Science and Math for Teachers, M.Ed.

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Program Requirements

36 credit hours, with at least 30 credit hours earned in residence at the University of Charleston, South Carolina at the College of Charleston. Residency is defined as instruction delivered by the College of Charleston, the degree granting institution.
75 hours of field experience associated with EDFS 632 , EDFS 635 , and EDFS 660
Capstone Curriculum - Students must complete the capstone curriculum by completing a project associated with at least one course in the program. Students must complete 7 credit hours in the capstone curriculum which includes:
- Completion of a written capstone proposal in SMFT 690 .
- Submitting a written report of the complete capstone project to the advisor(s) and the program director.
- Presenting the completed capstone project to the program steering committee members, their advisor(s), program faculty and other interested parties. Students must enroll in at least one credit hours of SMFT 698 during the semester the project is presented.

Fundamental Education Curriculum (9 Credit Hours)

Fundamental Science and Mathematics Curriculum

(At least 14 credit hours: a minimum of one mathematics course and two science courses must be taken in this category.) Courses may be selected from:

Note:

*SMFT 516 and SMFT 524 can be applied to satisfy the required credit hours for either the Fundamental Science and Mathematics Curriculum or the Integrated Science Curriculum - not both.

Integrated Science Curriculum

(At least 6 credit hours.)

Capstone Curriculum

(At least 7 credit hours.)

Complete SMFT 690 Capstone Project Development (1) .

Complete 6 additional credit hours in EDFS 703 , BIOL 500+, EVSS 500+, SMFT 500+ (with at least 1 credit hour in SMFT 698 Independent Study (1-6) to be taken during the semester the student presents their final capstone project) form the following:

Field Experience Options

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 635 and EDFS 660 will be 25 hours each. The field experiences will be designed, implemented and evaluated by the candidate with written assignments in each course and for the Independent Capstone Project. The assignments for EDFS 632 and EDFS 660 will be submitted to the course professor. The remaining required field experience will be attained by the development of an independent project, a class project, and/or a capstone project of the student’s 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. The total number of formal field experience hours across the program will be at least 75 hours.

The course EDFS 632 Education Psychology Learning, Cognition, and Motivation (3) is required of all students and includes 25 hours of field experience. It examines current research on human learning and practical applications of what we know about learning to the design of curriculum, teaching and assessment. The students use this to design and carry out the required field experience project.

The course EDFS 660 Nature of Science, Mathematics, and Science/Mathematics Education (3) , also required of all students, examines the philosophies of science/mathematics education and how the nature of scientific research should guide the teaching of science and mathematics. The students carry out 25 hours of field experience utilizing their enhanced understanding of science education.

The final 25 hours or field experience is designed by each candidate individually with the guidance of a faculty advisor. This is usually done as part of a capstone project and the candidate is required to make an oral presentation about their project to an audience composed of faculty members and their peers.

Transfer Credit Policy

An applicant or student of the M.Ed. in Science and Mathematics for Teachers (SMFT) program can seek approval from the Program Director to accept up to six transfer credit hours. These courses must have a grade of “B” or higher, and can count toward the M. Ed. in the SMFT degree requirements. Courses with a grade of “Pass” or “Satisfactory” will not be accepted. Also, note that the courses must be catalog courses and not professional development courses to count in a program.