March 2–3, 2023 in Austin, Texas
Join the UTeach Institute for a special summit designed to bring together university-based teacher preparation programs, STEM teacher development experts and stakeholders, current STEM teachers, and others to discuss shared challenges around recruiting, preparing, and supporting STEM teachers for our nation’s schools. Hear from researchers and practitioners about the extent of the teacher shortage and suggestions for how universities can help solve it.
The national network of 55 university-based UTeach programs has been preparing and supporting teachers for high-shortage STEM fields for 25 years. During this convening, they and other participants will share information about how messaging, incentives, outreach, human resources, and program design can be optimized to recruit more undergraduates and degree holders to consider a career in teaching STEM.
This event is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Award #U423A180139.
Thursday, March 2
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Opening Plenary: STEM Teacher Pipeline Challenges and Solutions
Michael Marder, UTeach Executive Director, University of Texas at Austin
Kelly Coash-Johnson, Executive Director, American Association of School Personnel Administrators
What is the current state of teacher preparation at universities? What are the recommendations from research and the field to prepare and support more teachers and make an impact on the STEM teacher shortage?
Friday, March 3
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Panel: Recruiting Future STEM Teachers: What Works and Where to Start
Moderator: Kimberly Hughes, Director, UTeach Institute
Aaron Koehler, Senior Program Coordinator and UTeach Access Student Services Manager, University of Texas at Austin
Katie Donaldson, Clinical Professor/Master Teacher and Associate Director, University of Texas at Dallas
Stacy Solis, Associate Professor of Practice/Science Master Teacher, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Fernanda Marrero Hi, Founder and Alumni Adviser of the UTeach Student Leaders Association and teachHOUSTON alumna
Allyson Rogan-Klyve, Associate Professor of Science Education, Science and Mathematics Education Department Chair, TeachSTEM Co-Director, Central Washington University
Recruiting and preparing STEM teachers has been a long-standing challenge for teacher preparation programs. The UTeach program has successfully prepared over 8,000 STEM teachers through its network of 56 universities across the country. Program faculty, staff, and alumni will share best practices and strategies that have contributed to this success.
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Student Ambassador Programs for Recruiting and Building Community in Teacher Preparation
Aaron Koehler, Senior Program Coordinator and UTeach Access Student Services Manager, University of Texas at Austin
Jessica Villarreal, UTeach Natural Sciences Student Ambassador, University of Texas at Austin
On campuses filled with opportunities, how can teacher certification programs cut through the noise? Attendees will learn strategies for building, maintaining, and utilizing student ambassador programs for recruitment and retention efforts. Presenters will discuss how to create a meaningful, fun, and welcoming culture built upon a foundation of peer-to-peer engagement.
Engaging the Whole Community in STEM Teacher Preparation
Anna Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Practice/Math Master Teacher, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Stacy Solis, Associate Professor of Practice/Science Master Teacher, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Recruiting — the first step in a successful program but often the most daunting. Make your job easier by getting your education community involved in spreading the word about your teacher preparation program to increase your visibility. Gain ideas and strategic approaches to engage your education community, increase awareness of your program, and amp up your recruitment. Develop concrete ideas to help your program be more successful in recruiting students.
Networked Communities: Engaging and Supporting Future and Current STEM Teachers
Fernanda Marrero Hi, Founder and Alumni Adviser of the UTeach Student Leaders Association and teachHOUSTON alumna
How can teacher preparation programs leverage the voices and perspectives of preservice teachers and alumni to support their recruitment efforts? What are the advantages of including more diverse voices in the planning and implementation of these efforts? This session will introduce participants to the value of cultivating vibrant, networked communities within teacher preparation programs and across universities, an endeavor the UTeach Student Leaders Association has undertaken over the past two years. Attendees will discover effective practices and initiatives present in many UTeach programs to engage preservice teachers and alumni and how these approaches can support retention and recruitment.
Diversifying the Teacher Workforce: Beyond Problems, Toward Solutions
Cassandra Herring, President and CEO, Founder, BranchED
Luzelma G. Canales, Vice President for Community Engagement and Partnerships, BranchED
An effective workforce is a diverse workforce. Research shows that outcomes for all students improve when teachers reflect the diversity of the student body. Join BranchED in a forward-looking conversation on how we can diversify the teacher workforce. Participants will build an understanding of the problem, discuss evidence based promising practices, and share examples from the field.
UTeach: Innovations in STEM Teacher Preparation Programs
Katey Arrington, Associate Director, UTeach Institute
Paige Evans, Clinical Professor and Co-Director, University of Houston
Carrie Culpepper, UTeach for Texas Program Manager, UTeach Institute
For 25 years, UTeach has been preparing undergraduate STEM students to become secondary teachers through an innovative program design that streamlines the time to earn a STEM degree and teaching credential. Recently, new models for UTeach preparation have been implemented to attract future teachers from new populations of potential teacher candidates. Presenters will share information about these new certification pathways and how others can learn from these efforts and join the mission to prepare more STEM teachers.
Recruiting for Critical Shortage Areas: Lessons Learned from Computer Science Education
Yvonne Loya, Manager for K-12 Partnerships and Development, UTeach Institute
Using inclusive recruitment strategies, learn how to support equitable participation in computer science. A proactive recruitment campaign is essential to ensure that computer science is more accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This session will present a structured approach to planning and implementing a recruitment campaign to increase the enrollment rates of students historically excluded from CS. Attendees will collaborate on a customizable planning guide, brainstorm ideas for events and activities, receive electronic flyers and posters, and can earn a micro-credential to verify their active and equitable recruitment skills. Join this session to initiate or take your recruitment efforts to the next level!
