Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 505 - PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMISSION
Chapter 505-3 - EDUCATOR PREPARATION RULES
Rule 505-3-.93 - K-5 Science Endorsement
Universal Citation: GA Rules and Regs r 505-3-.93
Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1) Purpose.
(a) This rule describes requirements and
field-specific content standards for approving endorsement programs that
prepare science specialists for teaching students in grades K-5 and supplements
requirements in GaPSC Rule
505-3-.01 REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS
FOR APPROVING EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDERS AND EDUCATOR PREPARATION
PROGRAMS.
(b) This endorsement
program is designed to strengthen and enhance educator competency levels. This
endorsement is designed to advance science content knowledge, provide
professional growth, and promote changes in practice that impact student
achievement.
(2) In-Field Statement. Completers of the K-5 Science Endorsement program have strengthened and enhanced competency levels in science content and instruction for teaching students in grades Kindergarten through five, based on the grade levels of their base certificate.
(3) Requirements.
(a) To be eligible to enroll in this
endorsement program, the educator must have:
1. A valid, level 4 or higher Induction,
Professional, Advanced Professional, or Lead Professional teaching certificate
in one of the following fields:
(i) Elementary
Education (P-5);
(ii) Middle Grades
Science (4-8);
(iii) Special
Education General Curriculum/ Elementary Education (P-5); or
(iv) The following certificates combined with
a core academic content concentration in Science:
(I) Special Education General Curriculum
(P-12);
(II) Special Education
Adapted Curriculum (P-12);
(III)
Special Education Behavior Disorders (P-12);
(IV) Special Education Learning Disabilities
(P-12);
(V) Special Education Deaf
Education (P-12);
(VI) Special
Education Physical and Health Disabilities (P-12);
(VII) Special Education Visual Impairment
(P-12); or
(VIII) Gifted
Certificate (P-12); and
2. A minimum of one year of teaching
experience.
(b) The
program may be offered only by a GaPSC-approved educator preparation
provider.
(c) The program shall be
offered as a post-baccalaureate endorsement and may not be embedded in an
initial preparation program.
(d)
The program shall require candidates to complete an authentic residency. An
authentic residency is defined as a supervised and coordinated series of real
applications of knowledge and skills occurring in actual classroom settings
that allow candidates to further develop and demonstrate the knowledge and
skills acquired in coursework. Residency experiences shall require
demonstration of the content knowledge and pedagogical skills delineated in
program content standards. Authentic residency experiences shall occur in
candidates' assigned classrooms, as well as in settings other than candidates'
assigned classrooms to ensure experiences with a variety of students and with
students in the grade levels of the candidate's base certificate. The authentic
residency must include a portfolio component.
(e) Prior to the creation of this rule a
certificate known as the Early Childhood Science Endorsement was available.
Those holding the Early Childhood Science Endorsement issued prior to June 30,
2010, may keep the endorsement; however, it will not result in eligibility for
salary incentives. The K-5 Science Endorsement program shall include a process
by which educators holding the Early Childhood Science Endorsement may add the
K-5 Science Endorsement and thereby become eligible to earn salary incentives
without repeating the full endorsement program. The process shall include but
not be limited to the submission of a portfolio which will be assessed by the
program provider. Based on the assessment of the portfolio, the program
provider may prescribe coursework or performance-based assessments as necessary
to ensure that all standards and requirements herein are met before
recommending the candidate for the K-5 Science Endorsement.
(f) The portfolio shall include but not be
limited to: evidence of observations by supervisors, student work samples,
student work samples with analysis, self-reflection, and evidence of the
effective use of technology to assist in student learning.
(g) The preparation program described in
program planning forms, catalogs, and syllabi shall require a minimum of three
courses of which two courses shall be focused on the advancement of content
knowledge and one course shall be focused on content-specific pedagogy and
proven strategies that address the following standards:
1. The program shall prepare candidates who
structure and interpret concepts, ideas and relationships in science at a level
appropriate to K-5 students as indicated in the following:
(i) The program shall prepare candidates who
understand the major concepts and principles of the science disciplines (life,
physical, and earth and space) and interdisciplinary science perspectives as
defined by A Framework for K-12 Science Education - Practices,
Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas 2012.
