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Concentration in Biology Education

The biology high school education program prepares you for the State of Illinois Professional Educator’s License in High School (Secondary) Education.

Preparing You for Success

You participate in classroom field experiences in your first year, then you gain additional field experiences your sophomore and junior years. These prepare you for the senior year student teaching experience. Bradley faculty and your supervising teachers are valuable mentors throughout the process. You also work closely with the biology department to gain a foundation in biology and other natural sciences.

The teacher education department is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. It also is a member of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The high school education program is nationally recognized by the National Council for the Social Studies, National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association and National Council of Teachers of English.

By the time you graduate, your experiences may include:

  • Courses in biology and other sciences
  • Professional development and licensure in high school (secondary) education
  • More than 500 hours of field experience and student teaching in local classrooms
  • Instruction and mentorship from faculty who have taught on six continents, published 30 books on education and served in educational leadership at state and national levels
  • Opportunities for research with faculty
  • Use of classroom technologies such as Smart Boards, virtual reality, 3-D printing and wearable devices

Making Your Mark

Biology education teachers are in demand. Recent biology education students who completed the program and graduated boast a 100 percent pass rate on Illinois licensure tests, including the national edTPA portfolio evaluation. That success means you can enter the teaching profession or graduate school after commencement. As an educator, you can consider future graduate studies in curriculum and instruction or other fields. Many graduates are working for school districts in the Midwest. As an educator, you also can consider future graduate studies in curriculum and instruction or other fields.

Major Requirements

The biology education concentration requires completion of the undergraduate biology major plus the following.

Required Courses - 44 hrs.

  • ETE 100: Technology Applications - 1 hr.
  • ETE 115: The History of Education in the United States - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 116: Field Experience: Schools and Schooling in American Society - 1 hr.
  • ETE 210: Human Development from Birth to Young Adulthood - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 211: Human Development from Birth to Young Adulthood and Effective Teaching Field Experience - 1 hrs.
  • ETE 216: Effective Planning and Instruction for Teaching - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 270: Physical Development and Health - 1 hr.
  • ETE 280: Exploring Diversity: Learners, Families and Communities - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 308: Novice Teaching Experience in the High School - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 310: Teacher Performance Assessment - 1 hr.
  • ETE 345: Guiding Learners: Creating Safe, Inclusive Learning Environments - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 365: Teaching Reading Within the Content Areas - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 371: Assessment and Technology for Middle School and High School Teachers - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 374: Methods of Teaching High School Science - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 499: Student Teaching in the High School - 12 hrs.

Optional Courses

  • ETE 227: Development of the Early Adolescent - 3 hrs.
  • ETE 228: Strategies for Middle School Instruction - 3 hrs.

Note: The courses used for the concentration cannot have been used to fulfill the requirements for the major.