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   from the issue of April 17, 2008

     
 
NU-Teach program launches this summer

 BY KIM HACHIYA, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

A program launching this summer at UNL offers Nebraska math and science teachers the chance to take selected graduate courses at reduced tuition rates, and in some cases, take these courses in their hometowns.

The NU-Teach Institute for Math and Science Teachers allows teachers recommended by their home districts and their local Educational Service Units to take an intensive NU-Teach course at a 20 percent tuition discount. Some courses would be offered on the UNL campus; others will be offered outside Lincoln if demand is there. Courses currently are planned for Hastings and Norfolk.

UNL's Graduate Studies office is providing scholarships for some student fees associated with the program. So a teacher taking a 3-graduate-credit NU-Teach course would pay $537, a savings of more than $250 from a typical 3-graduate-credit course.

Six courses will be offered this summer: four in math, one in education and one in computer science. More courses, particularly in science, are contemplated the next two summers.

NU-Teach is an extension of UNL's Math in the Middle project, which started in 2004 with funding from the National Science Foundation. Under that project, middle-level math teachers took intensive math-immersion courses where 40-hours of instruction were compressed into a one- to two-week time frame followed by a rigorous end-of-course assignment that assured long-term learning. Since its inception, 136 teachers have entered the program and 60 have earned master's degrees. Although six have left the program, the remainder continue to pursue their degrees.

NU-Teach continues the Math in the Middle program using local rather than federal dollars and will, over time, expand to offer professional development opportunities for science teachers.

"The NSF wanted to stimulate and encourage lasting institutional change that would extend past the life of the Math in the Middle grant," said Jim Lewis, professor of math. "We think what we have done is too good to let that end."

By beefing up existing partnerships with ESUs, Lewis said UNL has become a partner investing in math and science teacher education statewide. Teachers would receive the discounted tuition only if recommended by their school district or ESU. On a space-available basis, graduate students whose participation is not supported by an ESU/school district could take the courses but must pay full tuition and fees.

The goal is for up to 200 teachers to come to campus each summer for the immersion courses.

For more information, go to www.scimath.unl.edu and click on the NU-Teach button or contact Shannon Parry at sparry3@unl.edu, 472-9312, or Jason Cruise at Teach Nebraska, jasoncruise.graduate@unl.edu or 472-2845.



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