(I) In relation to the life sciences,
candidates shall understand
I. From Molecules
to Organisms: Structures and Processes - How organisms live, grow, respond to
their environment, and reproduce including:
A. Structure and Function - How the
structures of organisms enable life's functions;
B. Growth and Development of Organisms - How
organisms grow and develop;
C.
Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms - How organisms obtain and
use the matter and energy they need to live and grow; and
D. Information Processing - How organisms
detect, process, and use information about the environment.
II. Ecosystems: Interactions,
Energy, and Dynamics - How and why organisms interact with their environment
and the effects of the interactions including:
A. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
- How organisms interact with the living and nonliving environments to obtain
matter and energy;
B. Cycles of
Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems - How matter and energy move through
an ecosystem;
C. Ecosystem
Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience - What happens to ecosystems when the
environment changes; and
D. Social
Interactions and Group Behavior - How organisms interact in groups so as to
benefit individuals.
III.
Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits - How characteristics of one
generation pass to the next and how individuals of the same species and even
siblings have different characteristics including:
A. Inheritance of Traits - How the
characteristics of one generation relate to the previous generation;
and
B. Variation of Traits - How
individuals of the same species vary in how they look, function, and
behave.
IV. Biological
Evolution: Unity and Diversity - How there can be so many similarities among
organisms yet so many different kinds of plants, animals, and microorganisms
and how biodiversity affects humans including:
A. Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
- What evidence shows that different species are related;
B. Natural Selection - How genetic variation
among organisms affects survival and reproduction;
C. Adaptation - How the environment
influences populations of organisms over multiple generations; and
D. Biodiversity and Humans - Biodiversity,
how humans affect it, and how it affects humans;
(II) In relation to the physical sciences,
candidates shall understand
I. Matter and Its
Interactions - How one explains the structure, properties, and interactions of
matter including:
A. Structure and Properties
of Matter - How particles combine to form the variety of matter one observes;
and
B. Chemical Reactions - How
substances combine or change (react) to make new substances and how one
characterizes and explains these reactions and makes predictions about
them.
II. Motion and
Stability: Forces and Interactions - How one explains and predicts interactions
between objects and within systems of objects including:
A. Forces and Motion - How one predicts an
object's continued motion, changes in motion, or stability;
B. Types of Interactions - What underlying
forces explain the variety of interactions observed; and
C. Stability and Instability in Physical
Systems - Why some physical systems are more stable than others.
III. Energy - How energy is
transferred and conserved including:
A.
Definitions of Energy;
B.
Conservation of Energy in Energy Transfer - What is meant by conservation of
energy and how energy is transferred between objects or systems;
C. Relationship Between Energy and Forces -
How forces are related to energy; and
D. Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday
Life - How food and fuel provide energy and if energy is conserved, why people
say it is produced or used;
IV. Waves and Their Application in
Technologies for Information Transfer - How waves are used to transfer energy
and information including:
A. Wave Properties
- The characteristics, properties, and behaviors of waves;
B. Electromagnetic Radiation - What is light,
how one explains the varied effects that involve light, and other forms of
electromagnetic radiation; and
C.
Information Technologies and Instrumentation - How instruments that transmit
and detect waves are used to extend human senses.
(III) In relation to the Earth and
space sciences, candidates shall understand
I.
Earth's Place in the Universe Including:
A.
The Universe and Its Stars;
B.
Earth and the Solar System - The predictable patterns caused by Earth's
movement in the solar system; and
C. The History of Planet Earth - How people
reconstruct and date events in Earth's planetary history.
II. Earth's Systems - How and why Earth is
constantly changing including:
A. Earth
Materials and Systems - How Earth's major systems interact;
B. Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System
Interactions - Why the continents move, and what causes earthquakes and
volcanoes;
C. The Roles of Water in
Earth's Surface Processes - How the properties and movements of water shape
Earth's surface and affect its systems;
D. Weather and Climate - What regulates
weather and climate; and
E.
Biogeology - How living organisms alter Earth's processes and
structures.
