THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
College of Education and Social Services

Physical Science Broadfield Major
(Secondary Education)

This curriculum would be appropriate for one who wants to teach science at the middle school/junior high school level and is particularly interested in the physical sciences. It is a "broadfield" major, i.e., it combines what in the past has been considered a major (typically 30 credit hours) and a minor (typically 18 credit hours). A minor is thus not required.

In addition to the biology course requirements, all candidates for the Teaching Broadfield Major in Physical Science must complete a course in each of these areas: biology, chemistry and earth science. One or more courses should be taken in each of these three fields. Possible courses to fulfill this requirement might include: BIOL 001 or BIOL 002 (4 credits each), CHEM 031 or CHEM 032 (4 credits each), and GEOL 001 (4 credits).

The requirements for the teaching major in physical science at UVM have been developed to the standards set by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) as part of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) guidelines. The program requires study and experiences in each major physical science discipline with Science-Technology-Society applications. This curriculum has been collaboratively developed with the UVM Departments of Chemistry, Geology and Physics.

Mathematics through introductory calculus is also required. This requirement may be fulfilled with:
MATH 021 Calculus I
MATH 022 Calculus II

Questions concerning mathematics courses should be directed to Professor Ken Gross (Mathematics).

This curriculum requires a balance of 30 hours evenly split between physics (15 hours) and chemistry (15 hours) and 12 hours of earth science including any three of these categories: astronomy, geology, meteorology, oceanography and physical geography. Please see the Earth Science Major requirements for definition of courses that are considered to be in each of these categories.

Complete the Following Course
BIOL 001 Principles of Biology I or BIOL 002 Principles of Biology II	4 cr. hrs.
Physics	15 cr. hrs.
To the extent possible, the program should be developed to provide distribution across the areas of physics recognized by NCATE/NSTA. These are: Mechanics, heat, optics, relativity, waves, atoms, electricity and magnetism and quantum mechanics.
PHYS 031, 021 Introductory Physics and Intro Lab I PHYS 042 Electromagnetism and Modern Physics OR PHYS 042, 022 Electromagnetism and Modern Physics and Intro Lab II PHYS 128 Waves and Quanta PHYS 201 OR 202 Experimental Physics OR PHYS 211 Mechanics
Physics 201 or 202 provides physics laboratory experience, while Physics 211 provides an introduction to theoretical mechanics. The choice between the two depends on the student's needs and areas of interest. Please contact Professor Junru Wu (Physics) for help on making this decision or with questions about physics offerings.
Chemistry	15 cr. hrs.
To the extent possible, the program should be developed to provide distribution across the areas of chemistry recognized by NCATE/NSTA. These are: organic, inorganic, analytical, physical and biochemistry.
CHEM 031, 032 Introductory Chemistry OR CHEM 035, 036 General Chemistry CHEM 042 Introductory Organic Chemistry CHEM 160 Physical Chemistry for Biological Science Students
Questions concerning chemistry courses can be directed to Professor Dwight Matthews (Chemistry).
Earth Science	14 cr. hrs.
ASTR 005 Exploring the Cosmos ASTR 053 Moons and Planets ASTR 055 The Big Bang ASTR 057 History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy GEOL 001 Earth System Science GEOG 043 Weather and Climate GEOL 010 Geological Oceanography
Questions concerning geology courses can be directed to Professors Barry Doolan or David Bucke (Geology).

The program also requires experiences in designing, developing and evaluating laboratory, field and instructional activities. These topics are treated in the EDSC 227 course and in the internship EDSC 226. Contact Professor Russell Agne (Science Education) for advisement questions.

Revised Summer 2006