Board of Trustees Agenda May 14 and 15

The Colleges of the Sciences and Education & Professional Studies recognize the need to expand the current STEM Teaching Minor program into a bachelor’s degree program to meet the demand for highly qualified STEM teachers in the State. Since 2017 they have been comprehensively assessing the minor program through external and internal evaluations that have identified three key issues vii : 1. A lack of integration of student teaching with the remainder of the program. Students felt disconnected from their peers in the minor program once they entered the student teaching phase and felt a lack of support with regard to their STEM-specific teaching needs. 2. Inadequate passing rates for the edTPA for STEM Teaching Program minor graduates, which inhibits higher rates of certification. The edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by to emphasize, measure and support the skills and knowledge that all teachers need from day 1 in the classroom. 3. The amount and level of work required for the minor justified creating a major program for STEM Teaching. As a result of these extensive evaluations a course of action to expand the current minor degree program into a small plan major degree program was adopted. Through this course of action, two new courses will be required for the degree. These two courses focus on planning (STP460) for two assessments: the edTPA and the student teaching and instruction and assessment (STP470) while in the Student Teaching phase. These new course offerings address the three key issues identified through the internal and external evaluations of the existing program and will allow the STEM Teaching Program to further grow their annual cohorts. Offering this degree option at the CWU Ellensburg campus as well as at the Des Moines University Center will improve recruitment of students attending area community colleges who are studying math and science during their first and second years. Since many students wait to inquire about STEM teaching degree options until they have completed their associate of arts degree, a more consistent presence through marketing and recruiting efforts will help students make decisions about this degree pathway earlier on which will in turn guide their choices in course enrollment and potentially shorten up their time to degree. Conclusion: CWU’s proposal to offer the enhanced STEM Teaching Program major degree pathway at the CWU Ellensburg campus as well as the Des Moines University Center satisfies the state’s need for both certified educators and those that are highly qualified to teach STEM subjects to a future workforce that will be required to possess a high level understanding of these subject areas. Regardless of their decisions to obtain postsecondary degrees, students within the K-12 system will almost certainly be faced with occupational choices that incorporate STEM related fields of study. STEM occupations that require degrees as well as those that don’t are among the fastest growing sectors but developing that workforce requires a solid foundation of education, which starts at the middle and secondary school levels. CWU is poised to produce the educators that will develop this workforce of the future.

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