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BASIC SCIENCES MASTERS OF NATURAL SCIENCE COURSE WORK |
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BASIC SCIENCES MASTERS OF NATURAL SCIENCE COURSE WORK |
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Teachers who wish to take university courses for professional development should contact their local school board offices to inquire about tuition payments. The former BESE Board Tuition Exemption Program has been discontinued and the resources placed in individual school systems.
Teachers who are planning coursework for the MNS degree have several options for accumulating appropriate coursework hours:
For secondary school teachers who have had considerable science coursework background as an undergraduate, this may be a practical means of obtaining additional hours that can apply to the degree. To locate appropriate coursework, consult the LSU catalog (when accessing the catalog on-line, follow the link to "courses of instruction" in the left-hand column) and the schedule booklet for the current semester.
However, 4000 level science courses may well have prerequisites that the teacher, particularly a middle school teacher, do not meet. Of course, it is possible to take the prerequisite courses—and for a teacher seeking secondary certification in a specific area that may be necessary—but coursework below the 4000 level will not count toward the MNS degree.
Many departments participating in the MNS degree program have special courses, usually at the 6000 level, that are designed for teachers and that usually have minimal prerequisites. These courses are usually offered during the summer, not during regular sessions in the fall or spring. For a faculty member to offer such a course, external funding from a source like LaSIP or NSF is usually required. That often means that stipends are available to participating teachers. However, it also means that coursework availability may not be known until late in the spring. This coursework link and the home page of the Gordon A. Cain Center for Scientific, Technological, Engineering, and Mathematical Literacy will try to post information about such programs as soon as it is known.
Faculty in the department of Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI) usually offer seminar and/or special topics courses in science education each semester. Most of the time the classes will meet in the later afternoons or evenings. Up to 9 hours of science education courses can be offered toward the MNS degree. As in the first item above, check in the schedule booklet to find out what is being offered.
In collaboration with the College of Basic Sciences, the Evlyn J. Daniel Educational Foundation offers graduate coursework carrying credit in one of the three courses, BASC 6001, BASC 6002, or BASC 6003. These courses are aimed at elementary and middle school science teachers and provide hands-on materials and activities that are practiced with students during the course. The courses are usually offered in June each year over a 3 week period. Request an application form in March from the Cain Center (578-6001).
Most of the participating departments offer graduate level research or independent study courses, and a limited number of hours in these courses may be offered toward the MNS degree. Ordinarly, arrangements for taking such a course are made through an individual faculty member in one of the participating departments.
Quick Links Contact:bascdean@lsu.edu
last modified: 2/19/2004
