A small
group of University of Delaware students majoring in science or
engineering spent the summer engaging children and teens in activities
related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as part of a
new initiative designed to interest more undergraduates in teaching
careers.
A 2016 research brief from the Learning Policy Institute, a nonprofit
and nonpartisan think tank, found that 42 states reported shortages in
available math teachers and 40 reported shortages in science teachers.
Student enrollment in the next decade is expected to grow by 3 million
nationally.
While demand grows, the institute said, the supply of teachers is
shrinking, with attrition in the profession averaging 8% a year and
fewer college students enrolling in and graduating from teacher
preparation programs. The shortage is especially serious in schools
serving low-income children. Delaware is no exception.
At UD, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which includes the University’s Center for Secondary Teacher Education
programs for prospective middle-school and high-school teachers, is
beginning an initiative to address the problem by raising awareness
about teaching careers among undergraduates and faculty in STEM fields.
“We’re looking at a shortage of teachers across the board, and we
want to improve our efforts to attract and retain them in secondary
education, especially homing in on STEM,” said Suzanne Burton, CAS
interim associate dean for the arts, who oversees the teacher education
program. “We want students to be aware that we have this great teacher
education program at UD and to think about it as an option.”
Plans also call for outreach to science and math faculty members
to encourage them to make their students aware of teaching as a possible
career choice.
Students in the University’s secondary education program earn a
bachelor’s degree in a content area — completing all the degree
requirements of their discipline, in addition to teacher-education
courses and fieldwork in schools — and graduate with the preparation
needed for state certification to teach in grades seven through 12.
Programs include English, foreign languages, music and social studies,
in addition to science (biology, chemistry, physics or earth science)
and mathematics.
“A lot of undergraduates may not be thinking about the benefits of a
teaching career, and they also may not realize that not all teachers are
in that career for their entire working lives,” said Amy Trauth, who
recently began a new position as associate director for secondary STEM
education, part of the CAS initiative.
“Some new graduates begin working in industry and then look for a
change to something they find more fulfilling, while others start out as
teachers and then move into something else. What we want to do is to
expose our students to a variety of options.”
Trauth launched a first step toward that goal with a STEM Scholars
program this summer in which about a dozen students worked in Delaware
schools and community centers with elementary and middle school
youngsters.
As part of science and math enrichment programs, they led their
students in activities that ranged from taking mock moon walks as
astronauts to catching an invasive species of toad to making egg-carton
“spinal cords” while learning how the brain functions.
At Mount Joy United Methodist Church’s UrbanPromise summer camp in
Wilmington, senior Gabi Dagher used her background as a neuroscience
major to also teach her elementary-age children about the human brain.
She challenged the students to create their own skits that showcased the
six major parts of the brain and their functions and, she said, was
impressed with the students’ creativity.
“Overall, this experience was definitely one of the most challenging
things I’ve had to do,” Dagher said of her work. “I’ve gained a new
appreciation for teachers as I’ve realized how much work goes into
planning a lesson.
“Whether it is teaching full time or volunteering at after-school
programs, I want to be working with kids in some capacity in the
future.”
For mechanical engineering sophomore Reiley Bond, teaching at
Appoquinimink High School’s summer program in Middletown, Delaware, also
inspired him to think differently about his future. Although he still
plans to work as an engineer after graduation, he said the idea of
teaching at some point in his career now seems like a real possibility.
Teaching, he said, “feels much more rewarding than any job I’ve had in the past.”
That feeling was echoed by juniors Ashley Warokomski and River
Shannon, both science majors who taught this summer at West End
Neighborhood House in Wilmington. The variety of subject matter, from
space to insects, kept them busy planning hands-on activities that would
hold the interest of active youngsters, they said.
An “insect safari” in the neighborhood park, with Warokomski dressed
as a park ranger and her students carrying insect-catching kits, was a
highlight of the summer, she said. The hardest part of the lesson turned
out to be getting the kids to stop the safari when time was up and
return to the community center.
Although Warokomski and Shannon said they haven’t made any definite
career plans, both called the STEM Scholars project worthwhile.
“This overall experience has taught me a ton,” Warokomski said. “It
has taught me how to be flexible and how to be mentally strong. It has
taught me that kids can teach you just as much as you can teach them.
Best of all, it has showed me that teaching is extremely rewarding.”
For Trauth, that outcome is exactly what the program has been
designed to do. She met with the STEM Scholars each Friday, discussing
such subjects as pay and benefits that teachers receive and the job
market for STEM teachers.
“This summer, the students worked in informal settings, but they were
teaching STEM, and I think it got them thinking about teaching,” Trauth
said. “And they’ve been great students. Everyone who worked with them
has told me how outstanding they are.”
During the fall semester, the Center for Secondary Teacher Education
plans to hire a director for the program and to offer a one-credit
seminar that explores teaching as a career. Students in that seminar
will probably visit schools for a less-intensive field experience than
was possible during the summer, Trauth said, and will learn about all
aspects of teaching as a career.
“The whole purpose is to let any interested STEM major check out what
teaching is like,” she said. “We want students to be able to explore
the question: ‘What is it like to be a teacher?’ We think many of them
will find more positive answers than they might have expected.”
Article by Ann Manser
Photos by Evan Krape
Published Sept. 19, 2019