Event: “A Scientific Approach to Learning and Teaching Science,” a plenary talk by Nobel Prize recipient Carl Wieman and kick off for the annual national UTeach conference
When: 12:45 p.m., May 24
Where: ATandT Executive Education and Conference Center, Grand Ballroom, Salon C, 1900 University Ave.
Background: Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Carl Wieman will kick off the three-day UTeach Institute-National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) Conference featuring leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education from across the country. Wieman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001, was named U.S. Professor of the Year in 2004 and associate director of science for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in 2010.
Wieman has most recently focused his research on science education, publishing a study in the May issue of the journal Science, for example, showing that undergraduates learn better through an active, iterative process that challenges misconceptions over traditional lectures. He speaks across the U.S. about research and improvement of methods in teaching undergraduates.
The UTeach Institute-NMSI Conference is an annual conference focused on the UTeach program, which is addressing the shortage of qualified secondary math and science teachers in the U.S.
UTeach replication is now being implemented at 22 universities nationally. Ninety percent of students who enter the program go into public school teaching and 45 percent of UTeach graduates teach in high-need schools. Eighty percent of UTeach graduate hires are still teaching after five years, compared with fewer than 65 percent nationally.
For more information, visit the UTeach Institute online.
