Science and Mathematics Teachers for the New Millenium: An Online Virtual Classroom for Tomorrow's Urban Teachers

Cuny City College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Interdisciplinary (99) We are implementing an innovative distance education -based program at Associate Degree colleges of the City University of New York which begins to prepare students to become secondary school teachers of science and mathematics. The project seeks to address the critical shortage of science and mathematics teachers in hard-to staff urban secondary schools, the need to increase the pool of underrepresented minorities and women as science and mathematics teachers, and the need to involve two year colleges in the teacher preparation effort. The outcomes of the project will be (1) an increase in the number of students from community colleges and other colleges with Associate Degree programs who are recruited and begin their preparation to become certified science and mathematics teachers for the secondary schools; (2) an improvement in the quality of students' learning about science and mathematics concepts and effective educational practice in these subject areas. The longer range goal is an increase in the number of science and mathematics majors who become state-certified teachers in secondary schools with large enrollments of disadvantaged students. The key elements of the project are: (1) use of technology-based distance education to offer Education courses to Associate Degree students at various campuses, and the use of these technologies to foster the sense of an online learning community; (2) faculty liaisons at each partner campus to serve as counselors and mentors to the students, to provide motivational support, and supervise activities designed to create a closely knit learning community of program participants; (3) field-based teaching experiences, with master teacher mentoring, for students as part of their earliest education course; and (4) active recruitment, advisement and transfer orientation efforts to ensure success in meeting enrollment and retention targets and to smooth the transition to a four-year institution.