During this five year project, The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) is providing scholarships to 31 students majoring in mathematics, biology, chemistry, or computer science. Students are being supported during their junior and senior years of undergraduate study and will be prepared not only as strong mathematicians and scientists, but also as highly qualified secondary teachers able to meet the specialized needs of students in rural districts in East Texas. A particular strength of the UT Tyler teacher preparation program is its emphasis on training teacher candidates to effectively employ active-learning pedagogies. UT Tyler is partnering with Tyler Independent School District (ISD) to provide field placements for undergraduate teacher candidates. Through its Ingenuity Center, UT Tyler is also working with Tyler ISD and other districts to provide mentoring for beginning teachers. The project is supporting novice teachers for five full years, gradually moving them from the role of mentee to mentor. Support includes helping novice teachers utilize professional learning community environments, mentoring of novice teachers by master teachers and university faculty, and preparation of novice teachers for leadership roles in their schools. Each year, the project is also supporting 10-week summer internship experiences for five or six lower division undergraduates who will work with STEM teacher professional development programs and STEM outreach activities with K-12 students.
The project is helping to address the need for highly qualified science and mathematics teachers in rural districts across East Texas, many of which have large proportions of their students from families whose incomes are below the poverty line. In addition, this project is developing best practices both for preparing teachers to teach in high need rural areas, and for assisting novice teachers in developing skills to assume leadership positions in their schools and professional communities.
