COURSE CURRICULUM

The Bachelor of Arts in Education (BAED) in Physics (Secondary Education) at Wichita State University is a 120-credit-hour program designed to prepare students to become certified science teachers for grades 6–12 by combining strong physics content knowledge with structured professional teacher training. Students begin with approximately 34–35 credit hours of general education alongside foundational education coursework such as Introduction to the Education Profession (CI 270) and Introduction to Diversity: Human Growth and Development (CESP 334), which help build early awareness of classroom environments and learner diversity. The major content requirements develop a broad scientific foundation and include General College Physics I and II (PHYS 213–214), Calculus I (MATH 242), College Trigonometry (MATH 123), General Chemistry I and II (CHEM 211–212), General Biology I (BIOL 210), Introductory Astronomy (PHYS 195), and Earth, Energy, and Environmental Systems (GEOL 300), ensuring future teachers understand interconnected scientific disciplines beyond physics alone. Students also select an advanced physics-focused course such as Special Studies in Physics for Educators or Topics in Modern Physics to strengthen subject expertise. The professional education sequence is organized into four progressive Core levels. Core I introduces diversity in education, classroom observation, and foundational teaching methods through practicum experiences. Core II emphasizes instructional planning, learning assessment, philosophy of education, and science-specific teaching methods with supervised practicum in science classrooms. Core III shifts toward intensive preparation for teaching practice through internship I, literacy strategies in science instruction, and technology integration in education, while Core IV consists of a full student-teaching internship (CI 471S, 10 credit hours) where candidates take responsibility for real classroom instruction. Throughout the program, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 overall and in major content, earn at least a B- in education courses, and successfully complete licensure requirements including the Praxis II Science Content Knowledge Test, the Professional Learning Test (PLT), and the CED 501 capstone, ensuring graduates are fully prepared for certification and classroom teaching careers.