University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Depending on your major, you'll take a selection of courses designed for future teachers in STEM disciplines.

• Pedagogy (4 hours): One discipline-specific pedagogy and methods course taught in the Departments of Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geological Sciences or Physics and Astronomy. This course includes a four-credit seminar and field-based practicum, and it meets requirements for the major.
• BIOL 410 Principles and Methods of Teaching Biology (4 hours)
• CHEM 410 Instructional Methods in the Chemistry Classroom (4 hours)
• GEOL 412 Principles and Methods of Teaching Earth Science (4 hours)
• MATH 410 Teaching and Learning Mathematics (4 hours)
• PHYS 410 Teaching and Learning Physics (4 hours)
• Educational Foundations (9 hours)

You'll take three courses, taught in the School of Education, that focus on educational foundations, child/student development and general pedagogy.

• EDUC 689 Foundations of Special Education (3 hours)
• EDUC 532 Introduction to Development and Learning  (3 hours)
• EDUC 615 Schools and Community Collaboration (3 hours)

You'll complete 12 credit hours of student teaching:

• EDUC 593 Internship/Student Teaching – Topic ID – UNC BEST & Music Education (12 hours)
• Seminar (1 hour)
• EDUC 601 Education Workshops (must be completed during student teaching semester)  (1 hour)

Our secondary STEM education program combines a strong mathematics and science major with strong pedagogical and clinical components. Teacher-candidates in the UNC BEST program engage in coursework and student teaching designed to enhance understanding of teaching and learning, focusing on adolescents and teenagers.

Our faculty is committed to providing broad access to STEM careers and literacy to learners from all backgrounds. We build and cultivate interest in math and science education through innovative and socially responsive research, teaching and teacher preparation informed by the learning sciences, designed to prepare future teachers to better educate and empower all students.

Each student is paired with a mentor teacher who helps guide them through their student teaching experience. The mentoring process provides a framework for each new teacher to feel comfortable and confident to fully develop potential in the classroom.

The process to effectively refine lessons and apply new strategies includes continuous reflection on professional practice. Reflection is enhanced when approached as a shared dialogue among colleagues.

Our community of students, faculty and staff is deeply committed to the shared mission of ensuring fairness in educational access and outcomes for all learners in our increasingly varied communities—locally, statewide, nationally and globally.

We challenge ourselves to address the most difficult and complex educational questions and issues across the P-20 continuum through cutting-edge research, development and engagement. We approach our scholarship with a determination to inform current educational practices, programs and policies. We strive to imagine better futures, and work toward a society where a great and transformative public education is accessible to all—lifelong, lifewide, and where wellbeing, health and prosperity are within everyone’s reach.

UNC Chapel Hill has partnerships with 14 community colleges. If you’re a high school senior who’s planning to enroll at one of our partner community colleges or a college student currently attending one of these schools, we hope you’ll consider applying to C-STEP and that you’ll reach out to your local community college counselor for help and support.

Learn more here