understand the following tenets of science, and organize their instruction around them:

• Science is universal, multidisciplinary, cumulative and self-revising.
• Science represents a way to answer questions based on observations, confirmable evidence and logical thinking.
• The development of scientific thought is not necessarily linear.
• Modern science is based on contributions, both past and present, from diverse cultures.
• Scientific knowledge and applications affect and change human society.
• Science progresses through communication within the scientific community, as well as with the public, allowing for feedback, challenges, and peer review.

Standard 4. Twenty-first century science teachers understand and are able to apply scientific skills and math concepts, using appropriate equipment and tools.

Science teacher candidates know and are able to:

• Demonstrate proficiency in using measurement tools to perform investigations and gather accurate quantitative information.
• Employ principles and applications of mathematics appropriate to the science content they teach.
• Demonstrate proficiency in using scientific equipment commonly used in a given science discipline.

Standard 5. Twenty-first century science teachers plan and implement lessons that engage students in the process of hands-on, minds-on scientific inquiry.

Science teacher candidates know and are able to:

• Plan for acquisition, dissemination and management of materials and equipment.
• Incorporate appropriate field investigations and field trips.
• Identify ‘real world’ questions and facilitate scientific investigations of these questions to teach science content.
• Incorporate appropriate authentic assessment techniques to gauge student progress through inquiry based instruction.