Executive Director, UTeach Natural Sciences
Director, Center for Nonlinear Dynamics
Department of Physics
Michael Marder is Executive Director and co-founder of UTeach, a university-based secondary STEM teacher preparation program. Dr. Marder was one of the original designers of UTeach at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997. Out of this original program, a number of STEM education initiatives have grown, including a national expansion effort that supports the creation of UTeach programs at universities across the nation.
Dr. Marder is also a condensed matter physicist. He serves as a Professor in the Department of Physics and the Director of the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at the University of Texas at Austin.
With his interests in educational access and theoretical physics, Dr. Marder has developed a unique quantitative approach to analyzing data around teacher preparation activities and U.S. students’ performance in the fields of math and science. He brings a unique perspective to these problems, combining his academic expertise with more than 20 years of experience overseeing STEM teacher preparation at UT Austin.
Dr. Marder received his A.B. in physics and mathematics from Cornell University in 1982 and his PhD in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1986. He has served on a variety of national committees, including as Chair of the American Physical Society Ethics Committee for 2019 and 2020, and is the 2013 recipient of the PNAS Cozzarelli Prize in the area of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Dr. Marder is married to Elpida Hadjidaki, an underwater archaeologist who found the first Minoan shipwreck, and has a daughter, Nike, who owns a scuba diving school on Crete.
STEM Education Publications
Houle, F., Kirby, K., & Marder, M. (2023). Ethics in physics: The need for culture change. Physics Today, 76, 1, 28.
Marder, M., Horn, C., Stephens, S., & Rhodes, A. (2022). Student learning and teacher retention for graduates of Texas Noyce programs. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30, (147).
Marder, M. (2022, October 11). UTeach’s first 25 years: Preparing teachers is a mission. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M. (2021, October 25). How bad is the U.S. STEM teacher shortage? The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M. (2020). The development of the UTeach model. In J.E. Goodell & S. Koç (Eds.), Preparing STEM Teachers: The UTeach replication model. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Marder, M. (2020). Developing the UTOP: A flexible STEM instrument based on UTeach principles. In J.E. Goodell & S. Koç (Eds.), Preparing STEM Teachers: The UTeach replication model. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Marder, M., David, B., & Hamrock, C. (2020). Math and science outcomes for students of teachers from standard and alternative pathways in Texas. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(27).
Marder, M. (2019). Can we inspire every high-school student to take physics? Texas nearly did. APS News, 28(10).
Marder, M. (2019, March 13). Texas can achieve its main education goal. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M. (2019, February 19). Can Texas achieve its main education goal? The UTeach Institute Blog.
Walkington, C., & Marder, M. (2018). Using the UTeach Observation Protocol (UTOP) to understand the quality of mathematics instruction. Zdm, 50(3), 507–519.
Marder, M. (2018, September 5). Rise and fall of Texas STEM education: Part three. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M). Rise and fall of Texas STEM education: College readiness and course-taking since House Bill 5 of 2013 [White paper].
Marder, M. (2018, March 7). Rise and fall of Texas STEM education: Part two. The UTeach Institute blog.
Marder, M., & Villanueva, C. K. (2018, February 8). Rise and fall of Texas STEM education: Part one. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M., Brown, C. R., & Plisch, M. (2017). Recruiting teachers in high-needs STEM fields: A survey of current majors and recent STEM grads. The Physics Teacher, 55(5), 318–318.
Marder, M. (2017, December 8). UTeach Computer Science Principles and underrepresented students. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M., & Hughes, K. (2017, December 4). What universities can do to prepare more computer science teachers. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M. (2017, November 7). Code.org needs us as much as we need them. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M. (2017, November 3). Teacher preparation regulations. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M. (2017, November 3). Students of UTeach graduates learn more. The UTeach Institute Blog.
Marder, M., Patzek, T., & Tinker, S. (2016). Physics, fracking, fuel, and the future. Physics Today 69(7), 46–52.
Marder, M. (2015). High school mathematics in Texas: Freedom and shackles. In C.H. Tienken & C.A. Mullen (Eds.), Education policy perils: Tackling tough issues. New York: Routledge.
Marder, M., & Walkington, C. (2014). Classroom observation and value-added models give complementary information about quality of mathematics teaching. In T. Kane, K. Kerr, & R. Pianta (Eds.), Designing teacher evaluation systems: New guidance from the Measuring Effective Teaching project (pp. 234–277). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Marder, M. (2013). A problem with STEM. CBE Life Sciences Education, 12(2), 148–150.
Bendinelli, A. J., & Marder, M. (2012). Visualization of longitudinal student data. Physical Review Special Topics–Physics Education Research,8(2), 1–15.
Marder, M. (2012). Failure of U.S. public secondary schools in mathematics. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 9(1), 8–24.
Marder, M. (2012). Measuring teacher quality with value-added modeling. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48, 156–161.
Hamilton, R. (2011, May 2). Is poverty, not teacher quality or charters, key to student outcomes? Interview with Michael Marder. The Texas Tribune.
Marder, M. (2011). Research methods for science. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Marder, M., & Bansal, D. (2009). Flow and diffusion of high-stakes test scores. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, 106, 17267–17270.
UTeach Blog Posts
Marder, M. (2019). “Can Texas Achieve Its Main Education Goal?” and “Texas Can Achieve Its Main Education Goal”
Marder, M. (2018). “Rise and Fall of Texas STEM Education.” Part 1, Part2, and Part 3.
Marder, M. (2017). “Students of UTeach Graduates Learn More.”
Marder, M. (2017). Teacher Preparation Regulations.”
Marder, M. (2017). “Computer Science Principles and Underrepresented Students.”
Marder, M. (2017). “What Universities Can Do to Prepare More Computer Science Teachers.”
Marder, M. (2017). “Code.org Needs Us as Much as We Need Them.”
Civitatis Award, The University of Texas at Austin (2020)
Cozzarelli Prize, National Academy of Science (2013)
Rostow Award, The Austin Project (2011)
Joe and Bettie Branson Ward Excellence Award (2010)
Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award for Excellence in Teacher Education (2008)
Fellow of the American Physical Society (2006)
Exxon Education Foundation (1996)
Alcoa Foundation (1993)
Sloan Foundation Fellow (1989)