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch Session: Get the Facts Out — Repairing the Reputation of the Teaching Profession
Wendy K. Adams, Director Teach@Mines & Research Professor of Physics, Colorado School of Mines
Did you know that teachers in the United States rate their lives better than all occupation groups, trailing only physicians? Over lunch we will dig into some rather surprising data about the teaching profession; then we will look at strategies and resources for sharing the facts about the profession so that students will have accurate information about their career prospects. All these resources are professional quality, research-based, and have been extensively user-tested. Get the Facts Out is a partnership between the American Physical Society, American Chemical Society, the American Mathematics Teacher Educators, and the American Association of Physics Teachers led by the Colorado School of Mines.
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Student Ambassador Programs for Recruiting and Building Community in Teacher Preparation
Aaron Koehler, Senior Program Coordinator and UTeach Access Student Services Manager, University of Texas at Austin
Kyle DuBose, UTeach Natural Sciences Student Ambassador, University of Texas at Austin
On campuses filled with opportunities, how can teacher certification programs cut through the noise? Attendees will learn strategies for building, maintaining, and utilizing student ambassador programs for recruitment and retention efforts. Presenters will discuss how to create a meaningful, fun, and welcoming culture built upon a foundation of peer-to-peer engagement.
Engaging the Whole Community in STEM Teacher Preparation
Anna Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Practice/Math Master Teacher, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Stacy Solis, Associate Professor of Practice/Science Master Teacher, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Recruiting — the first step in a successful program but often the most daunting. Make your job easier by getting your education community involved in spreading the word about your teacher preparation program to increase your visibility. Gain ideas and strategic approaches to engage your education community, increase awareness of your program, and amp up your recruitment. Develop concrete ideas to help your program be more successful in recruiting students.
Networked Communities: Engaging and Supporting Future and Current STEM Teachers
Fernanda Marrero Hi, Founder and Alumni Adviser of the UTeach Student Leaders Association and teachHOUSTON alumna
How can teacher preparation programs leverage the voices and perspectives of preservice teachers and alumni to support their recruitment efforts? What are the advantages of including more diverse voices in the planning and implementation of these efforts? This session will introduce participants to the value of cultivating vibrant, networked communities within teacher preparation programs and across universities, an endeavor the UTeach Student Leaders Association has undertaken over the past two years. Attendees will discover effective practices and initiatives present in many UTeach programs to engage preservice teachers and alumni and how these approaches can support retention and recruitment.
STEM Teacher Retention Through Supporting the Liberatory Ideals of Educators
Flávio Azevedo, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Texas at Austin
Emma Gargroetzi, Assistant Professor, STEM Education University of Texas at Austin
Research shows that STEM teacher attrition is significantly linked to teachers’ inability to enact their ideals (pedagogical, civic, etc.) in daily classroom practice. In this session, we will invite participants to take a systems perspective on the problem of STEM teacher retention and consider the means to address it. We will start by identifying some of the key dimensions of schooling and how they disrupt teachers’ ability to enact their ideals as educators, as well as how they learn to resist such disruptions. Participants will then draw on their own experiences to collectively identify structures and strategies (both inside and outside formal school systems) that can empower teachers and their mission.
UTeach: Innovations in STEM Teacher Preparation Programs
Katey Arrington, Associate Director, UTeach Institute
Paige Evans, Clinical Professor and Co-Director, University of Houston
Carrie Culpepper, UTeach for Texas Program Manager, UTeach Institute
For 25 years, UTeach has been preparing undergraduate STEM students to become secondary teachers through an innovative program design that streamlines the time to earn a STEM degree and teaching credential. Recently, new models for UTeach preparation have been implemented to attract future teachers from new populations of potential teacher candidates. Presenters will share information about these new certification pathways and how others can learn from these efforts and join the mission to prepare more STEM teachers.
PhysTEC and UTeach: A Partnership for Recruiting More Physics Students to Teaching
Michael Marder, UTeach Executive Director, University of Texas at Austin
Michael Whittmann, Principal Investigator, PhysTEC
The U.S. has a severe, long-term shortage of qualified secondary physics teachers, largely because most institutions of higher education rarely prepare even a single physics teacher per year. PhysTEC helps colleges and universities transform their physics teacher education program through funding, professional learning, resources, and support. Hear how a partnership between PhysTEC and UTeach has resulted in greater numbers of physics teachers produced at the University of Texas at Austin.
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Closing Panel: Supporting Teachers Beyond Preparation
Moderator: Carrie Culpepper, UTeach for Texas Program Manager, UTeach Institute
Kelli Allen, Associate Professor of Practice and UTeach Induction Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin
Charlene Mitchell, High School Science Teacher, Pflugerville ISD, UTeach Austin alum
Jen Pan, Teacher Leader, Texas Education START
Audrey Stein, Graduate Research Assistant, Texas Education START
Alexander Eden, PhD candidate, Florida International University
Recruiting and preparing more teachers is one part of the solution to the STEM teacher shortage challenge. But what can — and should — universities do to support them once they begin their careers? A UTeach induction coordinator, UTeach alum, mentor, and education researcher share their experiences with new teacher support.
Finally, hear how one STEM student’s journey from college freshman to science teacher to Ph.D. candidate was profoundly impacted by the connections he made in a teacher preparation program.
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