Masters of Science Teaching Science
General Science

About the Center for Science Education

The Center for Science Education (CSE) exists to enhance science teaching and understanding through innovative education, research and community outreach programs. These programs have been successful in gaining national support from such prestigious organizations as the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Education. Graduate students in the MST program participate in and contribute to these programs through their scholarship. Past graduate students have had the opportunity to attend and present their research at professional conferences such as the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching and at the International Conference on Service Learning. The CSE's pedagogy follows an inquiry process that challenges students to develop new ways of viewing science education. Students are expected to carry these techniques back to the community, thereby creating more knowledgeable students with a greater capacity for inquiry and a better informed citizenry.

1.0 Program Background

About the Master's of Science Teaching in General Science Degree (MST)

The goal of the Master's of Science Teaching Degree is to advance the use and understanding of science inquiry through an active research program. Graduate students work with faculty advisors to develop and carry out an assessment based research agenda. Several scholarship pathways are open to MST graduate students, including citizen science, service learning and research based science learning. MST graduate students have the opportunity to work with students at various grade levels, from kindergarten to undergraduate college students. In addition to research, MST students take both graduate level science and education courses. The MST is administered within flexible guidelines to match the needs of students with varying backgrounds and professional plans. For more information contact: Jennifer Wells at503-725-8345 or e-mail wellj@pdx.edu .

About the Center for Science Education

The Center for Science Education (CSE) exists to enhance science teaching and understanding through innovative education, research and community outreach programs. These programs have been successful in gaining national support from such prestigious organizations as the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Education. Graduate students in the MST program participate in and contribute to these programs through their scholarship. Past graduate students have had the opportunity to attend and present their research at professional conferences such as the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching and at the International Conference on Service Learning. The CSE's pedagogy follows an inquiry process that challenges students to develop new ways of viewing science education. Students are expected to carry these techniques back to the community, thereby creating more knowledgeable students with a greater capacity for inquiry and a better informed citizenry.

Who should enroll?

The CSE offers two MST programs.

• Track one is an MST program designed for those who are preparing to teach informal science or in higher education or already hold a teaching certificate. This program is suited to persons who are: current and future teachers desiring to enhance science teaching skills or individuals interested in science interpretation for the general public.
• Track two is the MST portion of the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program. The Noyce program is a two year program designed specifically for pre-service science and math teachers. The first year of this program includes graduate level science content courses and courses that will support scholarship in the area of science education research. The goal of the program is to prepare students for teaching in diverse classrooms in high needs schools. The second year of Noyce program is the Graduate Teacher Education Program (GTEP), where students complete the requirements to earn a recommendation for an Oregon Teaching Certificate and complete the masters thesis science education research. The Noyce program includes a scholarship stipend that supports approximately 80% of the cost of the program.

2.0 Admission to the Program

University Requirements

Prospective students must be admitted into the Portland State University graduate program. Requirements for admission are found in the most current PSU Bulletin and include, but may not be limited to the following submissions:

• The University application form
• The application fee
• One official transcript from every college or university attended including junior colleges and community colleges

Program Entrance Requirements

All applicants to the MST program must have a Bachelors of Science or Arts degree from an accredited college. Students do not need an undergraduate degree in science, but it is beneficial. Those students lacking a suitable background in science will be expected to take supplemental science courses. A minimum of 12 credits of 100/200 level science laboratory classes is required. Additionally, students meeting only the minimum science requirement may be asked to take additional upper division science courses the first year of their MST program. The MST Admissions Committee makes this decision. Students must maintain a B average in courses taken to fulfill the prerequisite requirements and receive a B or better in courses taken towards their MST degree. Students must provide the information in Table One 90 days prior to their starting term. Due to a limited number of advisors, it is best to apply as soon as possible. It is the student's responsibility to periodically check with the Center for Science Education to ensure their file is complete. An email will be sent to students when all the appropriate materials have arrived. All correspondences and application materials should be sent to: Portland State University, Center for Science Education, P.O. Box 751, Portland, Oregon 97221, to the attention of Jennifer Wells.
The CSE adheres to the Office of Admissions' graduate student policies regarding admission, enrollment policies, credit regulations, academic standing, and academic honesty. Students should also familiarize themselves with the General Requirements for Graduate Degrees, as laid out in the Portland State University Bulletin.

