Chemistry Teacher Certification Coordinator:

Program Overview

Goals:
The chemistry teacher certification program at NIU was recently reorganized to align with National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) standards and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) "Content-Area Standards for Educators". In addition, our program also trains teachers to apply the science Illinois Learning Standards (contained in goals 11, 12, and 13) in their classrooms. There is also, at state and national levels, increasing emphasis on effective uses of computer technologies.

The Content-Area Standards for Educators include nine "Technology Standards for All Teachers". In response, we have developed C-TIES, or the Collaborative Technology and Information Exchange System. It is a web-based platform for collaborating on the design and dissemination of standards-driven instruction modules that integrate novel classroom technologies. To view an example, visit the C-TIES Portal Project to see how pre-service and in-service teachers use the web to create and publish lesson plans that integrate live molecular imaging, Office web components, and other technologies into the secondary science curriculum.

The project, which occurs over 4 semesters, is designed to 1) train pre-service teachers to develop standards-based instruction modules that integrate live molecular images and movies, 2) train pre-service teachers in effective uses of the online collaboration and productivity tools built into Office 2000 / XP, and 3) provide pre-service teachers with a broad set of performance-oriented experiences that are aligned with NSTA and ISBE standards that they can publish to an electronic portfolio.

Finally, the C-TIES initiative is also aligned with the Conceptual Framework at Northern Illinois University, which emphasizes a "Community of Learners". An important goal of C-TIES is to develop an e-community of teachers, faculty, and students that develop, implement, and assess innovative lesson plans that incorporate novel applications of technology.

Admission:
Admission into the chemistry teacher certification program requires a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 and a minimum GPA of 2.5 in all physical sciences and mathematics coursework. Candidates must have successfully completed, with a C or better, 8 semester hours in each of the following areas:

• General chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• General physics
• Calculus

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