PhysTEC Project Contacts
Middle Tennessee State University
Victor Montemayor
Box 71 MTSU
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Tel: 615-898-2108
Fax: 615-898-5303
Ron Henderson
Box 71 MTSU
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Tel: 615-898-2580
Fax: 615-898-5303
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is home to over 25,000 students in the geographic center of Tennessee, a state which has recently increased the number of science and math courses needed to graduate from high school. Responding to the challenge of preparing teachers to teach these courses, MTSU was recently named a replication site for UTeach, the national math and science teacher preparation program that began at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, the president of the university has declared the goal of becoming the number one producer of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) secondary education teachers in both the state and the Southeast region.
The Physics and Astronomy Department is particularly well poised to make major gains in preparing teachers, having already put in place a requirement that all physics majors act as learning assistants (undergraduate teaching assistants), and having incorporated aspects of the Modeling Instruction Program into its curriculum. In addition, the department won a Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant that will provide $850K in scholarship funds for future math and science teachers. Site leaders have also initiated a marketing effort to attract more majors, and future teachers, to the department.
Goals and Outcomes
MTSU project leaders have set the goal of preparing 6 teachers per year by the end of the PhysTEC funding, with numbers growing for at least two more years before stabilizing near 10-12 physics teacher graduates per year.
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| Mark LaPorte 2010-2012 |
