Over the years, the Biology Education Program has been selected as being in compliance with state and national requirements, particularly those stated by the National Science Teachers Association, our Learned Society. The program was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as part of the major program review conducted in October 2003.

The knowledge base of the Biology Education Program is derived from the Standards for Science Teacher Preparation (NSTA), the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council), and the Pennsylvania state standards defined in Chapter 354 and Chapter 4. According to these sources, the preparation of science teachers should include a rigorous preparation in current content in a specific science discipline. The instruction should show how the major concepts relate to those in other sciences, thus unifying the science disciplines. The learning of science should be investigative and allow the teacher candidate to design and conduct open-ended experiments and report the results. The teacher candidate should be prepared to develop and teach student-centered lessons using an inquiry-based, constructivist approach that incorporates technology and stimulates critical thinking. When developing lessons, the candidate should be prepared to take into account the diverse learning styles and special needs of students.

Biology education majors at IUP are required to complete the same rigorous biology core program as students who are preparing for advanced study and research through the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Biology Program. All core biology courses have a laboratory component, with the exception of the seminar course. The laboratory and seminar courses incorporate the same science process and literature research skills that the candidates are expected to teach to their students. Additionally, the candidates gain experience with technology used by biologists.

Pedagogical knowledge is addressed in the Professional Education Sequence of the Biology Education Program, particularly in the common science methods course required of all science education majors. The purpose of this course is to provide experiences in fostering critical thinking, probing questioning, developing and delivering student-centered lessons, planning and executing laboratory activities, and developing an awareness and facility for incorporating technology in science lessons.

Our mission has been to provide a quality content knowledge background, to demonstrate a variety of pedagogical techniques, and to provide a supervised field experience for the candidates to attain competence in the professional role for which they are preparing.

Our teaching philosophy states:

“The science education faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania believes that the preparation of science teachers for middle/secondary school classrooms must include strong backgrounds in both pedagogy and a science discipline. As such, science education majors at the university complete essentially the same core of courses as their non-education peers do in the discipline. Each science education program at IUP follows the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Teachers Association for constructivist-based instruction. Since student-centered teaching is modeled by the science education faculty in the classroom, IUP's preservice teaching graduates are used to blending cooperation, challenge, and critical exploration in their teaching. The National Research Council states such teaching effectively promotes scientific literacy for all students.” (from the IUP Science Education recruitment brochure)

In order to be recommended for certification, candidates must complete all of the coursework identified on their advisement sheet with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. In addition, to be recommended for student teaching and certification, the Biology Department requires all Biology Education candidates to have a minimum grade point average of 2.75, calculated on their biology and education course grades.

The Coordinator of the Biology Education Program since its inception at IUP has been a science educator with a Ph.D. or D.Ed. in Science Education. The Coordinator for the Biology Education Program works closely with IUP's Office of Teacher Education in the College of Education and Technology and is a member of the Teacher Education Coordinator's Council (TECC), which holds monthly meetings during the academic year. The TECC committee is comprised of the Coordinators of each of the education programs. Potential changes in procedures and practices for all IUP certification programs are discussed and approved or disapproved by this committee. The TECC meetings also provide a means for the Biology Education Coordinator to learn about the current trends and requirements in secondary biology certification in Pennsylvania , so the biology education program can be modified accordingly in a timely manner.

Local education personnel are involved with our programs and mission in many ways. Each year the College of Education (COE) hosts meetings and workshops for administrators, cooperating teachers, and support personnel who are involved with our student teachers. University Supervisors and Coordinators also attend and interact at these meetings.

The Three Step Process and the program curriculum sheets are the most important documents for student advising. A copy of the requirements and procedures is given to the entering education freshmen, is published in the IUP Catalog, is on the COE website, and is included in the Plan of Study that is used by the students' academic advisors.