Teacher Education: Biology
Major: Teacher Education
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Total Credit Hours: 184.5
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 13.1205
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 25-2031
About the Biology Concentration
Certification is for grades 7- 12
This certification option within the BS in Teacher Education emphasizes coursework in the biological sciences, including genetics, morphology and physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, and ecology. Students may also choose to pursue a second certification in chemistry and/or environmental education.
Additional Information
For more information about the program, visit the School of Education website.
Degree Requirements
| Degree Requirements | ||
| CIVC 101 | Introduction to Civic Engagement | 1.0 |
| ENGL 101 | Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research | 3.0 |
| ENGL 102 | Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing | 3.0 |
| ENGL 103 | Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres | 3.0 |
| HIST 289 | History of Science: Enlightenment to Modernity | 4.0 |
| MATH 121 | Calculus I | 4.0 |
| MATH 122 | Calculus II | 4.0 |
| MATH 123 | Calculus III | 4.0 |
| PHIL 251 | Ethics | 3.0 |
| PSY 101 | General Psychology I | 3.0 |
| PSY 320 [WI] | Educational Psychology | 3.0 |
| UNIV T101 | The Drexel Experience | 1.0 |
| Science Requirements | ||
| BIO 122 | Cells and Genetics | 4.5 |
| BIO 124 | Evolution & Organismal Diversity | 4.5 |
| BIO 126 | Physiology and Ecology | 4.5 |
| BIO 201 | Human Physiology I | 4.0 |
| BIO 215 | Techniques in Cell Biology | 3.0 |
| BIO 218 | Principles of Molecular Biology | 4.0 |
| BIO 220 | Essential Microbiology | 3.0 |
| BIO 228 | Evolutionary Biology & Human Health | 3.0 |
| BIO 270 | Development Biology | 3.0 |
| BIO 271 | Developmental Biology Laboratory | 2.0 |
| BIO 306 | Biochemistry Laboratory | 2.0 |
| BIO 404 | Structure and Function of Biomolecules | 4.0 |
| CHEM 101 | General Chemistry I | 3.5 |
| CHEM 102 | General Chemistry II | 4.5 |
| CHEM 241 | Organic Chemistry I | 4.0 |
| CHEM 242 | Organic Chemistry II | 4.0 |
| CHEM 244 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 3.0 |
| ENVS 230 | General Ecology | 3.0 |
| ENVS 284 | Physiological and Population Ecology | 3.0 |
| PHYS 131 | Survey of the Universe | 3.0 |
| PHYS 152 | Introductory Physics I | 4.0 |
| Pedagogy Requirements | ||
| EDEX 142 | Special Education Foundations: Referral and Assessment | 3.0 |
| EDEX 344 | Inclusionary Practices for Exceptional Students | 3.0 |
| EDEX 366 | Literacy and Content Skill Development 7-12 | 3.0 |
| EDLT 325 | Design for Learning with Digital Media | 3.0 |
| EDUC 101 | Foundations in Education I: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective | 3.0 |
| EDUC 105 | Freshman Pedagogy Seminar | 3.0 |
| EDUC 113 | Organizational Structure of Secondary Schools | 3.0 |
| EDUC 123 | Adolescent Development | 3.0 |
| EDUC 205 | Sophomore Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| EDUC 216 | Diversity and Today's Teacher | 3.0 |
| EDUC 223 | Teaching the Middle School Child | 3.0 |
| EDUC 258 | Reading in the Content Areas | 3.0 |
| EDUC 305 [WI] | Junior Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| EDUC 308 | Creating a Positive Classroom Climate | 3.0 |
| EDUC 312 | Educational Policy, Law & Advocacy | 3.0 |
| EDUC 315 | Secondary Science Teaching Methods | 3.0 |
| EDUC 316 | Teaching in Urban Contexts | 3.0 |
| EDUC 322 | Evaluation of Instruction | 3.0 |
| EDUC 324 | Current Research in Curriculum & Instruction | 3.0 |
| EDUC 365 | Foundations in Instructing English Language Learners | 3.0 |
| EDUC 405 | Senior Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| Student Teaching Experience | ||
| EDUC 409 | Student Teaching Seminar I | 9.0 |
| EDUC 410 [WI] | Student Teaching | 9.0 |
| Total Credits | 184.5 | |
Writing-Intensive Course Requirements
In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.