III. Earth
and Human Activity - How Earth's surface processes and human activities affect
each other including:
A. Natural Resources -
How humans depend on Earth's resources;
B. Natural Hazards - How natural hazards
affect individuals and societies;
C. Human Impacts on Earth Systems - How
humans change the planet; and
D.
Global Climate Change - How people model and predict the effects of human
activities on Earth's climate.
(ii) The program shall prepare candidates who
understand how the major crosscutting concepts and scientific and engineering
practices, which include inquiry, are integrated with the scientific
disciplinary core ideas to create a three dimensional learning experience as
indicated in the following:
(l) Scientific
and Engineering Practices including:
l. Asking
questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering):
A. Developing and using models;
B. Planning and carrying out
investigations;
C. Analyzing and
interpreting data;
D. Using
mathematics and computational thinking;
E. Constructing explanations (for science)
and designing solutions (for engineering);
F. Engaging in argument from evidence;
and
G. Obtaining, evaluating, and
communicating information.
II. Crosscutting Concepts including:
A. Patterns;
B. Cause and effect: Mechanism and
explanation;
C. Scale, proportion,
and quantity;
D. Systems and system
models;
E. Energy and matter:
Flows, cycles, and conservation;
F.
Structure and function; and
G.
Stability and change.
2. The program shall prepare candidates who
are able to engage K-5 students regularly and effectively integrate core ideas,
crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices and who understand
the roles the three dimensions of the Framework play in the development of
scientific knowledge as indicated in the following:
(i) The program shall prepare candidates who
understand scientific and engineering practices and their relationship to the
development of scientific knowledge;
(ii) The program shall prepare candidates who
engage K-5 students effectively in scientific and engineering practices
appropriate for their grade level and abilities;
(iii) The program shall prepare candidates
who understand how to engage K-5 students effectively in studies of the nature
of science and conventions of scientific explanations; and
(iv) The program shall prepare candidates who
use appropriate technology to teach K-5 students science.
3. The program shall prepare candidates who
relate science to the daily lives and interests of students, understand the
relationships of science to society and the community, and use human and
institutional resources to advance the science education of their students
understanding as indicated in the following:
(i) The program shall prepare candidates who
relate science to the personal lives, needs, and interests of K-5
students;
(ii) The program shall
prepare candidates who understand the values and needs of the community and
their effect on science teaching and learning;
(iii) The program shall prepare candidates
who use community, human, and institutional resources to advance science
learning in the classroom and in the field;
(iv) The program shall prepare candidates who
understand the nature of science.
4. The program shall prepare candidates who
are able to engage a broad community of student learners through differentiated
strategies as indicated in the following:
(i)
The program shall prepare candidates who value and respect the experiences that
all students bring from their backgrounds (e.g., homes or communities) and who
tailor instruction by using culturally relevant pedagogy.
(ii) The program shall prepare candidates to
support a varied population of students, to include economically disadvantaged,
by connecting science education to students' sense of "place" by physical,
historical, and/or sociocultural dimensions.
(iii) The program shall prepare candidates to
positively impact the achievement and confidence of underrepresented groups,
including females and other minority groups, by incorporating instructional
strategies to increase their intentions to continue studies in science and
curricula to improve their achievement and confidence in science.
(iv) The program shall prepare candidates to
support students with limited English proficiency by using adequate literacy
strategies for all students, language support strategies with ELLs, and
discourse strategies with ELLs.
5. The program shall prepare candidates who
use a variety of contemporary science formative and summative assessments to
determine, guide, and inform science instruction and then use the results of
these assessments to improve their practice and increase student
achievement.
6. The program shall
prepare candidates who create and maintain a psychologically, socially, and
ethically safe and supportive learning environment and a science teaching
environment that conforms to the National Science Teachers Association's
National Science Safety Standards. To this end, the program will include
instruction and training on the safe handling, distribution, disposal and
storage of chemicals and other laboratory equipment and the safe and ethical
treatment of animals in the classroom.
7. The program shall prepare candidates
through authentic experiences who participate in the professional community and
improve practices through their personal actions, education, and
development.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Georgia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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