College joins national math, science teacher initiative

    The University of Wyoming College of Education has another ally in identifying new and effective ways to recruit future mathematics and science teachers, via a new partnership created by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC).
   UW joins 106 other NASULGC institutions as members of the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI). The partnership is committed to addressing three goals:
•    Substantially increase the number and diversity of high quality mathematics and science teachers prepared by their institutions.
•    Identify the need for science and mathematics teachers in their states and regions, working with appropriate state agencies and other universities.
•    Build partnerships with other universities and community colleges, school systems, state government and others to collectively address their state needs on a sustained basis.
   The opportunity to share Wyoming's successes and "understanding what different institutions are doing to increase the number of students who will be majors in these areas and choose to teach" is a primary benefit of joining this national effort, according to Linda Hutchison, chairperson of the UW Department of Secondary Education.
   Nationwide, shortages of majors who are ready to step into the classroom exist in several curricular areas. Of particular concern are current and anticipated vacancies in the areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, and earth systems science. UW has met with some success in increasing mathematics education enrollment recently. However, gaps between enrollments in the four sciences identified and predicted classroom vacancies in Wyoming remain large. Needs in neighboring states, which frequently hire UW graduates, reflect national trends.
   Hutchison, UW's institutional representative to SMTI, will participate in a major summit of SMTI members, scheduled for May 17-18 in Boulder. That event is expected to offer a significant opportunity to learn about successful strategies incorporated at other SMTI institutions. While she anticipates learning about tactics that could be adopted or adapted at UW, Hutchison also knows that she can offer Wyoming-based examples of effective programs.
   One of those success stories is the Wyoming School-University Partnership (WSUP), a collaboration that engages stakeholders at UW, school districts, community colleges, and state government to address a variety of educational concerns.
   Another strength of UW's programs is the concurrent major framework, where students earn one degree with two majors: secondary education and their chosen content area (e.g., mathematics education with concurrent major in mathematics).
   The concurrent major model helps to ensure that teachers graduating from UW with a degree in secondary education are well prepared to teach in their content area. While accomplishing the "highly qualified" criteria of the No Child Left Behind Act, UW's efforts to build in strong content knowledge predate the federal legislation.
   For more information on the SMTI, contact Hutchison (lhutch@uwyo.edu; 307-766-2375) or visit the initiative website (http://www.teacher-imperative.org).

  
 

Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2009