A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.
Biology Concentration: Plan of Study
| Term 1 | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| BIO 122 | Cells and Genetics | 4.5 |
| EDUC 101 | Foundations in Education I: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective | 3.0 |
| EDUC 105 | Freshman Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| ENGL 101 | Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research | 3.0 |
| MATH 121 | Calculus I | 4.0 |
| UNIV T101 | The Drexel Experience | 1.0 |
| Term Credits | 16.5 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| BIO 124 | Evolution & Organismal Diversity | 4.5 |
| CIVC 101 | Introduction to Civic Engagement | 1.0 |
| EDUC 105 | Freshman Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| EDUC 113 | Organizational Structure of Secondary Schools | 3.0 |
| ENGL 102 | Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing | 3.0 |
| MATH 122 | Calculus II | 4.0 |
| Term Credits | 16.5 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| BIO 126 | Physiology and Ecology | 4.5 |
| EDEX 142 | Special Education Foundations: Referral and Assessment | 3.0 |
| EDUC 105 | Freshman Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| EDUC 123 | Adolescent Development | 3.0 |
| ENGL 103 | Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres | 3.0 |
| MATH 123 | Calculus III | 4.0 |
| Term Credits | 18.5 | |
| Term 4 | ||
| BIO 201 | Human Physiology I | 4.0 |
| BIO 218 | Principles of Molecular Biology | 4.0 |
| CHEM 101 | General Chemistry I | 3.5 |
| EDEX 344 | Inclusionary Practices for Exceptional Students | 3.0 |
| EDUC 205 | Sophomore Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| Term Credits | 15.5 | |
| Term 5 | ||
| BIO 215 | Techniques in Cell Biology | 3.0 |
| BIO 220 | Essential Microbiology | 3.0 |
| CHEM 102 | General Chemistry II | 4.5 |
| EDUC 223 | Teaching the Middle School Child | 3.0 |
| EDUC 322 | Evaluation of Instruction | 3.0 |
| Term Credits | 16.5 | |
| Term 6 | ||
| BIO 270 | Development Biology | 3.0 |
| BIO 271 | Developmental Biology Laboratory | 2.0 |
| COOP 101 | Career Management and Professional Development | 0.0 |
| EDUC 258 | Reading in the Content Areas | 3.0 |
| EDUC 305 [WI] | Junior Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| EDUC 365 | Foundations in Instructing English Language Learners | 3.0 |
| PHYS 152 | Introductory Physics I | 4.0 |
| Term Credits | 16.0 | |
| Term 7 | ||
| CHEM 241 | Organic Chemistry I | 4.0 |
| CHEM 244 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 3.0 |
| EDUC 312 | Educational Policy, Law & Advocacy | 3.0 |
| PSY 101 | General Psychology I | 3.0 |
| Term Credits | 13.0 | |
| Term 8 | ||
| BIO 228 | Evolutionary Biology & Human Health | 3.0 |
| CHEM 242 | Organic Chemistry II | 4.0 |
| EDUC 315 | Secondary Science Teaching Methods | 3.0 |
| English Literature Elective 200-379 | 3.0 | |
| Term Credits | 13.0 | |
| Term 9 | ||
| BIO 306 | Biochemistry Laboratory | 2.0 |
| BIO 404 | Structure and Function of Biomolecules | 4.0 |
| EDEX 366 | Literacy and Content Skill Development 7-12 | 3.0 |
| EDUC 216 | Diversity and Today's Teacher | 3.0 |
| EDUC 324 | Current Research in Curriculum & Instruction | 3.0 |
| ENVS 230 | General Ecology | 3.0 |
| Term Credits | 18.0 | |
| Term 10 | ||
| EDUC 308 | Creating a Positive Classroom Climate | 3.0 |
| EDUC 409 | Student Teaching Seminar I | 9.0 |
| Term Credits | 12.0 | |
| Term 11 | ||
| EDLT 325 | Design for Learning with Digital Media | 3.0 |
| EDUC 410 [WI] | Student Teaching | 9.0 |
| Term Credits | 12.0 | |
| Term 12 | ||
| EDUC 316 | Teaching in Urban Contexts | 3.0 |
| EDUC 405 | Senior Pedagogy Seminar | 1.0 |
| ENVS 284 | Physiological and Population Ecology | 3.0 |
| HIST 289 | History of Science: Enlightenment to Modernity | 4.0 |
| PHIL 251 | Ethics | 3.0 |
| PSY 320 [WI] | Educational Psychology | 3.0 |
| Term Credits | 17.0 | |
| Total Credit: 184.5 | ||
Education Faculty
Jennifer Adams, EdD (Harvard University). Associate Professor. Comparative and international education; Poverty and education; Child welfare; Educational policy.
