Science Education Research and Science Education

Science Education Research

The National Research Council’s 2012 Report on Discipline-Based Education Research reports that the goals of Discipline-Based Education Research “are to:

  • understand how people learn the concepts, practices, and ways of thinking of science and engineering;
  • understand the nature and development of expertise in a discipline;
  • help identify and measure appropriate learning objectives and instructional approaches that advance students toward those objectives;
  • contribute to the knowledge base in a way that can guide the translation of DBER findings to classroom practice; and
  • identify approaches to make science and engineering education broad and inclusive.”

A list of resources (books, journals, funding, etc) Chemical Education Research may be found on the ACS Division of Chemical Education page:

http://www.divched.org/CER/resources

There are faculty at Cal State LA that conduct Science and/or Math Education research, and they work with students to conduct this research.  If this research area interests you, contact individuals in the College of Natural and Social Sciences, as well as in the Charter College of Education.  Consider applying to the MS in Chemistry, Chemistry Education option offered by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry!

Science Education

STEM teachers are in high demand.  As a BS Chemistry or BS Biochemistry major, you can pursue a career as a science educator in schools (see the careers information for our major).  However, there are a variety of other academic programs in different colleges at Cal State LA designed to prepare students for careers in science and mathematics teaching at the elementary and middle school (special education and general education classrooms) and the high school level. These include: