The UTeach Institute

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The UTeach Institute works to increase the number, diversity, and academic achievement of students pursuing STEM disciplines and careers by increasing the number and diversity of high quality teachers.

Program Type

Curriculum/Instructional Materials
Teacher Development/Training

Target Audience

Teachers/Educational Leaders

Location

Nationwide

Grades

Pre-K - 5
Grades 6 - 8
Grades 9 - 12

 Accomplished link

Program Impact

Teachers trained through UTeach programs have a strong impact on student performance in math and science. A study by the nonprofit CALDER Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) found that students of UTeach teachers learned more than similar students of other teachers. Researchers found that those differences amounted to the equivalent of between two to more than five months of extra learning each year (Backes, et. al., 2018).

UTeach is increasing the number of undergraduate STEM majors who become teachers. During the same period when national teacher production declined by 20%, STEM teacher production at UTeach universities increased by 40%. Eighty-seven percent of STEM majors who participate in UTeach go on to teach and 87% of those teach for at least three years. Sixty-nine percent of graduates teach in high-needs schools (UTeach Institute, 2017).

UTeach is further increasing the number of students who have access to high quality STEM instruction through in-service STEM teacher development. UTeach Computer Science, a College Board-endorsed provider, trains teachers to implement the UTeach Computer Science Principles curriculum. Underrepresented students taking the UTeach CS Principles course performed significantly better than national averages in 2017 (Marder, 2017).

Backes, B., Goldhaber, D., Cade, W., Sullivan, K., & Dodson, M. (2018). Can UTeach? Assessing the relative effectiveness of STEM teachers. Economics of Education Review, 64, 184-198. Retrieved September 24, 2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775717306969.

UTeach Institute. (2017). UTeach Impact. Retrieved September 24, 2018 from https://institute.uteach.utexas.edu/sites/institute.uteach.utexas.edu/files/impact-report-september-2017.pdf.

Marder, M. (2017). UTeach computer science principles and underrepresented students. The UTeach Institute. Retrieved September 24, 2018 from https://uteach.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uteach-csp-underrepresented-students-tech-note.pdf

 

Program Overview

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The UTeach Institute works to prepare more STEM teachers who stay in teaching, effectively engage students in STEM disciplines, and improve academic achievement of students in STEM subjects. We accomplish this through pre-service teacher preparation, in-service teacher professional development, and STEM curriculum development. UTeach STEM teacher development and curricula are focused on research-based, inquiry- and project-based instructional approaches that engage all students in learning.

The UTeach secondary STEM teacher preparation program is an innovative, university-based program that attracts and prepares STEM majors to become teachers through advanced, clinically-intensive preparation, and promotes professional retention through induction support and ongoing professional development.

The UTeach Academy of Innovative Teaching and Learning provides in-service teacher professional development courses on topics including inquiry, project-based instruction, technology integration and blended learning, and the UTeach CS Principles high school course curriculum.

In addition to providing direct STEM teacher development programming, the UTeach Institute serves as the hub for a vibrant national networked improvement community of more than 700 UTeach program faculty and staff and 4300 program alumni.

How To Get Involved

The UTeach Institute provides full UTeach program implementation support over a five-year period. An initial grant of approximately $2 million provides the necessary support to completely transform current teacher preparation practices at one university. Additionally, there are a number of student support elements at UTeach programs that require outside funding. These include paid STEM education internships for students and induction support services for new program graduates. Contact us for more information on how you can provide support to UTeach programs nationally.

The UTeach Institute also works with universities who are not looking to replace their current STEM teacher preparation program, but instead are interested in licensing UTeach curricula and program resources and accessing training and consulting services for an annual fee starting at $42,500.

The cost for individual UTeach professional development courses starts at $95. Funding in the amount of $2400 can provide the UTeach CS Principles curriculum, 40 hours of teacher professional development, and year-long implementation support for one teacher.

Funders and Partners

The UTeach Institute partners with the National Math and Science Initiative and the states of Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland and Arkansas to replicate UTeach at universities across the country. A complete list of our strategic partners is available at http://uteach-institute.org/about/detail/partners/. The UTeach Institute is also a College Board-endorsed provider of AP CS Principles curriculum and teacher support.

Contacts

Kimberly Hughes, Director
khughes@austin.utexas.edu
512-232-5850

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Design Principles

The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy.

  • Accomplished
  • Developing
  • Undeveloped

Overarching Principles

  • Need

    Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.

  • Evaluation

    Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.

  • Sustainability

    Ensure work is sustainable.

  • Replication and Scalability

    Demonstrate replicability and scalability.

  • Partnerships

    Create high impact partnerships

  • Capacity

    Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.

STEM Principles

  • Challenging and Relevant Content

    Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience

  • STEM Practices

    Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.

  • Inspiration

    Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.

  • Under-Represented Groups

    Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.