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The University of Texas at Dallas
Graduate Admissions

Science Education Course Descriptions

SCE 5301 Critical Issues in Science Education (3 semester hours) Examination of classic issues in science and technology and the relationships developed between them. Topics include population and population growth, food and food sources, energy and energy sources, water needs/solutions, diseases and cures, housing-safe and adequate, environmental issues-personal and political, and security-local and global. (Offered through the MAT-SE online strand only.) (3-0) Y
SCE 5305 Evaluating Research in Science Education (3 semester hours) Examination of selected topics in the methodological and philosophical foundations of science education as applied to contemporary issues affecting today's students. Topics include current research on hands-on/inquiry teaching, concept mapping, student misconceptions, learning/teaching styles, alternative assessment, gender differences, learning environments, action research, and knowledge transfer to provide a context for the history of science literacy and educational literacy; quantitative and qualitative research methods; and professional writing techniques. Prerequisite: one semester teaching experience in science or consent of instructor. Also offered through the MAT-SE online strand. (3-0) Y
SCE 5308 Research Design and Methodology (3 semester hours) Application of the methodological and philosophical foundations of research in science education pertaining to an individual research question. Topics include educational research ethics and design, measuring instruments and data manipulation, methodological rigor, evidence-based conclusions, and publication genres to support the development of a professional presentation and formal research paper. Also offered through the MAT-SE online strand. Prerequisite: SCE 5305 (3-0) Y
SCE 5309 Critical Thinking (3 semester hours) Study of critical issues, problem-solving techniques and reasoning abilities as they relate to science/mathematics education in today's classrooms. (3-0) Y
SCE 5334 Instructional Strategies in Science (3 semester hours) Designed for the master teacher/department leader, strategies for fostering an integrated science program based on national and Texas curriculum and assessment standards are presented through hands-on activities. (3-0) T
SCE 8398 Thesis Research (3 to 6 semester hours) May be repeated. (3-0) Y
SCI 5319 Energy and the Environment (3 semester hours). This course addresses the issues of human impact on the environment and how we, as stewards, can make sound technical decisions about strategies to ameliorate those effects.  Topics will include -- from the perspective of both energy supply and environmental effects -- global climate change, energy basics and conservation, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and alternative sources of energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass). (3-0) Y
SCI 5320 Astrobiology (3 semester hours) The ultimate integrated science, astrobiology brings together from the fields of astrophysics, planetary science, terrestrial geosciences, and of course, biology, an understanding how the history and diversity of life on our own planet relates to the possibilities for life on other worlds. (2-3) T
SCI 5321 Science for Elementary School Teachers (3 semester hours) Fundamental concepts in chemistry, physics, life and earth sciences, with particular emphasis on their applicability to the elementary science curriculum, including laboratory activities. (May be repeated to a maximum of 9 hours.) (2-3) Y
SCI 5322 Basis of Evolution (3 semester hours) Through discussions of the nature of science, Charles Darwin's travels, natural selection, the geologic record, and other topics, students will be acquainted with the scientific data that supports evolutionary theory. (2-3) T
SCI 5323 Laboratories and Demonstrations for Middle School Science Teachers (3 semester hours).
This course will emphasize ways that laboratory work and demonstrations help pre-high school students to acquire lasting understanding of concepts in chemistry and physics.  Through a variety of laboratory exercises and demonstrations, teachers will be encouraged to select appropriate materials for their curriculum.  Development of laboratory and demonstration presentation skills as well as new modules will be included in the course work
.(2-3) Y
SCI 5324 Ecology (3 semester hours) General ecological principles as related to productivity, population diversity, communities and ecosystem functions. Field data collection techniques included. (2-3) Y
SCI 5326 Astronomy: Our Place in Space (3 semester hours) This course focuses on developing student understanding of how our planet fits within a larger astronomical context.  Topics will include common misconceptions in astronomy, scale in the solar system and beyond, phases of the moon, seasons, navigating the night sky, our sun as a star, properties and lifecycles of stars, galaxies, and cosmology. (2-3) T
SCI 5327 Comparative
Planetology (3 semester hours) Every world in our solar system is unique, but none more so than our own planet Earth.  In this course we will explore the astrophysical, chemical, and geological processes that have shaped each planet, moons and the myriad of rocky and icy bodies in our solar system.  We will also investigate what discoveries of worlds orbiting other stars may tell us about our own solar system and home world. (2-3) T
