Chapter 11: Aligning Field and Classroom Experiences for Secondary Stem Teacher Preparation

UFTeach at the University of Florida was founded in 2008 as a replication site of the University of Texas’ UTeach model of teacher preparation for secondary mathematics and science, emphasizing the connection between field experiences and university based pedagogical learning (UTeach Institute, 2011). In enacting this model first, as a UTeach replication, and now as a program incorporated into our college’s School of Teaching and Learning, UFTeach faculty have engaged in cycles of curricular revision for the field-based courses: Step 1, Step 2, Classroom Interactions, Project Based Instruction and Apprentice Teaching to better meet the needs of our local context. In this chapter, we will focus on the field placement for our introductory course, Explorations in Teaching Secondary Mathematics and Science (Explorations) as an exemplar of the revisions we have embarked upon for all of our field-based courses as we address programmatic needs of recruitment and retention while remaining true to our commitment to prepare highly qualified secondary mathematics and science teachers.