The UTeach course sequence is a tightly articulated set of 8 courses (9 for mathematics majors) focused specifically on the needs of future secondary STEM teachers.
UTeach students begin by taking two one-credit recruitment courses that allow them to try out teaching math or science.
The courses, Step 1: Inquiry Approaches to Teaching and Step 2: Inquiry-Based Lesson Design, are taught by master teachers—non-tenured clinical faculty with exemplary secondary classroom teaching experience who work closely with students as they develop inquiry-based lessons using research-based curricula and materials.
Each of the courses in the STEM education sequence takes an integrated approach to content and pedagogy, emphasizing a strong connection between theory and practice, as well as the explicit relationships between mathematics and science. These courses are taught by research faculty in mathematics or science education, with assistance from master teachers.
The specialized STEM content courses, taken concurrently with the education sequence, provide content knowledge of particular importance for STEM teachers, and often fulfill multiple degree requirements.
In a final apprentice teaching experience, students engage in 40 hours of classroom observation and on-site planning before assuming full teaching responsibilities approximately 4 hours per day for 12 weeks in a secondary classroom.
Throughout their course of study, students are engaged in creating individual portfolios through which they demonstrate specific teaching proficiencies, as well as mastery of the content knowledge of their major. Using a web-based portfolio system, students continually reflect on their experiences and select specific artifacts to support their conclusions about important concepts in secondary STEM education.