THEC-funded Improving Teacher Quality Project

To give Tennessee students a competitive edge for success in college and in the advancing workforce, teachers emphasize STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. The increased demand for a STEM-literate workforce raises the expectations of our teachers, to effectively and creatively weave together mathematics with the sciences. Through this professional development program, Tennessee mathematics teachers will be inspired and equipped to enliven mathematical concepts by employing hands-on physical science experiments.

University of Tennessee will host the project, Let's Get Physical! Teaching Math through the Lens of Physics, funded by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), through an Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) grant. This project will empower mathematics teachers to demonstrate the effectiveness of mathematics in the physical sciences. Through hands-on, project-oriented learning, teachers will invite students to utilize abstractions practically in order to understand how our world works.

This five-day workshop, scheduled for July 10-14, 2017, will provide excellent teaching resources for 20 in-service teachers and leaders from partnering LEAs, which include high-needs LEAs Knox County Schools, Oak Ridge City Schools, Claiborne County Schools, Lenoir City Schools, and Jefferson County Schools. The project provides 36.5 hours (32.5 workshop hours + 4 hour-long online sessions) of teacher development, facilitated by directors Dr. Lauren Jeneva Clark from the Department of Mathematics and Dr. Peggy Bertrand from the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education.