Developing more, highly qualified science and mathematics teachers is a national priority. Through funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Capacity Building grant will support the development of an innovative and financially self-sustaining Graduate Teaching Certification (GTC) program that will provide initial STEM teaching certification to an unreached and underserved population of recent STEM graduates and STEM professionals with relevant science and/or mathematical expertise. This project is responsive to a persistent concern at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF) related to the traditional undergraduate teacher certification pathway. The issue is that completing the coursework for earning both a baccalaureate degree in a STEM major and completing requirements for teacher certification as an undergraduate is extremely difficult. This problem of completing both a major and earning certification is found in many institutions across this nation, therefore, what is learned from this work at UWRF will have implications for other institutions facing similar challenges.
During the two years of this Capacity Building grant, UWRF will build upon what has been learned in the UTeach program for undergraduates at the University of Texas-Austin. However, UWRF will focus on the graduate level as it designs a UTeach-inspired Graduate Teaching Certification program with an optional Master's degree. This project will develop the GTC curriculum, recruitment strategies, and marketing activities. Among the recruitment strategies will be the implementation of learning assistant internships and the development and implementation of a novel undergraduate STEM education course to "try out teaching," with the added advantage of meeting a university communications undergraduate course requirement. Field experiences will include both urban and rural schools and schools with different compositions of students, with an emphasis on learning about and experiencing different learning styles and the importance of cultural context first hand. Ultimately, the new GTC program will expand and diversify the pool of teacher candidates as it will actively seek to offer high quality academic instruction to a broader population, including adult learners and recent UWRF and University of Wisconsin System graduates. Success of this effort will be evaluated by the UTeach Institute at the University of Texas-Austin. The evaluation plan will map to the UTeach Elements of Success (distinctive program identity, cross-college and school district collaborations, long-term institutional and community support, active student recruitment and support, a dedicated Master Teacher, rigorous research-based instruction, early and intensive field experiences, and continuous program improvement).
