University of Houston - Downtown - NCTQ Building Content Knowledge

Catalog Year: 2021-2022

University of Houston - Downtown

This tool provides individual preparation programs with a customized analysis of the courses required by the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program and by the institution’s undergraduate general education courses to determine how well these requirements cover essential content in social studies. This tool also uses information about existing coursework on their campuses to provide guidance on a recommended course sequence.

This is a summary of the coverage of social studies¹ content for undergraduate elementary candidates at your institution.

To determine if an elementary teacher preparation program provides adequate coverage² in the primary subject area of social studies through its own requirements or the institution’s requirements, we ask three sequential questions exploring:

Evidence of any social studies coverage;
Evidence of coverage of the six social studies themes; and
Evidence coursework encompasses the thirteen topics of social studies knowledge required of elementary teachers.

University of Houston - Downtown's Coverage

Coverage of Subject

Does the institution or teacher preparation program require elementary candidates complete any courses in social studies?

YES

The institution/program recommends or requires candidates to complete at least one course classified under the broad domain known as social studies.

The institution/program does not require or recommend candidates to complete at least one course classified under the broad domain known as social studies.

Theme Coverage

Within social studies, there are six themes. Does the institution or teacher preparation program require or recommend courses to ensure each of the themes classified under social studies are covered?

YES

The coursework required of elementary candidates at this institution covers all six themes in social studies: 1. Civics, 2. Economics, 3. History, 4. Geography, 5. Culture & Identity, and 6. Pedagogy.

The coursework required of elementary candidates at this institution does not cover all six themes in social studies: 1. Civics, 2. Economics, 3. History, 4. Geography, 5. Culture & Identity, and 6. Pedagogy.

Topic Coverage

Within the six themes of social studies are thirteen topics common to teaching elementary students. Does this institution or preparation program require or recommend courses to ensure each of the thirteen topics classified under social studies are covered?

YES

Elementary education candidates at this institution must complete at least one course covering each of the thirteen topics.

Elementary education candidates at this institution are not required to take courses covering each of the thirteen topics.

What are the thirteen topics of Social Studies content?

References

While higher education institutions do not use the term “social studies,” the terminology is used in this analysis to represent any alignment between content covered in higher education with what is found in elementary content standards and assessments.
For these purposes, credit for “coverage” is awarded to the program whether the course is mandated through general education requirements for the institution at large or the specific requirements of the educator preparation program.

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See a detailed course analysis for your institution.

This tool illuminates:

What course options are available to satisfy general education or teacher preparation Requirement Categories;
What courses are required or recommended, either through general education requirements or the teacher preparation program; and
Whether courses cover the themes and topics of social studies content knowledge.

The aim of this tool is to provide an understanding of which courses are most likely to yield the most coverage possible of the content critical for elementary teachers. Because candidates can often choose from a list of courses to meet a Requirement Category, this table provides insight into which of those courses will be most relevant to elementary teaching.

How are Requirements Categories Determined?

Analysts identify both the general education and program graduation requirements found in public-facing materials.

By reviewing each Requirement Category and available course options, analysts identify courses addressing science and social studies content relevant to elementary teachers. The course analysis table indicates what themes and topics each course covers.

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University of Houston - Downtown's Content Coverage Analysis