Table One: General Requirements for Admission to the MST Program

• Departmental Application Form
  One official transcript from every college or university attended, including PSU, junior colleges and community colleges
• Resume
• Letter of Intent: Entering the MST Program requires forethought, including an understanding of student goals and how they can be met through the MST program. These thoughts should be laid out in a one to two page letter of intent.
• Two letters of recommendation from a faculty member, community partner and/or workplace associate. The person writing the letter of recommendation should include how long they have known the applicant and in what context. Skills they may wish to address are: Leadership Skills, Initiative/Motivation, Written Communication Skills, Oral Communication Skills, Scholastic Achievement in Field, Group Process Skills, Creativity, Responsibility and Teaching Skills (if pertinent).
• GRE Scores

3.0 Acceptance to the Program

The MST is open to all students who meet the academic prerequisites addressed here. Due to the limited number of advisors available, not all students that apply and meet the acceptance criteria may be accepted for a particular start date. Once the student has completed the application procedure, their materials will be reviewed. They will be notified of their status within 60 days. Students will be accepted as regular, conditional or deferred.

REGULAR STATUS: Those students meeting all prerequisites for the program with appropriate science background, GPA, recommendations, and program goals.

CONDITIONAL STATUS: A "conditional status" may be given to those students with academic deficiencies, including a low GPA or a weak science background. The committee will provide students with recommendations for upgrading their status to regular. Students accepted as "conditional" are still eligible for departmental assistantships. Students must notify the department and provide transcripts when they have met the requirements to upgrade their status to "regular."

DEFERRED STATUS: A "deferred status" may be given to those students with academic deficiencies, including a low GPA or an inadequate science background. The committee will provide students with recommendations for upgrading their status to regular. Students meeting all program admissions requirement may also receive a "DEFERRED STATUS" if the program has reached maximum enrollment and an advisor is not available. Students accepted as "deferred" are not eligible for departmental assistantships.

After acceptance by the CSE, a copy of the student's acceptance letter is forwarded to the Office of Admissions and Records. Following confirmation of eligibility by the Office of Admissions and Records, students are free to start the program. The Office of Admissions and Records determines residency status, calculates applicable grade point averages, and verifies that an accredited institution awarded the student's baccalaureate degree. The Office of Admissions and Records will notify the student as to whether or not their eligibility was confirmed.

Selecting An Advisor

Upon acceptance into the MST Program, students will receive in their acceptance letter the name of a faculty member interested in working with them. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the professor and set up an interview date. Students are free to change advisors, once they have decided on a research focus.

4.0 Financial Aid

Graduate Assistantships and other forms of financial aid may be available depending on departmental funding. Please fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, available in the Financial Aid Office. The CSE attempts to provide funding for as many of its graduate students as possible. CSE graduate assistants work at the university level as teaching assistants, research assistants or assessment specialist, while others work in the schools, supporting CSE community based education projects. Those students, who are funded, usually receive tuition remissions, an earned stipend and campus office space, as well. At present, the CSE has funding available for the 2008-2010 school years.

5.0 MST Program Guidelines for Faculty and Students

Thesis: The MST degree requires a thesis or a masters project. This is to be a piece of original work in the field of science education on a topic of mutual interest to the student and the student's advisor. The purpose of the thesis is to synthesize different elements of the student's coursework, to develop communication and presentation skills required for professional work and to demonstrate an understanding of research design and methodology. Students may take more than six thesis credits but only six apply towards the MST degree. Recent student research projects include "Wetlands Education as a Service Learning Opportunity" and "Science Education for At-risk Youth Performing Non-native Invasive Plant Recognition and Removal at a Regional Park."

Course Work: A minimum of 45 credits are required to graduate with an MST degree.

For the track one MST, the university requires students to take twenty-four (24) science and nine (9) education credits. The list of courses taken by the CSE-MST students that meet both the university and department requirements are listed below. The two part Research Based Learning (I and II) classes are four credits each, taken in a student's first two terms at PSU and make up eight of the student's 24 science credits. RBL I and II are required for all CSE-MST students. The other 16 science credits are selected at the discretion of student and the academic advisor.

The list of required courses for the Noyce MST program is listed below in table 3. Prior to entry into the masters program it is recommended that students meet with the science department endorsement advisor to assess what courses are needed. Secondary level Science endorsement course requirements are listed in the PSU Bulletin under each of the science departments and the math department. The Integrated Sciences endorsement requirements are posted in the Geology section of the PSU Bulletin. In some cases it is possible to make adjustments to the proscribed endorsement course plan by working closely with the science department endorsement advisor. It is also recommended that all Noyce applicants meet with a GTEP cohort advisor to learn about the program and discuss what pre-requisites are necessary to qualify for the program. Acceptance to the Noyce program does not guarantee acceptance to the MST or GTEP so it is critically important that students establish contact with faculty from each program to ensure good communication in preparation for submitting a strong application.

