Success Stories

Recruiting a New Generation of Physics Teachers at Western Michigan University

written by Drew Isola and Robert Poel

The Physics Department at Western Michigan University (WMU) has been focusing heavily on the recruitment and retention of future physics teachers since the 2000-2001 academic year.  This article highlights the efforts of Western Michigan to recruit and retain science teachers.

http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/fall06-spring07/isola.html


Starting a Teacher Preparation Program at a Research University

written by Laurie McNeil

An institution classified by the Carnegie Foundation as "RU/VH" (research university, very high research activity) rarely considers the preparation of high school teachers to be a central part of its mission. Its faculty members tend to concentrate instead on producing new knowledge and preparing the future professoriate. The University of North Carolina's  mission statement highlights undergraduate and doctoral education and discovering knowledge, but only at the very end (almost as an afterthought) are they charged to "address, as appropriate, regional, national and international needs." Laurie McNeil, physics department chair at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, discusses their successful effort to implement a teacher preparation program.

http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/summer2008/mcneil.cfm


CU Physics Education: Recruiting and Preparing Future Physics Teachers

written by Noah D. Finkelstein, Michael Dubson, Christopher Keller, Steven J. Pollock, Steve Iona, and Valerie K. Otero

Over the past several years, the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) has dramatically expanded its efforts to recruit and nurture the highest caliber future high school physics teachers. This collaboration has provided a rich venue for research, support for local communities and classrooms, and a coordinated recruitment, preparation and induction program for future K-12 teachers.

http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/spring2005/cuphysics.html


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