Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Secondary Education Biology, BA


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College Education; Adult and Professional Studies
Academic Award Bachelor of Arts
Credits Required 120 semester credits
Faculty Lead Rebecca Meeder

The major in Secondary Education prepares students to become professional teachers for both public and private schools in specific subject areas covering 5th through 12th grades. Aspiring teachers study the liberal arts, Bible and theology, educational foundations, psychology, assessment, learning theory and pedagogy, and instructional methods for various subjects—social studies, English/language arts, ELL, health and fitness, biology, mathematics, theatre arts, or music. During one semester, students demonstrate their teaching skills in public or private school classrooms, leading to formal certification by the State of Washington.

Teaching Certificate Endorsements

Secondary education majors earn endorsements in specific subjects: Biology or Mathematics (grades 5-12), as well as supporting endorsements in Middle-level Science or Middle-level Mathematics (grades 4-9).

Professional Standards and Performance Assessment

Within the context of educational restructuring and accountability for learning results, the performance of each candidate is evaluated in multiple ways over time. Assessment of candidate performance focuses on demonstrated competency in both knowledge and teaching skill, which employs varied strategies to measure professional knowledge, subject matter mastery, and teaching effec-tiveness. Measures include written examination, oral communication, classroom management, curricular and instructional design, practice teaching, projects and portfolios, written expression, visual and musical arts, and the success of children in field settings.

Core Curriculum Requirements: 51


Humanities: 9


  • 6 credits in this area must be from Writing Practice courses* (see course descriptions  for applicability)
  • ENGL xxx3 Any Literature course 3 credits
  • HIST xxx3 Any Course in History 3 credits
  • 3 additional credits selected from the following 3 credits
    Art (ARTE), Bible (BIBL), Drama (DRAM), English (ENGL), History (HIST), Language (LANG), Music (MUSI), or Theology (THEO)

Social Sciences: 9


  • 6 credits in this area must be from Writing Practice courses* (see course descriptions  for applicability)
  • Select a minimum of two disciplines from the following:
    Business Administration (BUSM), Communication (except COMM 1213), Economics, Education (EDUC), Geography (GEOG), Health & Fitness (PEDU), Management (BMGT), Marketing (BMKT), Philosophy (PHIL), Political Science (PSCI), Psychology (PSYC), or Sociology/Anthropology (SOCI)

Science and Mathematics: 6-7


  • MATH xxxx - College-level Mathematics 3 credits
  • SCIE xxxx - Science course with Lab # 4 credits

# Science requirement may be satisfied with SCIE 1203 Survey of Chemistry I w/Lab

Core Electives: 17-18


Any college-level courses

Content Course Requirements: 36


Content course requirements may be applied to the Core Curriculum requirements or General Electives

Social Sciences


Science and Mathematics


General Electives: 0-30


Any college-level courses

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