Communications of the ACM
Grant Will Help STEM Majors Become Teachers
George Washington University has been selected by the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to join a national network of universities in the UTeach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teacher preparation program. The university received a $1.45 million grant to implement the program.
"The addition of our own UTeach program is representative of our continued focus on addressing pressing needs in education, including the need for a greater number of qualified STEM teachers," says Michael Feuer, dean of the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development. "The new program is an opportunity for GW students studying STEM subjects to become teachers, as it enables them to receive both a degree in their major and teaching certification at no additional time or cost."
Beginning in fall 2015, the UTeach program will be offered to students at GW under the moniker GWTeach. GW students participating in the program will take classes in their major along with UTeach teaching certification courses.
"NMSI is committed to building a pipeline of skilled students and teachers to meet the United States’ need for a STEM-capable workforce," says Sara Martinez Tucker, CEO of NMSI. "The UTeach Expansion Program is a proven way to ensure that teachers are equipped with the STEM content knowledge and instructional expertise needed to be effective in the classroom."
The UTeach program was first developed in 1997 at The University of Texas at Austin. NMSI was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant in 2013 to support expansion of the UTeach program to 10 research universities. The national UTeach network now includes 44 universities across 21 states and the District of Columbia. Collectively, the UTeach programs at these universities are expected to produce an estimated 8,300 secondary math and science teachers who will teach a projected 4.8 million students by 2020.
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