Secondary Mathematics Education
As of Fall 2001, all students seeking certification for Secondary
Mathematics Teaching
must be enrolled as a Mathematics Major and would usually be expected
to complete the
Second Education Mathematics Major Track (although
they could as well complete one of the other Mathematics Major
Tracks. The student must also be enrolled in the secondary
Mathematics Education program of the Curriculum and Instruction
Major.
Students planning to complete the
Five-Year Integrated Master's with Certification Program are
required to complete the Traditional Track.
NOTE!! There is an opportunity for a student with a bachelor's
degree in mathematics to obtain free tuition and financial
support for the fifth year's work to obtain the master's in
Education. This involves some advance planning.
See the undergraduate mathematics advisor for more
information.
Introduction
The demand for qualified teachers of mathematics in middle schools and
high schools is very high. By studying to obtain a mathematics
teaching certificate at the University of Maryland, you can make
yourself
highly employable, and be prepared to make an important contribution to
many people.
At the same time, concerns continue to be raised at the highest
levels
of government about the qualifications of the people who are teaching
mathematics.
For instance, in the
1999
State of the Union address, the President said:
... many teachers lack even a minor in their main
teaching
field. Additionally, students in schools with the highest
concentrations
of poverty -- those who often need the most help from the best teachers
-- are most likely to be in classrooms with teachers who are not fully
qualified. [I propose to:]
- require states to adopt competency tests for new teachers,
demonstrating
subject matter knowledge and teaching expertise;
- require states to phase out, over five years, ... the
practice
of assigning
teachers to subjects for which they lack adequate preparation;
The administration has raised this point before. In his remarks
at the January, 1998 meeting of the American Mathematical Society,
Secretary of Education Richard Riley said:
Every teacher should know not only the importance of a
subject
like mathematics, but also should have the training and the commitment
to teach it well and to understand how to blend differing
approaches....
Presently, 28 percent of high school mathematics teachers do not have a
major or minor in mathematics. The average K-8 teacher takes three or
fewer
mathematics or mathematics education courses in college. Furthermore,
fewer
than one half of 8th grade mathematics teachers have ever taken a
course
in the teaching of mathematics at this level.
Secondary Mathematics Education at the University of Maryland
In order to teach at a public school, you must be certified (unless
serious shortages of teachers allow temporary exceptions).
The student
information site of the College of Education is an excellent
resource on Maryland
teacher certification information and
scholarship programs. For more information about undergraduate and
graduate programs leading to certification in Elementary and Secondary
Education see
Department of Curriculum and Instruction Degrees and Programs.
Information on the secondary Mathematics
Education Program can be obtained from the Department of Curriculum and
Instruction (EDCI) at the University of Maryland in College
Park. For detailed program information about the Secondary Mathematics
Education Program either consult the Center for Mathematics
Education or consult directly the program
requirements . In order to participate in the program, a student
must be admitted to the College of Education. Anyone who is interested
in becoming a teacher should immediately contact the advisors in
EDCI.
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