Ayana Allen, PhD (Texas A&M University ). Assistant Professor. Urban education; Identity construction in school contexts; Urban school transformation.
Kristen Betts, EdD (George Washington University). Clinical Professor. Higher education administration and governance, online blended education, instructional design and educational technology, program assessment and evaluation.
W. Edward Bureau, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Clinical Professor. Leadership, supervision, and capacity development.
Jamie Callahan, EdD (George Washington University). Clinical Professor. Leadership; Sociological explorations of emotions occurring in organizational contexts; Organizational development; Contextual issues confronting organizations, such as organizational leadership, organizational culture, and communities of practice.
Holly Carpenter, PhD (Arizona State University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Higher education policy development and implementation, community college/university articulation, and online education.
José Luis Chávez, EdD (University of Southern California). Clinical Professor. Higher education leadership and administration.
Rebecca Clothey, PhD (University of Pittsburgh). Assistant Professor. Comparative and international education, education of ethnic and linguistic minorities, sociology of education.
James Connell, PhD (Louisiana State University) Clinical Director and Research Fellow, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. Associate Professor. Identifying the variables that influence adult behavior change in community settings; autism intervention; widespread dissemination of evidence-based interventions in school and community settings.
D. Brent Edwards, PhD (University of Maryland). Assistant Clinical Professor. Global and international education
Salvatore V. Falletta, EdD (North Carolina State University). Associate Clinical Professor. Human Resource intelligence (i.e., HR research and analytics practices); HRD assessment, measurement, and evaluation models and taxonomies; organizational diagnostic models; web-based employee and organizational survey methods, and computational modeling.
Aroutis N. Foster, PhD (Michigan State University). Associate Professor. Educational psychology and educational technology, especially the following: Motivation; Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK); Immersive Interactive Digital Environments (simulation, games, virtual realities.
Kathy Geller, PhD (Fielding Graduate University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Educational leadership and management.
Rajashi Ghosh, PhD (University of Louisville, Kentucky). Associate Professor. Mentoring and leader development, workplace Incivility, workplace learning and development.
Roger Geertz Gonzalez, PhD (Pennsylvania State University). Associate Clinical Professor. Civic engagement, college student identity development, indigenous higher education, comparative higher education access policies.
John M. Gould, PhD (University of Pittsburgh) Harrisburg EdD Educational Leadership & Change Program. Associate Clinical Professor. Change leadership, curriculum re-design, the impact of technology on learning.
Mary Jo Grdina, PhD (Case Western Reserve University). Associate Clinical Professor. Undergraduate studies, science education, curriculum design.
Dominic F. Gullo, PhD (Indiana University) Associate Dean of Research. Professor. Studying the relative and long-range effects of early schooling experiences in prekindergarten and kindergarten on children's achievement and social adaptation to school routine.
Penny Hammrich, PhD (University of Minnesota) Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. Professor. Urban education; science education; genetics; gender equity; science knowledge for conceptual teaching; sport science.
Paul Harrington, PhD (University of Massachusetts, Boston) Director, Center for Labor Markets and Policy. Professor. Teen and young adult job access; economic outlook, college labor market; workforce development, planning, and development; vocational rehabilitation and job market transition.
Elizabeth Haslam, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Clinical Professor. Educational field coordinator, instructional design, qualitative evaluation, writing across the curriculum.
