Teachers in Industry

Bruce Johnson, University of Arizona STEM Learning Center

Teachers in Industry is a partnership between the University of Arizona Colleges of Education and Science, Tucson Values Teachers, Southern Arizona Leadership Council and more than 40 industry partners along with Arizona school districts, schools and teachers. We are one of the nation's leading STEM education programs, according to Change the Equation STEMworks Database and Arizona STEM Network. We offer teachers a combination of paid summer work experiences in Arizona businesses and industries and intensive coursework leading to either professional development credits or a master's degree focused on STEM education. The purposes of Teachers in Industry are to 1) increase teacher retention rates and 2) equip teachers with experiences needed to prepare their students for the 21st century workforce.

Teachers in Industry is a three-year professional development and retention program for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in Arizona. Teachers in Industry offers teachers a combination of paid summer work experiences in Arizona businesses and industries and intensive coursework leading to either a MA (Master's of Arts in Teaching and Teacher Education) with a focus on STEM education or PD (professional development) credits.

Teachers in Industry addresses two critical issues in Arizona:

1. The crisis of STEM teacher retention in Arizona
2. Preparing K-12 students for the STEM workforce

Currently in Arizona nearly half of the teachers leave the profession in their first five years. Teacher recruitment costs are shockingly high, making teacher retention highly important. Teachers in Industry increases teacher retention rates by equipping teachers with knowledge, skills and industry experience they can use to generate STEM-excited students in the short term and boost their local economies in the long term. Seven years into the program, we're seeing meaningful, measurable results. Our key findings are that teachers who have participated in the program have much higher retention rates in teaching than the state average.

In Arizona the ratio of STEM job openings to job seekers is almost 2:1, indicating an increasing need for new talent in the state's STEM workforce. Our participants are more qualified to engage students in STEM content and 21st-century skills, and their students report a better understanding of STEM careers, a higher rate of planning to go into STEM careers and a greater understanding and experience with 21st-century skills. Teachers in Industry provides our MA participants with graduate level content courses in their STEM field, as well as a program-wide emphasis on equity and social justice in STEM classrooms. A significant proportion of our participating teachers are employed in low-income and/or high minority schools, where the need is greatest for high-quality teachers.

Teachers in Industry employs a number of strategies to help teachers make the transition to long-term careers in the classroom. Paid summer work experiences in STEM businesses and industries immerse teachers in the kind of business environment their students will likely encounter within a few years and inspires them to bring their real-world experience back into the classroom to more effectively prepare students to enter the workforce. Our coursework gets teachers to reflect on their practices and goals and then to consider strategies and plans that will engage all of their students in learning skills as well as content. Teachers in Industry aims to facilitate the creation of a classroom environment where collaboration and problem solving are integrated into everyday practice. We also emphasize the building of a community of teachers working together to translate real-world experiences into student learning.

Our approach is to create financial, professional development and social network conditions to enable teachers to make the transition to long-term careers in classroom teaching. Teachers in Industry uses a number of strategies to accomplish this. The paid summer STEM work experiences in businesses and industries immerse teachers in the kind of business environment their students will likely encounter within a few years. Teachers take their real-world industry experience back into the classroom to more effectively prepare students to enter the workforce. Our coursework is designed to create an environment where teachers reflect on their teaching practices and goals, then consider strategies and plans for teaching that will engage all students in learning skills as well as content in an environment where collaboration and problem solving are integrated into everyday practice. Teachers in Industry emphasizes the building of a community of teachers working together to translate real-world experiences into student learning in the classroom.

Related

Center Profile: STEM Learning Center ( This site may be offline. ) - University of Arizona