- Year 2016
- NSF Noyce Award # 1439754
- First Name Gus
- Last Name Greivel
- Discipline Collaborative Research, STEM
- Co-PI(s)
Renee Falcone, Colorado School of Mines, rfalconer@mines.edu; Kristine Callan, Colorado School of Mines, kcallan@mines.edu; Vince Kuo, Colorado School of Mines, hkuo@mines.edu; Steven DeCaluwe, Colorado School of Mines, decaluwe@mines.edu; Wendy Adams, University of Northern Colorado, Wendy.Adams@unco.edu; Christine Moroye, University of Northern Colorado, Christine.Moroye@unco.edu; Rob Reinsvold, University of Northern Colorado, Robert.Reinsvold@unco.edu
- Presenters
Gus Greivel, Colorado School of Mines, ggreivel@mines.edu
Need
Colorado and the nation face an enormous undersupply of qualified teachers in STEM areas, particularly Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. As the leading public STEM university in the state, Mines produces in excess of one thousand highly qualified STEM graduates each year, many of whom have expressed an interest in entering secondary education if an efficient pathway were available to them.
Goals
As the leading education university in the state, UNC has the expertise, accreditation and programming to provide this pathway. With this in mind, faculty from both institutions have worked to develop a pathway to secondary mathematics and/or science licensure in the state of Colorado for Mines students which aims to supplement their technical training and Mines with an appropriate curriculum at UNC, leading to a post-baccalaureate licensure at UNC in a minimal amount of time after the successful completion of a STEM-oriented B.S. degree at Mines.
Approach
Through a collaboration between both the faculty and the administrations at both institutions, a coherent pathway to licensure through a STEM degree at an Engineering University has been established and approved. The program utilizes an existing post-baccalaureate licensure framework at UNC. In addition to explicit degree requirements within their Mines degree programs, Mines students must successfully complete the PLACE/PRAXIS exam(s) associated with their desired licensure(s) as well as a specific curriculum at UNC.
Outcomes
This poster describes student recruitment efforts as well as the experiences and lessons learned with the first cohort of students to enter the program.
Broader Impacts
This project aims to encourage more engineering and science majors to enter the teaching profession by creating a workable pathway to licensure through the rigors of a STEM discipline major. Moreover, it aims to support this potential teaching resource by creating a community that values the profession of teaching within an environment that often overlooks this profession as a viable path. In doing so, we hope to elevate the profession of teaching within STEM communities and generate greater numbers of highly qualified STEM discipline educators to meet the needs of the nation and our local communities.
