Course Descriptions

Math 51200: Middle Grade Curriculum, Philosophy, and Instructional Methods
Required for both State Endorsements in mathematics and science, this course will provide practicing teachers with further knowledge and understanding of the unique intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and developmental characteristics and needs of the young adolescent. Teachers will develop middle school lessons to be shared with their peers in this course and used with their middle school students in the future.

Math 51300: Early Adolescent Psychology
This course is required for both State Endorsements in mathematics and science. The first half of this course explores adolescent development: biological, cognitive, social, moral, identity, psychosexual, and special issues relevant to adolescence. Adolescent risk-taking, the development of gender identity, self-concept and self-esteem are reviewed. Historical and cross-cultural contexts will also be examined. During the second half of this course issues related to working with students who may have special needs or circumstances are explored. The teacher’s role in the identification, assessment, and referral of students to health and social services is examined.

Bios 50000: Cells and Multi-Cellular Organisms
Through experiments and lecture, teachers will learn about the smallest living building blocks of life – cells. Then the course will discuss the development of cells into larger organisms and their function as a collective circulatory, respiratory, excretory, or reproductive system.

Bios 50100: Evolution and Genetics for Elementary School Teachers
How do we inherent traits from our parents? This course will cover the biochemical origin of life, geologic time, fossil record, Darwin and the theory of Natural Selection, DNA and molecular components, methods of inheritance, pedigrees and karyotypes, gamete formation, mitosis and meiosis, Hardy-Weinberg Law, and gene frequencies.

Bios 50700: Environmental Science for Elementary School Teachers
Environmental Science will be taught in context as a course in a modern science curriculum and will comply with the Illinois Standards for Teaching and Learning. Science as Inquiry and Hands-on Science will be emphasized throughout the course. Topics such as flow of energy through ecosystems, populations, hierarchy in biological organizations, cycles in nature, environmental social dilemmas, and current topics in ecology will be discussed. Teachers will leave with a wealth of instructional materials to use in their classrooms to implement a strong environmental science program of their own.

Bios 50800: Plant Science for Elementary School Teachers
This is a course designed to reinforce and extend teachers' understanding of science by associating basic biological science concepts with relevant plant applications. This course will concentrate on the initiation and management of plant growth. Through in-class experiments and discussions, teachers will discover the processes of plant germination, sensory mechanisms, photosynthesis, respiration, metabolism, and reproduction. Experiments may include seed germination and rag dolls, water movement in plants, terrariums, and flower dissection.

Phsc 50000: Physics for Elementary School Teachers
This course will concentrate on mechanics – motion, velocity, free fall, gravitation, force, work and energy, momentum, and Newton’s laws. Other topics include measurement, data collection, and thermal energy.

Phsc 50200: Chemistry for Elementary School Teachers
Take this course to get a science endorsement while learning about chemical reactions and why they happen. What is the chemical reaction that occurs when you mix baking soda and vinegar? This course starts with states of matter, atoms, and elements, and eventually discusses acid/base, organic chemistry, and polymers.

Phsc 50300: Astronomy for Elementary School Teachers
How big is the universe? Is there life out there? Teachers will learn about planetary motions, the nature of planets and stars, and their formation. This course will also discuss Mars as an abode for life, habitable zones around the sun and stars, and the Copernican Revolution.

Phsc 50400: Materials Science for Elementary Teachers
This class provides a general overview of materials science. We will focus upon applying fundamental chemistry, physics, and engineering concepts to the understanding of solids and explorations of liquid properties. The diverse array of topics to be covered includes atoms and molecules—the “building blocks” of materials, the physical properties of solids, an introduction to the specialized instrumentation used to study materials, and topics in contemporary materials science. We will also provide opportunities to directly engage with materials through hands-on activities. This class will involve two components: (1) conveying systematic information about the science of materials and (2) providing an opportunity to engage in hands-on materials-related activities while developing a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning of scientific inquiry through materials science.

Phsc 50500: Earth Science for Elementary School Teachers
This course focuses on the basics of earth sciences. We'll look at all three components on the earth - the rocks, oceans, and atmosphere. For rocks, we'll study rock and mineral identification, plate tectonics, fossils and the geological time scale. Ocean discussion topics include ice ages and understanding ocean flow. Lastly, we'll discuss the composition of the atmosphere and the hot topics related to it: the ozone hole and global warming. The course will include fun readings and plenty of hands-on problems and labs you can take back to your classrooms.

Phsc 50900: Scaling in Nature: Dimensional Analysis and Fractals in Physics
Many phenomena in nature exhibit so-called scaling. The simplest form of scaling is the dependence of various relevant quantities on one another in a power-law fashion. For example, the radius of a black hole is proportional to its mass; the period of oscillations of a pendulum is proportional to the square root of its length, etc. Fractals are very unusual and beautiful objects that appear almost everywhere and can be relatively easy modeled mathematically. Fractals and their relation to scaling is the subject of the second half of this course.