SCI 5328 Marine Science (3 semester hours) The purpose of this class is to acquaint students with issues surrounding our use of the oceans and their resources. Students will also gain skills in writing an on-line lesson plan and in preparing a research report. (2-3) Y
SCI 5331 Conceptual Physics I: Force and Motion (3 semester hours) The primary focus of the class will be deepening the participants' conceptual understanding of physics, always with the added component of applicability to the pre-college classroom. 
We will use an inquiry-based approach and examples of physics in the everyday world. Foundational concepts of forces, Newton's laws, energy, and momentum will be covered. (3-0) T
SCI 5332 Conceptual Physics II: Energy in Motion (3 semester hours) The primary focus of the class will be deepening the participants' conceptual understanding of physics, always with the added component of applicability to the pre-college classroom. 
We will use an inquiry-based approach and examples of physics in the everyday world and connections to other fields of science. The second class in the Conceptual Physics series will build on concepts from the first in an exploration of transfers of energy and forces within and between systems of particles. Topics will include states of matter, fluids, waves and sound, and thermodynamics. (3-0) T
SCI 5333 Conceptual Physics III: Physics in the Modern World (3 semester hours)
The primary focus of the class will be deepening the participants' conceptual understanding of physics, always with the added component of critical thinking with regard to applications to the pre-college classroom. We will use an inquiry-based approach and examples of physics in the everyday world and connections to other fields of science. The third class in the Conceptual Physics series will build on concepts from the prior two in explorations of interacts between particles of matter. Topics will include inter- and intra-molecular forces, light, electricity and magnetism, and the nature of the atom. (3-1) T
SCI 5334 Instructional Strategies in Science (3 semester hours) Designed for the master teacher/department leader, strategies for fostering an integrated science program based on national and Texas curriculum and assessment standards are presented through hands-on activities. (3-0) T
SCI 5335 Environmental Field Methods (3 semester hours) Hands-on activities explore the properties and qualities of water through traditional and digital sampling methods. Designed for teachers, this inquiry-based course addresses information technology and environmental science standards in the context of real-world constructivist practice. May be repeated for credit as topics change. (2-3) T
SCI 5330 Special Topics (3 semester hours) May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 9 hours. (3-0) Y
SCI 5340 Statistics in Science/Mathematics Education (3 semester hours) Understanding and application of statistical techniques needed in the design and interpretation of research in Science/Mathematics Education.  Includes descriptive and inferential statistics, regression, computer-based tools, and other appropriate topics. (3-0) Y
SCI 5425 Integrated Science for Teachers (4 semester hours) Investigation of science standards using pedagogical models of best practice applicable to a variety of learners in diverse contexts.
Inquiry-based investigations feature various topics in physical, earth and life sciences-with a hands-on emphasis on the latest scientific research and educational applications. Courses are offered online only. (May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours as topics cycle through earth, life and physical sciences.) (4-4) Y
SCE 5V06 Special Topics in Science Education (1-3 semester hours) (May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 9 hours.) ([1-3]-0) S
SCI 5V06 Special Topics in Science (1-3 semester hours) (May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 9 hours) ([1-3]-0) S

Mathematics Education Course Descriptions

EMTH 5310 Seminar: The Teaching of Mathematics and Computer Science
(3 semester hours) A forum for sharing ideas on current issues in the teaching of mathematics and computer science, grades 8-12, through participant presentations and discussions. Some work on mathematics history is included. Prerequisite: One year of teaching experience in mathematics or computer science. (May not be counted as credits toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Sciences.) (3-0) Y
MTHE 5320 Usual and Unusual Problems Using Secondary Mathematics (3 semester hours) For teachers only. Emphasis on (1) problem solving, (2) linking 'college mathematics' and 'secondary mathematics', and (3) using technology. Content varies from term to term with courses in algebra, geometry,
precalculus, calculus, probability/statistics, discrete mathematics, mathematical modeling. (May be repeated to a maximum of 18 semester hours.) (May not be counted as credits toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Sciences.) (3-0) S
MTHE 5330 Topics in Mathematics (3 semester hours) Special topics for mathematics teachers.
(May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 9 hours.) (May not be counted as credits toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Sciences.) (3-0) R
MTHE 5V06 Special Topics in Mathematics (1-3 semester hours) (May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 9 hours) (May not be counted as credits toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Sciences.) ([1-3]-0) R

 

Last Updated: March 1, 2011