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TEEMS
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TEEMS
is a nontraditional approach to mathematics and science
teacher education, and is based on current research on
teacher education, and was developed from ten years of
experience with alternative teacher preparation in
mathematics and science.
The Department of Middle Secondary Education was the first department at Georgia State University to provide alternative paths to the teaching profession. Starting in 1986, programs leading to teaching certificates were designed in foreign language, mathematics and science. Through cooperative efforts among GSU, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, many school districts throughout the state, more than 80 teachers began teaching careers through the TRIPS Program, and the Alternative Teacher Preparation Program in Foreign Language, Mathematics and Science. One of the outcomes of these alternative teacher preparation programs was to rethink the nature of teacher education, and to begin to visualize and plan for new approaches to teacher education. As a result of the convergence of our work in alternative teacher preparation, the apparent national crisis in science and mathematics, and the emerging epistemology of constructivism, a new program for the preparation of mathematics and science teachers was developed. The underlying framework for the new program is constructivism, which suggests that human beings construct knowledge through acting on their environment and interacting with other humans. The work to design, and eventually implement this new program is called
The TEEMS Program (Teacher Education Environments in Mathematics and Science). Students are admitted into the program in the Spring of each year. The program, which begins during the Summer term, is a four term program leading to a Master's degree in mathematics or science education and a licence to teach mathematics or science, grades 7 - 12.
Philosophically, the program encourages the construction of teaching strategies and models through an active learning format beginning in the Summer term. Students are involved in handson/mindson strategies designed to help them create active learning environments for the students they will teach. An integration of theory and practice characterizes the work that we have planned for our students. Even in the Summer, TEEMS students work with teenagers in an environmental science environment. Pedagogy and practice are seen as twin vistas to help TEEMS students develop the knowledge of their craft.
During the Fall, TEEMS students focus their work in a middle school by designing lessons, working side-by-side with a mentor, and carrying out a science education research project. In the Winter/Spring term, TEEMS students participate in a practicum at a high school. In addition to working with a mentor, students design evaluation and technology projects that are carried out on-site. TEEMS students monitor their work throughout the year by maintaining a profession portfolio. The portfolio showcases the TEEMS students' progress and work by the inclusion of documents and artifacts that reflect work over the course of a year. Near the later part of the Spring term, students present their portfolios at a "science fair" type gathering.
Program Characteristics
- reflective and constructivist models of learning
- holistically organized pedagogical curriculum experiences
- learner-centered instruction in which students engage in a series of experiential and field-based experiences to learn about mathematics and science teaching
- a partnership with the public and independent schools of Georgia by centering much of the instruction in middle schools and high schools
