ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Department of Biological, Chemical and Physical SciencesAugust 2004
DESCRIPTION OF COURSES FOR TEACHERS
The courses listed below have been offered to teachers since 1986 under an IIT program called SMILE (Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement).
| Biology for Teachers | - | BIOL-596 or 598 |
| Chemistry for Teachers | - | CHEM-596 or 598 |
| Mathematics for Teachers | - | MATH-596 or 598 |
| Physics for Teachers | - | PHYS-596 or 598 |
These are seminar/workshops - graduate courses in the various
disciplines - designed to encourage the professional growth and the continuing education of teachers.
A hands-on, phenomenological approach is strongly emphasized and practiced in the courses.
The specific content is never the same from one semester to the next; as in research seminars,
the specific content changes with the topics that teachers choose to study. This includes
current research reported in the discipline, both in subject matter and pedagogy. Over half of the
lessons have strong visual, auditory or tactile components which also makes them meaningful to
handicapped students. Furthermore, the content of most of the lessons is readily adaptable to students
at various levels, including students with special educational needs.
For this reason, the courses may be taken repeatedly by teachers without repeating the specific content from one semester to the next, even though the course numbers and titles remain unchanged.
This is the nature of most graduate seminar courses at most universities.
Before 1986, a seminar/workshop course of the same description was offered in physical science:
Physics Science Teacher Workshop PHYS-446-61
Please contact me at 312-567-5745 at IIT if there are any questions. If I am not in at the moment, please leave a message, and I will return your call.