Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024
(1)
Rationale. The main goal of
these standards is to promote quality educator preparation programs that will
lead to the development of scientific literacy among all Grade 6-12 students in
Alabama. The standards include process and application skills and correlate the
Alabama Course of Study: Science, the National Science
Education Standards from the National Research Council, and the teacher
preparation standards of the National Science Teachers Association. The
standards build upon the Alabama Core Teaching Standards.
(2)
Program Curriculum. In
addition to meeting Rules
290-3-3-.03(6)(a)1. -4.,
290-3-3-.03(6)(e)1.(i) -(iii)
and 2. (i)-(iii),
290-3-3-.04,
290-3-3-.05,
and
290-3-3-.14,
and
290-3-3-.27,
the general science program shall require an academic major that includes a
minimum of 30 semester hours of credit with at least 18 semester hours of
upper-division credit. Additional information is provided in the definition for
academic major in Rule
290-3-3-.01(2).
At a minimum, coursework must include biology, chemistry, Earth and space
science, and physics, and may include coursework in other areas of science.
(a)
Competency Requirements for All
Science Teachers. Candidates in general science demonstrate knowledge
of:
1. Multiple ways to organize perceptions
of the world and how systems organize the study and knowledge of
science.
2. Nature of scientific
evidence and the use of models for explanation.
3. Measurement as a way of knowing and
organizing observations of constancy and change.
4. Development of natural systems and factors
that result in change over time or equilibrium.
5. Interrelationships of form, function, and
behaviors in living and nonliving systems.
(b)
Core Concepts in Biology.
Candidates in general science demonstrate knowledge of:
1. Life processes in living systems including
organization of matter and energy.
2. Similarities and differences among
animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms, and viruses.
3. Principles and practices of biological
classification.
4. Theory and
principles of biological changes over time.
5. Ecological systems including the
interrelationships and dependencies of organisms with each other and their
environments.
6. Population
dynamics and the impact of population on its environment.
7. General concepts of genetics and
heredity.
8. Organizations and
functions of cells and multi-cellular systems.
9. Behavior of organisms and their
relationships to social systems.
10. Regulation of biological systems
including homeostatic mechanisms.
11. Fundamental processes of modeling and
investigating in the biological sciences.
12. Applications of biology in environmental
quality and in personal and community health.
13. Issues related to living systems such as
genetic modification, uses of biotechnology, cloning, and pollution from
farming.
(c)
Core
Concepts in Chemistry. Candidates in general science demonstrate
knowledge of:
1. Fundamental structures of
atoms and molecules.
2. Basic
principles of ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding.
3. Physical and chemical properties and
classification of elements including periodicity.
4. Chemical kinetics and
thermodynamics.
5. Principles of
electrochemistry.
6. Mole concept,
stoichiometry, and laws of composition.
7. Transition elements and coordination
compounds.
8. Acids and bases,
oxidation-reduction chemistry, and solutions.
9. Fundamental biochemistry.
10. Functional and polyfunctional group
chemistry.
11. Environmental and
atmospheric chemistry.
12.
Fundamental processes of investigating in chemistry.
13. Applications of chemistry in personal and
community health and environmental quality.
14. Issues related to chemistry including
ground water pollution, disposal of plastics, and development of alternative
fuels.
(d)
Core
Competencies in Earth and Space Sciences. Candidates in general science
demonstrate knowledge of:
1. Characteristics
of land, atmosphere, and ocean systems on Earth.
2. Properties, measurement, and
classification of Earth materials.
3. Changes in the Earth including land
formation and erosion.
4.
Geochemical cycles including biotic and abiotic systems.
5. Energy flow and transformation in Earth
systems.
6. Hydrological features
of the Earth.
7. Patterns and
changes in the atmosphere, weather, and climate.
8. Origin, change over time, and planetary
behaviors of Earth.
9. Origin,
change over time, and properties of the universe.
10. Fundamental processes of investigation in
the Earth and spaces sciences.
11.
Sources and limits of natural resources.
12. Application of Earth and space sciences
to environmental quality and to personal and community health and
welfare.
(e)
Core
Concepts in Physics. Candidates in general science demonstrate knowledge
of:
1. Energy, work, and power.
2. Motion, major forces, and
momentum.
3. Newtonian principles
and laws with engineering applications.
4. Conservation of mass, momentum, energy,
and charge.
5. Physical properties
of matter.
6. Kinetic-molecular
motion and atomic models.
7.
Radioactivity, nuclear reactors, fission, and fusion.
8. Wave theory, sound, light, the
electromagnetic spectrum, and optics.
9. Electricity and magnetism.
10. Fundamental processes of investigating in
physics.
11. Applications of
physics in environmental quality and to personal and community
health.
12. Issues related to
physics such as disposal of nuclear waste, light pollution, shielding
communication systems and weapons development.
(3)
Supporting Competencies for General
Science.
(a) Mathematics at least to
the pre-calculus level.
(b)
Probability and statistics.
