Optimizing Teacher Residencies in Texas: Considerations for Secondary STEM Candidates
2024 Report from the Secondary STEM Teaching Residency Advisory Group
October 14, 2024
This study employed surveys and interviews of Texas higher education and K–12 stakeholders preparing and supporting STEM teachers to investigate the perceived value of residency approaches, the prevalence of research-based and best-practice program features, and challenges faced by candidates and educator preparation programs (EPPs) in implementing residency structures.
Beyond100K Summit 2024 to Address 'Belonging is the Root' in Education Transformation
October 7–9, 2024
Hosted by the UTeach Institute and the Charles A. Dana Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus, the Summit will convene leaders to reimagine equitable education.
With the Rise in Uncertified Teachers, Texas Prosperity Is at Risk
August 8, 2024
Texas education has passed an unfortunate milestone. Half of the state’s new teachers are not certified. This has cascading effects on industry and prosperity in Texas.
Houston Endowment Awards UTeach Institute Planning Grant to Prepare Much-Needed STEM Teachers for Texas
November 1, 2023
Houston Endowment has awarded a planning grant to the UTeach Institute, in partnership with the teachHOUSTON program, to expand UTeach for Texas, a fast-track STEM teacher certification pathway for degree holders. The grant will provide support for faculty and staff, in collaboration with Pasadena ISD, to develop a pilot program for STEM degree holders to begin teaching in as little as six weeks. Preparation will be followed by intensive, continued coursework and field support during the first year of teaching and beyond.
Gates Foundation Awards UTeach Institute $1 Million to Prepare Much-Needed STEM Teachers for Texas
September 29, 2023
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $1 million to the UTeach Institute to pilot expansion of a teacher residency program for degree holders in partnership with the University of Houston. The University of Houston’s successful teachHOUSTON program prepares undergraduate STEM majors to be teachers and now will implement a high-quality residency program for professionals seeking a second career or returning to the workforce.
Students Need to Know Teachers Believe in Them. Tracking Undercuts That Message.
September 27, 2023
by Katey Arrington, Associate Director, UTeach Institute
By 8th grade, the best math teaching goes to kids in the top tracks. The rest are shut out and can never get back. But there's a better way. Developing mathematical pathways that support student belonging is inarguably challenging, and shifting away from inequitable practices like tracking and attending to student identity and belonging adds even greater complexity. But the effort is worth it. When adults in a school shift their mindsets to ensure that all students can access more meaningful content, it demonstrates to all students that their teachers believe they belong where deep, mathematical thinking happens.
UTeach for Texas and Austin ISD Partner to Increase Number of STEM Teachers
May 22, 2023
Austin ISD has committed to financially support the preparation and support of 20 new STEM teachers to work in its highest-need campuses. For 25 years, UTeach at The University of Texas at Austin and Austin ISD have worked as partners to prepare undergraduate students to be science, math, technology, and engineering (STEM) teachers. Beginning in the fall of 2023, this partnership will expand to prepare individuals who already hold a STEM degree through a streamlined, five-month program known as UTeach for Texas.
UTeach and Prairie View A&M Partner to Bolster STEM Teacher Recruitment
April 6, 2023
Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), which leads the state in the preparation of Black teachers, is joining forces with UTeach, the University of Texas program that leads the state in university-based STEM teacher preparation. Together, they plan to raise the number of Black secondary STEM teachers prepared in Texas.
New STEM Master’s Program Offered in Collaboration with UTeach
March 27, 2023
The University of Texas at Austin's College of Education is pleased to announce the creation of GradUTeach, a master’s program designed to prepare students for high school and middle school science and math teacher certification.
Alabama Calls on UTeach to Increase STEM Teacher Numbers
December 7, 2022
The UTeach Institute at The University of Texas at Austin is partnering with the Alabama STEM Council and six Alabama universities to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers produced in the state. The UTeach program combines rigorous subject matter preparation with secondary teaching certification without adding time or cost to four-year degrees. This makes it uniquely qualified to meet the current STEM teacher shortage in Alabama, as noted by the Alabama Legislature, which has committed $14 million over five years to implement the program in the state.
UTeach's Kelli Allen Receives Award of Excellence
October 21, 2022
Kelli Allen, Associate Professor of Practice for the UTeach STEM teacher development program at The University of Texas at Austin, has received the Gerald Skoog Cup for Outstanding Leadership in Science Teacher Education from the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT). This award “is presented to a faculty or staff member at a Texas college or university who has demonstrated significant contributions to and leadership in the development of quality science education,” according to STAT.
UTeach for Texas on a Mission to Curtail Teacher Shortage
October 14, 2022
Education is at a crisis point: There is an urgent need for teachers. But for students to learn and thrive, they need well-prepared teachers who know both the subject matter and how to teach it. UTeach, with its network of 13 university programs and partners across Texas, produces qualified STEM teachers and has done so for 25 years. To meet the current crisis, UTeach developed an intensive accelerated teacher development program, UTeach for Texas.
UTeach Meets Challenges and Celebrates Milestone
October 6, 2022
UTeach at The University of Texas at Austin is celebrating 25 years of preparing STEM teachers. To mark the 25th anniversary, there will be a year-long campaign, which began with UTeach Austin student-led events on World Teachers’ Day, October 5, and continues with a 25th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration highlighting the UTeach Austin program on October 12. The Kickoff Celebration will feature a reception and showcase of UTeach initiatives and programs, as well as three panel presentations spotlighting how the program started, how it’s going, and what’s next.