Filter Course Options By Requirement Category

How we define these courses

Themes:	Civics	Economics		History						Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Themes:	Civics	Economics		US History				World History		Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Topics (hover to see name):	A Political institutions, Participation, Rules, and Laws	B Economic Principles and Exchange	C The Economy	D European Exploration and Colonization (up to 1700)	E The American Revolution and Founding (1700s)	F Growth and Expansion of the American Republic (up to 1900)	G Twentieth Century and Beyond	H Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations	I Twentieth Century and Beyond	J Geographic Representations	K Human-Environment Interactions	L Diverse Perspectives	M Cross-cutting Concepts
Extensive List Institution offers ten or more course options to fulfill requirement. Courses shown cover at least one applicable topic.
Extensive List Institution offers ten or more course options to fulfill requirement. Courses shown cover at least one applicable topic.
Extensive List Institution offers ten or more course options to fulfill requirement. Courses shown cover at least one applicable topic.
BIOL 1310 Human Biology
BIOL 1312 Ecology and Environmental Biology
CHEM 1305/1105 Introductory Chemistry
GEOL 1304 Introduction to Meteorology
GEOL 1305 Physical Geology
GEOL 1307 Planet Earth
PHYS 1301 Introduction to Solar System Astronomy
PHYS 1302 Introduction to Stellar and Galactic Astronomy
NS 3310 Physical Science Studies
NS 3312 Life Science Studies
EED 3315 Effective Teaching Strategies in Science Education EC-6
HIST 1305 United States History to 1877
BIOL 1310 Human Biology
BIOL 1312 Ecology and Environmental Biology
CHEM 1305/1105 Introductory Chemistry
GEOL 1304 Introduction to Meteorology
GEOL 1305 Physical Geology
GEOL 1307 Planet Earth
PHYS 1301 Introduction to Solar System Astronomy
PHYS 1302 Introduction to Stellar and Galactic Astronomy
HIST 1306 United States History after 1877
HIST 1312 Texas History
HIST 1314 Ethnic Minorities in American History
HIST 1305 United States History to 1877
HIST 1306 United States History after 1877
HIST 1312 Texas History
HIST 1314 Ethnic Minorities in American History
POLS 2305 Federal Government
POLS 2306 Texas Government
ECO 1305 Contemporary Economic Issues
SOSE 3310 Critical Social Studies Education
EED 3311 Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom

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See the recommended courses for elementary candidates at your institution.

Here NCTQ outlines (1) the set of courses providing candidates with the content most aligned with what elementary teachers need within current institution and program requirements, and (2) suggestions for courses to fill in gaps where candidates still lack coverage.

"Most Aligned" Set of Courses

Social Studies Requirement 01
HIST 1305 - United States History to 1877
Social Studies Requirement 02
HIST 1312 - Texas History
Social Studies Requirement 03
POLS 2305 - Federal Government
Social Studies Requirement 04
POLS 2306 - Texas Government
Social Studies Requirement 05
ECO 1305 - Contemporary Economic Issues
Social Studies Requirement 06
SOSE 3310 - Critical Social Studies Education
Social Studies Requirement 07
EED 3311 - Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom

How to Improve Content Coverage

Using the “Most Aligned” Set of Courses, current course requirements can address up to 69.23% coverage of social studies topics.

The topics still lacking coverage include:

World History - 20th Century and Beyond
Geographic Representations
Human-Environment Interactions
Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations

To improve content coverage, the institution or teacher preparation program may need to require additional courses for their candidates to achieve coverage across all topics. Our analysts identified the following courses to cover these topics:

World History - 20th Century and Beyond: No applicable courses found in NCTQ's analysis
Geographic Representations: No applicable courses found in NCTQ's analysis
Human-Environment Interactions: No applicable courses found in NCTQ's analysis
Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations: No applicable courses found in NCTQ's analysis

Analysis of Content Covered with "Most Aligned" Set of Courses

= Course is Currently Recommended or Required by Program

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Themes:	Civics	Economics		History						Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Themes:	Civics	Economics		US History				World History		Geography		Culture & Identity	Pedagogy
Topics (hover to see name):	A Political institutions, Participation, Rules, and Laws	B Economic Principles and Exchange	C The Economy	D European Exploration and Colonization (up to 1700)	E The American Revolution and Founding (1700s)	F Growth and Expansion of the American Republic (up to 1900)	G Twentieth Century and Beyond	H Pre-Columbian and/or Ancient Civilizations	I Twentieth Century and Beyond	J Geographic Representations	K Human-Environment Interactions	L Diverse Perspectives	M Cross-cutting Concepts
HIST 1305 United States History to 1877
HIST 1312 Texas History
POLS 2305 Federal Government
POLS 2306 Texas Government
ECO 1305 Contemporary Economic Issues
SOSE 3310 Critical Social Studies Education
EED 3311 Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom
Total Content Covered: 69.23%
If a candidate takes the above courses, this is the topic coverage they would experience overall:

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Catalog Year: 2021-2022

University of Houston - Downtown

This tool provides individual preparation programs with a customized analysis of the courses required by the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program and by the institution’s undergraduate general education courses to determine how well these requirements cover essential content in science. This tool also uses information about existing coursework on their campuses to provide guidance on a recommended course sequence.

This is a summary of the coverage of science content for undergraduate elementary candidates at your institution.

To determine if an elementary teacher preparation program provides adequate coverage¹ in the primary subject area of science through its own requirements or the institution’s requirements, we ask three sequential questions exploring:

Evidence of any science coverage;
Evidence of coverage of the three science themes; and
Evidence coursework encompasses the nine topics of science knowledge required of elementary teachers.