These science education general competencies are a result of a massive cross-walk with numerous accountable agencies, including College Mission Statements, Program Visions, State Regulations, plus NCATE, AETS, NSTA, NRC, INTASC, NBC.

The teacher candidate understands the central concepts of science, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) and can create learning experiences that make science personally, vocationally, and academically meaningful and relevant for students.

Central concepts of science include:

• Unifying Concepts and Processes
• Inquiry
• Physical Science
• Life Science
• Earth Science
• Science and Technology
• Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
• History and Nature of Science

(Examine complete NRC Standards summary)

The teacher candidate understands that children construct meaning and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development. This requires that the teacher candidate apply this competency from a constructivist view. i.e:

• Understand how learning occurs and is facilitated,
• Children individually and socially construct science knowledge,
• Learning is an active process by which students individually and collaboratively achieve understandings,
• All students come with diverse ideas, skills, student misconceptions or naïve conceptions and experiences which shape learning.

UN-L General Competency Three: The teacher candidate understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse student needs including: gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest in science.

UN-L General Competency Four: The teacher candidate understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills and matches these strategies to content, learning theory and student diversity.

UN-L General Competency Five: The teacher candidate uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a safe, ethical, and legal learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

UN-L General Competency Six: The teacher candidate uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

UN-L General Competency Seven: The teacher candidate plans instruction based upon knowledge science and students in the context of the community, and curriculum goals.

UN-L General Competency Eight: The teacher candidate understands and uses a variety of formal and informal authentic assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social and physical development of the learner and encourage student self asssessment. (Please visit "The Nebraska Pre-service Assessment Skill Requirements"

UN-L General Competency Nine: The teacher candidate is a reflective practitioner who constantly analyzes, evaluates, and strengthens their practice in order to improve the quality of their students’ learning experiences.

UN-L General Competency Ten: The teacher candidate fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support individual students’ learning needs and overall teaching practice.

UN-L General Competency Eleven: Contexts of Science Education

Accomplished science teachers create opportunities for students to integrate and coordinate the context of science with other subject areas.

Science Teachers are aware of and act on a knowledge related to social, ethical and legal aspects of teaching.