A University of Maryland program that recruits and prepares highly qualified STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educators is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall with frozen treats and a talk by a prominent physicist.
Terrapin Teachers kicked off the semester with an ice cream social in September, featuring a visit from famous terrapin Testudo. On November 13, UMD Distinguished University Professor and Clark Leadership Chair in Science Sylvester James Gates, a pioneering theoretical physicist and STEM education advocate, will mark the occasion by giving a talk on the role and importance of Terrapin Teachers in helping UMD students consider and pursue STEM teaching careers. The registration deadline for the talk is November 6.
With the goal of helping to address the critical shortage of STEM teachers in Maryland, Terrapin Teachers provides a pathway to secondary education teacher certification for undergraduate and graduate math and science students at UMD,. Over its decade-long history, the robust program has provided UMD students with opportunities to teach approximately 1,200 lessons in local elementary, middle and high school classrooms. Today, 80% of Terrapin Teachers’ 123 alums teach in U.S. classrooms, with 70% of those in Maryland.
“We have a one-credit course that gives people just a taste of teaching,” said Terrapin Teachers co-Director Daniel Chazan, the Jean, Jeffrey, and David Mullan Professor of Teacher Education, who also serves as director of the College of Education’s Center for Mathematics Education. This introductory course, “Inquiry Approach to Teaching STEM,” offers students the ability to observe classes and plan and teach a student-centered lesson with the support of local teachers in Prince George’s County Public Schools. In other courses, students explore project-based instruction, analyze student work and study classroom interactions. Many courses include fieldwork experiences with local students.
“The idea of teaching sounds really great when you’re in the college classroom, … but nothing compares to [observing] the day-to-day of an actual teacher,” said Jade Miles ’25, a mathematics major and Terrapin Teachers student. “I found it was so important to go to these school visits because I got to observe how experienced teachers facilitate their classrooms.”
Terrapin Teachers is based on the nationally known UTeach model. UMD Professor and former Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin established Terrapin Teachers at UMD in 2014 after leading the development of the UTeach program when she was dean of natural sciences at the University of Texas, Austin. Terrapin Teachers is the result of a collaboration among the UMD Office of the Provost, College of Education and College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.
The program connects students to mentor teachers in the field and continues to support them after they become certified teachers.
“It's not like they graduate and they’re off,” explained Caren Chang, co-director of Terrapin Teachers and professor in the UMD Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. “They are still part of the Terrapin Teachers community, [a] growing community that’s very tight knit.” She added, “Teaching is challenging, especially in those first years, and they’ve got support. … It's critical in teaching to help people stay in the profession and not be discouraged.”
Terrapin Teachers provides resources to local educators in order to “elevate the STEM teacher profession by providing professional learning,” according to Terrapin Teachers Associate Director Anisha Campbell. Resources include an asynchronous online course available through UMD’s Extended Studies program to anyone interested in exploring teaching STEM, as well as networking opportunities such as book clubs and dinners for Terrapin Teachers alums and students.
Miles shared that the program has provided her with a chance to make an impact in the classroom in real time. Math and science courses can be isolating to minoritized students, she noted, and her goal is to make STEM courses accessible to all students.
“It's really important as a teacher to make sure every single student takes away something from the course,” said Miles. “If we start them early, get them interested in science and math and [help them] stay passionate about it, then they can pursue it later on. It's [also] important that people who don’t find math as their passion still have appreciation for it and still enjoy the learning process.”
Program leaders hope to recruit future STEM teachers with the Teaching Fellows for Maryland Scholarship, which offers 100% tuition and room and board.
