Introduction
The Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Program (SMATE) is a visionary and practical program designed to enrich the training and education of K-12 pre-service teachers and, through them, their students. From a collaboration of the disciplines, Chemistry, Geology, Biology, Physics/ Astronomy, Mathematics, and Engineering, the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Program offers an opportunity for teachers and future teachers to gain specific skills and broaden talents within their chosen discipline.
This program is designed to prepare future teachers at the elementary school level with an emphasis in Science. This major satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in Elementary Education offered through Woodring College of Education.
Why Consider a General Science - Elementary Major?
The Next Generation Science Standards require that elementary science teachers be prepared to teach life science, physical science, and Earth science. However, according to the National Survey of Math and Science Education, only about one-third of elementary science teachers have at least one college course in each of these areas. And, while over 80 percent of elementary teachers report feeling well qualified to teach language arts, only about one-third feel well qualified to teach science. The General Science major can help distinguish candidates with science expertise as they apply for jobs in elementary teaching.
Completion of this program results in a highly qualified status for elementary or middle school science under the federal NCLB guidelines.
Student Resources
Website: SMATE
Contact information: General Science Education Program Manager/Advisor, Lori Torres, Science Lecture (SL) 220, 360-650-7605, Lori.Torres@wwu.edu
Department advising: See the Advising section of the SMATE website.
Degree Works: Current students should also log on to Degree Works to check student-specific program progress.
Career Services Center: Connect major to a career
Sample Careers: Elementary Teacher
How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):
This major satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in elementary education. It does not result in a science endorsement. See the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Multilingual Education section of this catalog for program admission, completion, and teacher certification requirements. Make an appointment with Lori Torres to declare.
Grade Requirements
A grade of C (2.0) or better is required for courses in the elementary education professional program and all courses required for the endorsement.
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