Researchers>> Program Objectives
Program Objectives
RECRUIT entails developing, pilot-testing, and assessing the effectiveness of an experimental, alternative secondary science and mathematics teacher certification program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. RECRUIT aims to:
1. Create a venue to recruit and prepare qualified secondary science and mathematics teachers from populations that are currently underserved by extant teacher preparation programs. These populations, which correspond in several respects with underrepresented populations in the teaching profession, comprise recent and advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates, and mid-career scientists, mathematicians, and industry personnel contemplating a shift into pre-college teaching.
2. Develop an exemplary science and mathematics teacher preparation program that features:
(a) Close, organic collaboration between education faculty, STEM faculty, and school personnel toward the preparation of reform-minded reflective teachers,
(b) A support community comprising prospective teachers, veteran mentor teachers, and education and STEM faculty, and
(c) An extended induction, support, and professional development period that extends beyond initial coursework and training, and that aims to provide a seamless transition from teacher preparation into teaching and increase the retention rate of program participants.
3. Contribute through an intensive research component to our knowledge base on:
(a) The development of science and mathematics teachers' cognition, and subject matter, pedagogical, and pedagogical content knowledge,
(b) Creating and sustaining communities to support and facilitate the professional growth of teachers, and
(c) The development of effective models for collaboration between education faculty, STEM faculty, and school personnel through investigating the disciplinary and professional commitments and barriers that often impede such desirable collaboration.