Alabama STEM Council to Strengthen Teacher Preparation Across the State Through UTeach
May 25, 2022
The Alabama STEM Council is partnering with the UTeach Institute at The University of Texas at Austin and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to manage a competitive call for proposal process and provide program implementation support to selected higher education partners. Qualified institutions will be eligible to receive up to $3 million in funding over five years to recruit and prepare secondary STEM teachers.
UTeach Partners with UT Permian Basin to Foster STEM Teacher Pipeline
October 5, 2021
West Texas students have new STEM opportunities on the horizon and the region itself will see its STEM teacher workforce grow thanks to a new partnership between a proven program, UTeach, and The University of Texas Permian Basin.
UTeach Welcomes New Advisory Council Members
September 21, 2021
UTeach Executive Director Michael Marder is thrilled to welcome the new members: “This is a great time for UTeach as we build new connections to HBCUs and community colleges. We are excited that Ruth Hughs, Bruce Rideaux, and Rodney Koenig are joining our Advisory Council, and look forward to the energy and new perspectives they will bring.”
Michael Marder Is in the 2021 Texas 10!
Every year, UT alumni vote for their favorite professors: the teachers who inspired them and helped make their college experience unforgettable. UTeach's director, Michael Marder, teacher of teachers, is on that list this year!
Alcalde, May 5, 2021
New book: Preparing Teachers to Teach the STEM Disciplines in America's Urban Schools
It's a book about teachHouston! This book is a "systematic investigation of how prospective STEM educators are cultivated to be subject matter specialists and culturally relevant teachers."
Leveling Up Computer Science Teaching Through Micro-Credentials
A UTeach Computer Science teacher writes about the benefit of micro-credentials in CS: As teachers, we are trained to encourage higher-level thinking skills, including meta-cognition, in our students. We teachers should also engage in that same exercise to strengthen our teaching practice. Micro-credentials helped me enrich and deepen my teaching by providing the opportunity to reflect on how I teach.
Digital Promise blog, April 27. 2021
Marder Receives University’s Civitatis Award
Each year, the university president chooses up to two faculty members to recognize for their dedicated and meritorious service to the University above and beyond the regular expectations for teaching, research, and service.
UT Austin College of Natural Sciences news, January 11, 2021
New book: Preparing STEM Teachers: The UTeach Replication Model
There's a book about UTeach! Faculty from UTeach programs across the U.S. discuss sustainability features of the UTeach model, and how program assessment, innovative instructional programming, classroom research, and effectiveness research have contributed to its success.
UT Austin Collaborative Tackles Math and Computer Science Teaching Shortages in Texas
Supported through a grant from Microsoft, the collaboration brings together the expertise of all three organizations to address the math and computer science teaching shortage in Texas. Teacher shortages in rural areas in the state make it difficult for students, particularly those who are underrepresented, to even access the mathematics and computer science courses they need.
Press release, June 16, 2020
UTeach Changes Students’ Lives and Teachers’ Lives
“I felt like they cared about whether I succeeded. That really did make all the difference, and that’s what I want for my students.”
The UTeach Institute on Medium, March 10, 2020
HBCUs and UTeach: New Horizons in STEM Teacher Preparation
Through support from the Fund II Foundation and in partnership with the United Negro College Fund and the National Math and Science Initiative, the UTeach Institute is partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to propose ways to strengthen STEM teacher preparation pathways at their respective institutions. This effort seeks to address the underrepresentation of African Americans among the number of STEM teachers prepared across the nation each year.
The UTeach Institute on Medium, March 5, 2020
Role Models and Representation in the Classroom
Trey Fisher, UTeach Austin student, was in a middle school gym class and he remembered looking up to see that the teacher was black. The moment stuck with him. He ultimately decided to commit his life to recreating that moment for others. He recognizes a lack of diversity in the teaching profession today and believes strongly in the importance of students seeing what success looks like — in being a role model and seeking out role models for himself.
Raise Your Hand Texas, October 1, 2019
UTeach program emphasizes creative problem solving in the classroom
UTeach Maker is a micro-credentialing program in which UTeach students create things with 3D printers, woodworking tools and more. The program centers on the idea of “Making,” or creative problem solving through hands-on crafts. Each student has a personal mentor, works in specialized internships and creates a final showcase that serves as a portfolio of their work.
Daily Texan, October 28, 2019
UMD, PGCC and Montgomery College receive grants to educate STEM teachers for the long haul
A total of $296,041 in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) was awarded for a collaborative project between the University of Maryland College Park, Montgomery College and Prince George’s Community College to train Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) educators on Aug. 7.
Prince George’s Sentinel, August 14, 2019
CSU receives $1.8 million grant to train STEM teachers
Columbus State University’s UTeach program has received a $1.18 million grant from the National Science Foundation to provide support for 48 scholarships to secondary STEM teachers.
Wrbl.com, July 9, 2019
New accelerated UTeach program addresses STEM teacher shortage
UTeach has launched a new accelerated program for students who become interested in STEM teaching later in college. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, will seek to address the shortage of STEM teachers in Texas, said Ariel Taylor, UTeach accelerated program coordinator.
Daily Texan, May 7, 2019
UTA Alumna West Receives 2018 UTeach Outstanding Alumnus Award
An alumna of The University of Texas at Arlington and the UTeach Arlington program has been honored for her outstanding efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
UT-Arlington College of Education News, August 1, 2018
Moreland: Computational Thinking and Collaboration in Big D
67 high school teachers from 18 states and 56 school districts (with more than 40% of those teaching in rural locations) attended the UTeach Computer Science Principles training on the University of Texas at Dallas campus, thanks to generous support from Infosys Foundation USA.
Infosys Foundation Blog, August 30, 2017