Maryland Joins National Effort to Train More Math/Science Teachers

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Recognizing the need for more math and science teachers in middle and high school, the University of Maryland has joined a collaboration of public universities and university systems nationwide in committing to the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI). SMTI was announced during the annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) annual meeting last November in Chicago. Nearly 80 institutions made a preliminary pledge at that time. Today, the number of institutions committing to SMTI continues to increase and has surpassed the original goal of 100 universities.

"By joining this collaboration, the University of Maryland has the opportunity to focus our on-going efforts to improve the teaching of mathematics and science," said College of Education Dean Donna Wiseman, who is the SMTI liaison for Maryland. "In particular, our involvement with SMTI indicates a commitment to increasing the number of outstanding candidates who will become teachers in these critical fields, to ensuring the quality of their preparation, and to advancing successful approaches to retain new science and mathematics teachers in the profession." 

NASULGC-member institutions - the leading public and land-grant universities in each state - educate the largest number of undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students. By committing to this effort, Maryland joins other participant institutions in responding to the call made in the National Academies' 2005 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, to educate 10,000 new science and mathematics teachers.

"It is essential that our public universities produce highly qualified and diverse science and mathematics teachers to ensure our country stays competitive," said NASULGC President Peter McPherson. I congratulate these 107 NASULGC-member institutions for making the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative an important component of their efforts to help address the growing teacher shortage in these key fields.

Committing to substantially increase the diverse pool of highly qualified science and mathematics teachers in their states, Maryland and other SMTI institutions will work with appropriate state agencies to identify their immediate and longer term needs for high school teachers. They will also bolster partnerships among universities, school systems, state governments and other entities to address statewide needs and share best practices for the preparation of teachers.

	Dean Donna Wiseman, College of Education, University of Maryland

While members of the collaborative will receive no direct money from the NSF grant, they will have the opportunity to work with disciplinary societies such as the American Physical Society's Physics Teacher Education Coalition, as they partner with their state and local departments of education to determine teacher needs for their region.

"An exciting aspect of the collaborative is the partnership with several disciplinary societies which will help to build a strong faculty role in the development of new approaches to strengthening the preparation of science teachers," said Jennifer B. Presley, director of science and mathematics education policy at NASULGC and director of TLC.

The teacher imperative has been supported by grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York , the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASULGC and in-kind contributions of faculty from several universities.

Related College of Education Releases and Stories

College of Education Media Day - 2008
A Back To School (2008) Conversation with Dean Donna Wiseman
Education Dean Excited about Possibilities(video)

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