Courses

In Step 1, you will observe and teach science or mathematics lessons in local elementary classrooms and obtain firsthand experience with planning and implementing inquiry-based lessons. In Step 2, you will observe and teach in middle school classrooms. During each course, you will observe several lessons and prepare and conduct three of your own with a partner.

UTeach master teachers introduce you to the theory and practice behind excellent inquiry-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) instruction and guide you through the process of designing and preparing to teach lessons. Mentor teachers at the schools where you practice will demonstrate effective teaching techniques and classroom management skills and provide thoughtful feedback and coaching after your teaching experiences.

Working in pairs or teams of three, students create two science or mathematics lessons from modules developed with the support of the National Science Foundation. UTeach students then develop the lessons further using the 5E model. Working with UTeach master teachers, students refine and improve lessons based on feedback from both master teachers and mentor teachers at the school where the lesson will be taught. The mentor teacher observes the lesson being taught and provides written feedback to each student or pair of students to help them improve as the semester progresses.

Course Components:

• Course is taught by master teachers—experienced, successful classroom teachers who have joined the university faculty.
• Students observe exemplary teachers and obtain field experience by planning and teaching three mathematics or science lessons in local elementary schools with diverse student populations.
• Students receive mentoring from high-quality classroom teachers, as well as instructor feedback based on field observations.
• Course emphasizes using the 5E Instructional Model.
• Key instructional approaches include classroom discussion, lesson demonstration, student reflection, collaboration, and peer coaching.

In Step 2, students continue developing the lesson planning skills they learned in Step 1 as they become familiar with exemplary middle school mathematics and science curricula. After observing a lesson being taught in a local school district classroom, students work alone or in pairs to plan and teach three inquiry-based lessons to sixth, seventh, or eighth graders. Middle school classrooms are selected both for the diversity of the student body and the quality of the classroom teachers, who serve as mentors for the Step 2 students assigned to them.

The Step 2 course emphasizes writing high-quality 5E lesson plans with a focus on the importance of using appropriate questioning strategies throughout the lesson. Students discuss the unique attributes of adolescent students and strategies for teaching in the middle school environment. They learn to align lesson plans to district curriculum and how to develop and administer both pre-assessment and post-assessment instruments. For their final product, students analyze and modify one of the lessons they taught, taking into account the results of the assessments, their reflection on how successful the lesson was, and feedback from their mentor teachers and the course instructor who observed the lesson.

Prerequisites: A university GPA of at least 2.2. You must earn a C- or better in Step 1 before taking Step 2. Seniors and degree-holders may take both Step courses in the same semester. Talk to your UTeach advisor for details and permission to register.

One 3-hour course.

Find Knowing and Learning under EDC, not UTS. In the course schedule, EDC is located between CLS (Cultural Studies) and CZ (Czech).

This course expands your understanding of current theories of learning and conceptual development and encourages you to examine your own assumptions about learning. You will also critically examine the needs of a diverse student population in the classroom.

You will use materials from this course to continue building your portfolio.

Prerequisites: Seniors and degree-holders may take this course concurrently with UTS101 and UTS110. Talk to your UTeach advisor for details and permission to register.

One 3-hour course.

Find Classroom Interactions under EDC, not UTS.

This course allows you to see how theories explored in Knowing and Learning play out in classrooms. You will design and implement instructional activities informed by your understanding of what it means to know and learn in STEM areas, and you will then evaluate the outcomes of those activities. You will also consider frameworks for thinking about equity issues in the classroom and larger school settings, learn strategies for teaching students of diverse backgrounds equitably, and use technologies to build relationships among teachers and students.

Expect to dedicate some out-of-class time to video transfer, lesson planning, and working on your portfolio.

Prerequisites: C- or better in UTS101, UTS110, and EDC365C and a university GPA of at least 2.5. If you have less than a 2.5 GPA, talk to your UTeach advisor to discuss your options.

One 3-hour course.

Find Project-Based Instruction under EDC, not UTS. 

In this course, you will aim to master new technologies for problem-based investigations in STEM field classrooms, teaching project-based lessons to high school students. You will also discuss the use of assessment to improve student learning. The field component includes two observation days and three teaching days. Unlike previous field experiences, the teaching days in PBI run consecutively, which means that you should plan for a three-day inquiry lesson based on the high school schedule to which you are assigned.

Expect to dedicate some out-of-class time to video transfer, lesson planning, and working on your portfolio.

Prerequisites: C- or better in Classroom Interactions and a university GPA of at least a 2.5. Students with less than the required 2.5 GPA file an appeal for permission to take the course. See your UTeach advisor for details.

One 3-hour course: BIO 337-2 or CH368-1 or PHY341-7.

Students develop and carry out four independent inquiries and learn to combine skills from STEM areas in order to solve research problems.

This course meets the criteria for the following flags required for all undergraduate degrees at the University of Texas at Austin: Independent Inquiry, Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning.

Much of the work generated in this course can be incorporated into the portfolio.

Students must appeal to register for this course a third time regardless of whether it was taken as BIO, CH, or PHY.

Prerequisites: Students with upper-division standing may take Research Methods after Step 1 and Step 2. These are the only prerequisites that apply to UTeach students. Additional prerequisites published in the course schedule may vary with topics other than UTeach Research Methods. Talk to your UTeach advisor if you have questions about meeting prerequisites.