Graduate students may take one undergraduate level course per term in addition to the nine (9) graduate level courses per term.

          Table 2

                    Table 2.1

Table 3

                      Table 3.1

Center for Science Education Course Offerings

SCI 507 MST Seminar: The CSE graduate seminar serves as an important setting in which to read and discuss science education research professional literature, and present ongoing as well as finished PSU graduate and faculty research. This seminar also provides a forum for faculty and students to meeting at least once per term to discuss teacher education resources, check in on programmatic issues and discuss opportunities for students and faculty to present at professional conferences. It is expected that graduate students attend and participate in the MST seminar as a key part of their professional education. Noyce Scholars are required to attend three trimesters of this seminar. Track one MST students are required to take two term of the seminar but strongly encouraged to attend as many terms as possible.

SCI 510 Teaching to Diversity Seminar: This is a three consecutive term course designed specifically for track 2 MST, Noyce Scholars to explore issues of cultural competency for classroom teachers. Noyce Scholars learn about a variety of cultural groups represented in k-12 classrooms in the Portland area through readings, cultural immersion experiences, and dialogue with parents and teachers. By the end of the seminar, Noyce Scholars gain an emerging familiarity with these cultural communities and reflect on ways to teach effectively to a diversity of students.

SCI 510 Forging Community Partnerships: A key element both the University and the Center For Science Education is service learning. This course presents the CSE model for program and curriculum development through service and community partnerships. The course considers various models of project-based learning and explores various approaches to scaffolding the design of curriculum that incorporates this approach to learning. Participants will discuss approaches to involving community partners in working directly with students and teachers on contextually based projects and explore various avenues for funding project including grant writing and negotiating sponsorships of projects.

SCI 510 Research Based Learning:
Fall Term: Research Based Learning I. Students are exposed to science inquiry as they learn science by doing science. Working with faculty, students experience the methods and processes of scientific inquiry, including experimental design, the recording, quantification, and interpretation of observations and effective communication of results.

Winter Term: Research Based Learning II. This course is designed to support students to develop a science education research proposal for their masters thesis. Student explore the professional literature to gain an understanding of the important issues and questions pertinent to contemporary science education. At the same time, students are provided with an understanding of an array of quantitative and qualitative social science research instruments such as various statistical analysis models and approaches to case study analysis. Mid-way through the term, students work with the course faculty and their thesis advisor to develop their own research question and chose their research methodology leading to the development of the science education research proposal.

ESR 570 Environmental Education: An overview of the purpose and scope of environmental education. Provides and educational framework and examples of a variety of sites where environmental education is practiced. Specific examples of teaching strategies, materials and methods will be presented. Students will be expected to carry out a site-based project utilizing some of the materials developed in class.

SCI 503 Thesis or Project credit: Offered in all terms. Working with a lead thesis advisor and two thesis committee members, students do literature searches, prepare a research or project proposal, implement the research or project, analyze and synthesize data and write a thesis or project summary in accordance to the protocols determined by the university and the academic advisor. Students then defend their thesis before their committee of at least three faculty members including the lead academic advisor.

ASC 510 Assessment: This course is designed for educators interested in exploring the underlying theory of academic assessment. Using the work of the statewide committees that are currently redesigning the state of Oregon's statewide science standards and assessment for K-12 as a backdrop for understanding, students will explore assessment as scholarship. Students will consider background literature, concepts and terminology of assessment including learning what constitutes measurable student learning outcomes and looking at the differences between grading and assessment. The course will explore practical approaches for designing assessment plans including the development of assessment measures using qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment and how to achieve validity and reliability of assessment measures. Students explore approaches to survey development, interview techniques, portfolios, assessing writing and critical thinking, assessing learning environments and scoring student work samples. The course also examines use of technology in assessment and using assessment results for program improvement.

SCI 410/510 Diversity and Equity Issues in Science/Science Education: This course will explore the persistent under-representation of women and minorities in the sciences and engineering. A growing body of scholarship indicates that the demographic characteristics of the practitioners of science have implications for the way science is done and how it is used. Thus it is critical for science educators to become aware of the roles they play in shaping the population of future generations of scientists. We will examine the factors that effect diversity in the sciences by 1.) understanding the demographic characteristics of scientists and engineers in the US and globally, and how the science and engineering "pipeline" has changed over time, 2.) analyzing research that attempts to investigate the underlying causes for the disproportionate representation of women and minorities in science and engineering and 3.) examining intervention programs including the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and Math and Science Partnership Programs such as the Oregon Teacher Scholars Program and pedagogical approaches that attempt to address diversity and equity issues in science.