Tech to Teaching Delivers
the Teachers of Tomorrow
April 7, 2009
Two concerns regarding math and science instruction in the state of Georgia have arisen in recent years. The first is a dearth of new, home-grown mathematics and science teachers (last year only three new physics teachers were minted in Georgia). The second is the sometimes-foggy path that undergraduates interested in classroom teaching must follow in order to become certified Georgia teachers, particularly if they pursue their undergraduate education at an institution like Georgia Tech, which does not have a College of Education.
Since the two issues are related, both birds are being targeted with one stone. Georgia Tech has recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, called "Tech to Teaching", through NSF's new Innovation Through Institutional Integration (I3) program. Tech to Teaching will receive $1 million over five years, combined with a $1.67 million commitment from Georgia Tech.
Tech to Teaching has two primary objectives. One is to help prepare Georgia Tech students to become K-12 educators. The other is to offer undergraduate classroom teaching training to Georgia Tech graduate students who are interested in becoming college professors. CEISMC is primarily involved with the K-12 component.
Tech to Teaching takes advantage of the infrastructure already in place between various Georgia institutions, as well as pre-existing NSF-funded projects, in order to steer interested Georgia Tech undergraduates towards certification in science or mathematics K-12 teaching fields. For example, through the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, a collaboration with Kennesaw State University, undergraduates receive stipends while working towards their Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree in the teaching of the subjects of chemistry or physics. Georgia Tech students interested in receiving teacher certification can also pursue it through Georgia State University, Agnes Scott College, or other area universities. By identifying different schools and programs, and by highlighting what each institution does best, Tech to Teaching assists Georgia Tech undergraduates who find themselves bitten by the teaching bug to identify the best path toward realizing their goals.
“An increasingly popular educational path for students interested in K-12 teaching is to get their four-year bachelor’s degree in a particular content field, and then pursue a one-year Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree to earn their teacher certification,” says Marion Usselman, senior research scientist at the Institute’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC). “Georgia Tech students interested in STEM teaching are perfectly positioned to complete their teacher education training at one of the many colleges and universities in Georgia offering MAT degrees. Given the shortage of high school math and science teachers, they are very likely to quickly land a job, even before they are fully certified.”
CEISMC is participating in Tech to Teaching in a number of ways. CEISMC program directors Donna Whiting and Gustavia Evans are teaching some of the courses that are an integral part of this K-12 pathway. CEISMC is also facilitating Georgia Tech undergrads who are participating in internships and tutoring/mentoring experiences in K-12 schools. Undergrads are also being paired with teachers participating in CEISMC's Georgia Intern-Fellowshops for Teachers program this summer as part of the Teaching-SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences) program. And finally, CEISMC is participating in the Robert Noyce scholarship program with Kennesaw State.
“It is Georgia Tech’s responsibility to help solve the shortage of math and science teachers in Georgia,” explains Donna Llewellyn, director of GA Tech's Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. “We not only need to supply top-quality teachers to support an educated workforce in our state, but we also need to provide our K-12 schools with teachers equipped to fully prepare students to pursue a higher education here at Georgia Tech.”