Why Support UTeach?

Why Support the UTeach Program for Math and Science Teachers

Ten Reasons for Success

1. Two career choices. UTeach provides preparation for full teaching certification for undergraduate majors earning math, science, and computer science degrees without added cost or time. Graduates have more career flexibility and more job options.
2. Money saving. UTeach saves students money by providing the first two education courses free of charge. Students can explore a teaching career with no financial risk.
3. Time saving. The streamlined UTeach degree plan allows students to graduate in four years with a degree in math or science as well as fulfill requirements for a teaching certificate.
4. Deep content knowledge. UTeach graduates have completed full coursework in their major subjects that will give them significant depth in subjects they will be teaching.
5. Experienced faculty. UTeach courses are taught by master teachers recognized for their teaching expertise who can guide students through their coursework as well as their practice sessions.
6. Early field experiences. UTeach students begin teaching before an elementary school class during their first semester – which places coursework in a meaningful context and helps students decide early in the process whether classroom teaching is a viable option for them. Most UTEACH students find the experience inspiring and gratifying; the majority sign up for additional classes.
7. Personal attention and guidance. UTeach mentors help students prepare lesson plans, implement lab experiments, deal with classroom challenges, and discuss teaching techniques. After UTeach students graduate, the program continues to provide support, including in-class mentoring for the first years and access to advanced education degrees.
8. Highly qualified graduates. The University of Texas at Austin, which launched the first UTeach program in 1997, has doubled the number of math and science teachers produced by that university. Experience has shown that more than 92 percent of the UTeach graduates who receive certification go on to teach math and science, providing a valuable infusion of highly qualified teachers for America’s schools in these hard-to-staff fields.
9. Higher retention rates. UTeach students experience classroom teaching with a variety of age groups before they graduate, so that they have a realistic understanding of what to expect in the classroom as well as a solid grounding in their subject matter. More than 82 percent of UTeach graduates are still in the classroom after five years, compared with a 65 percent teacher retention rate nationally.
10. Cohort and alumni support. UTeach participants benefit from cohort support during their undergraduate study and will have a network of UTeach alumni contacts from the university replication sites around the country as they go forward in their careers.

The UTeach program is proving:

• A successful teacher training template can be replicated on a national basis.
• Intra-university collaboration between departments can be mutually beneficial.
• Public-private partnerships can multiply results.