Posted 8:45 am Tuesday, December 15, 2009
University Joins Ranks Of National Program
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
The University of Texas at Tyler announced Monday the receipt of grants totaling $1.4 million to establish a UTeach program aimed at graduating more math, science and computer science teachers.
Staff Writer
The University of Texas at Tyler announced Monday the receipt of grants totaling $1.4 million to establish a UTeach program aimed at graduating more math, science and computer science teachers.
"We turn out a great product, but the product needs to be doubled and tripled," UT Tyler President Dr. Rodney Mabry said at a program Monday. "I think we have great quality in terms of our teachers coming out, but we're not graduating enough. There's no question about that, and that's true all over the country."
The National Math and Science Institute (NMSI) announced that the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation donated $427,000 to help fund the new program and the Texas Education Agency provided $973,000, according to a UT Tyler statement.
UT Tyler will be the 15th campus nationwide to implement the program, which originated at UT Austin in 1997.
The UTeach program enables students majoring in math, science or computer science to receive full teaching certification without adding time or cost to their degrees, according to information from NMSI.
NMSI funds the UTeach program at 13 universities in nine states. There are universities in an additional 17 states on a waiting list.
"UT Tyler is about to become a leader in the most significant teacher education reform in generations," Rena Pederson, director of communications for NMSI, said. "Tyler is poised to be a leader in this very innovative � UTeach program. UTeach is catching fire. It's gaining momentum. It's being talked about from coast to coast."
Ms. Pederson said she is confident UT Tyler will receive national exposure for the process it is starting.
The core elements of the UTeach program, according to information from NMSI, include active recruitment and incentives, such as offering the first two courses free; a compact degree program that allows students to graduate in four years with a degree and teaching certification; strong focus on acquiring deep content knowledge in math and science in addition to teaching skills; early and intensive field teaching experience -- beginning in the UTeach students' first semester; and personal attention and guidance from highly-experienced master teachers, faculty and successful public school teachers.
"Math and science are not just for rocket scientists and brain surgeons anymore," Ms. Pederson said. "They're for everyone who wants a job. There was a time when to get a job all you had to have was a strong back. Now you need a strong mind. You need a foundation in math and science.
"We have to get moving as if tomorrow depends on it," she said. "And the truth is -- it does."
Tyler Junior College also is involved in this effort. Mabry said TJC is the most important supplier of students to UT Tyler.
TJC President Dr. Mike Metke said TJC was glad to partner with UT Tyler in this effort.
"This is more than just, 'Oh, wouldn't it be nice to have more teachers in science and math,'" Metke said. "Good teachers are what draw students into a field. For whatever reason, the United States is not getting students into science and mathematics."
Tracy LaQuey Parker, director of the UTeach Institute based at UT Austin, said this is a historic time.
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Our citizens must be well taught in math and science and the recommendations are unanimous that we need to increase the number of qualified STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teachers and UT Tyler is going to be at the center of making this happen," Ms. Parker said. "Like the rest of the state, the shortage is being felt in East Texas."
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Our citizens must be well taught in math and science and the recommendations are unanimous that we need to increase the number of qualified STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teachers and UT Tyler is going to be at the center of making this happen," Ms. Parker said. "Like the rest of the state, the shortage is being felt in East Texas."
Ms. Parker said through the UTeach program at UT Austin, "We have dramatically increased the number of math and science majors who have obtained certification to teach, and today we've graduated close to 550 teachers."
In 2006, UTeach Institute partnered with NMSI and the Texas High School Project to replicate the program at other universities, she said.
"We are reaching close to 1,500 (students), and that number is growing," she said. "What is so exciting about this momentum that we are building in Texas is that with this announcement, we will have six universities in Texas who are implementing the UTeach program.
"In Texas, because of this, we are rapidly becoming the model for the nation for dramatically increasing the number of STEM teachers trained through university teacher preparation programs."
Dr. Michael Odell, a STEM education professor at UT Tyler who will serve as the co-director of the UT Tyler program, said they are very excited about their UTeach replication and said the one at UT Tyler will be a little different than others.
"We are the only site with a community college partner. We're going to work with TISD as well as with three STEM academies that are in East Texas �," Odell said. "We really do look forward to transforming our whole teacher education process."
Odell said the program will offer a totally different way of preparing teachers.
"They start when there are freshmen working with kids. Almost all of them are math and science majors�," he said. "The courses themselves focus on math and science teaching."
The program will gear up in the spring and recruiting will begin then, Odell said.
Students at TJC and UT Tyler can enroll for the fall semester. Odell is hoping to recruit about 100 students for the fall. Students will get their first two courses for free.
Odell said many of the UTeach replication sites are at larger universities.
"We're going to be the first small university to do this," he said.
