Curriculum & Instruction

10 Questions With Three Future Teachers Studying in South Africa

Three Neag School students — Alexandra “Ali” Jabick ’16 (ED), ’17 MA, Cheyann Kelly ’16 (ED), ’17 MA, and Yizhi Wang ’16 (ED), ’17 MA — each in their fifth year of the Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s program with a concentration in elementary education, are currently spending the semester in Cape Town, South Africa, where they are working at Christel House School, which is run entirely on donations and where all students are on full scholarship.

Noyce Scholarships Offer Opportunity, Support for Careers in Teaching Science

Thanks to a $30,000 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship, 43-year-old Arthur Lerner is now advancing his education through the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates at UConn’s Avery Point campus. The scholarship is helping to create a smooth transition for him as he goes from nonprofit work to pursuing a career as a biology teacher.

Using Writing to Engage Your Students in Math

While educators have long been encouraged to engage students in writing when teaching math, specific recommendations on how to leverage writing to enhance learning of mathematics have fallen short — until now.

First-Generation College Grad and First-Year Teacher Comes Full Circle

When recent Neag School graduate Sarah Hodge ’15 (ED), ’16 MA was still a high schooler, she enrolled as one of the first students in the Teacher Preparatory Studies Program at Bulkeley High School, an initiative funded by Bank of America and designed to prepare and encourage talented students, particularly from minority groups, to become teachers. Although she found that she liked working with students, a teaching career was not necessarily what she thought she wanted to pursue at the time.

10 Questions With Kelsey Karp, Aspiring Agriculture Educator

In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. Here, Kelsey Karp ’16 (CAHNR) — an aspiring agriculture educator currently enrolled in in the Neag School’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) — shares insights into her time at UConn, where she spent her last year as an undergraduate living and working at UConn’s Spring Valley Student Farm. Through TCPCG, an 11-month program designed for college graduates looking to earn teacher certification, Karp is getting one step closer to fulfilling her ambition to become an educator.

Orlando Valentin ’15 (ED), ’16 MA: From Karate to the Classroom

With awards ranging from the Alma Exley Scholarship to the state Minority Teacher Incentive Grant, Orlando Valentin completed the Neag School’s teacher preparation program this spring. The first in his immediate family to have earned a university degree, his goal is to land his first job — ideally, as a teacher in his hometown of Meriden. But don’t let Valentin’s plans to return home to teach fool you. During his time in the Neag School, he has sought out firsthand experience in school districts across Connecticut — as well as in classrooms abroad.

Neag School Explores Greater Internationalization of Teacher Education With Visit to Germany

Few would likely dispute the enormous impact that globalization has had in recent decades on every aspect of civilization, from international commerce to technology to concerns about the environment. But where might education fit into this equation? As part of an ongoing effort to internationalize the Neag School’s IB/M teacher education program going forward, a […]

Neag Professor Co-Authors Book to Help Secondary Educators Reimagine the Science Department

A Neag School of Education faculty member is one of the co-authors of Reimagining the Science Department (NSTA Press, 2015), a book published in March by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to help secondary educators create “a place where teachers are encouraged to question both their beliefs about science and the teaching and assessment strategies that develop in response to those beliefs.”

Career Changers Among Those Seeking STEM Teaching Certificates at UConn’s Avery Point Campus

Thanks to the Neag School’s STEM-focused Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) at Avery Point, a second cohort of graduates is now prepared to teach in such critical shortage areas as science and math. And with a new grant in place, the program is not only ready to recruit – but also fully fund – 24 more aspiring science teachers from nontraditional backgrounds at Avery Point over the next four years.

What Does 50 Years as a UConn Professor Look Like?

Professor Thomas B. Goodkind retires on June 1, 2015, after spending 50 years as a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. In this special piece for Spotlight, he shares a glimpse into his countless experiences inside – and outside – of the classroom over the past half-century.