Michael J. Haslip, PhD (Old Dominion University). Assistant Professor. Early childhood education, social and emotional learning, child guidance strategies, effects of public pre-school attendance.
Marlene Hilkowitz, M.Ed (Temple University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Science education; Curriculum development; Student engagement
Deanna Hill, JD, PhD (University of Pittsburgh). Assistant Clinical Professor. Higher education, international education, education law, education policy
Erin Horvat, PhD (University of California, Los Angeles) Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor. Urban education, access and equity, high school dropout, parent involvement/family involvement, community engagement in research.
Jennifer Katz-Buonincontro, PhD (University of Oregon). Associate Professor. Educational administration, leadership development, survey & instrument design.
Kristine Kelly, PhD (University of Wisconsin, Madison). Assistant Clinical Professor. Sociology of gender and development; anthropology of policy; comparative and international education; qualitative research methods; Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Valerie Klein, PhD (Amherst College). Assistant Clinical Professor. Mathematics learning and teaching; teacher's use of formative assessment in mathematics; creating opportunities for rich problem solving in the classroom; examining teachers growth and change; qualitative research methods.
Vera Lee, EdD (University of Pennsylvania). Assistant Clinical Professor. Practitioner Research in online courses to explore inservice/preservice teachers’ emerging understandings about issues of diversity; the development of information/digital literacies of urban youth; English language learners.
Bruce Levine, JD (New York University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Educational policy, school law, public-private partnerships, intersection of business and education.
Kristine Lewis-Grant, PhD (Temple University). Associate Clinical Professor. Experiences of students of African descent at predominantly white colleges and universities, college access and college student development, youth civic engagement in urban school reform, qualitative research and evaluation.
William Lynch, PhD (University of Maryland). Professor. Curriculum and educational leadership, educational technology, distance learning policy development, higher and adult education.
Constance Lyttle, PhD, JD (University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University). Associate Clinical Professor. Legal rights of gifted and talented children and children with disabilities; inclusive education of exceptional children; special education mediation; special education IEP/IFSP facilitation; resolution session facilitation
Kenneth Mawritz, PhD (University of Pittsburgh). Assistant Clinical Professor. Educational administration
Joyce Pittman, PhD (Iowa State University of Science and Technology). Associate Clinical Professor. Curriculum and instruction K-16; teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL); instructional design business education and administration; industrial and career technology; oral and written communication; research methodology; instructional and assistive technology assessment; online learning pedagogy
Kathleen Provinzano, PhD (Marywood University). Associate Clinical Professor. Educational administration.
Fredricka K. Reisman, PhD (Syracuse University) Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Innovation. Professor. Mathematics education, learning mathematics, mathematics pedagogy, teacher education, heuristic diagnostic learning and teaching, theory and research in creativity and applied creativity.
Lori Severino, EdD (Neumann University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Special education, differentiated instruction, reading, Wilson language, multi-sensory instruction, reading comprehension, assessment, adolescent literacy.
Jason Silverman, PhD (Vanderbilt University). Associate Professor. Teaching and learning of advanced mathematical ideas (algebra and calculus); improving teachers' ability to orchestrate and sustain inquiry-based and discussion-based instruction; technology in mathematics education.
Brian Smith, PhD (Northwestern University). Professor. Design of computer-based learning environments; Human-computer interaction; Design sciences.
Toni A. Sondergeld, PhD (University of Toledo). Associate Professor. Cognitive and affective assessment development; program/grant evaluation; high stakes testing measurement; STEM education; urban education
Nancy Butler Songer, PhD (University of California, Davis) Dean, School of Education. Distinguished Professor. STEM education, urban education, educational assistance
Mary Jean Tecce DeCarlo, EdD (University of Pennsylvania). Assistant Clinical Professor. Early literacy development, learning differences, knowledge construction, urban education.
Sarah P. Ulrich, EdD (Saint Joseph’s University). Associate Clinical Professor. Emphasis in cross-cultural, language and academic development.
Sheila Vaidya, PhD (Temple University). Professor. Educational psychology, school psychology, research design.
Christina Vorndran, PhD (Louisiana State University). Associate Clinical Professor. Behavior analysis, single subject research methods, functional analysis
