UC Partnership Aims to Recruit Future Teachers Skilled at Science and Technology in the 21st Century

Summer is not all leisurely for a group of 20 high school juniors and seniors, as they take on a two-week math challenge in a partnership with the University of Cincinnati and Miami University. The Southwest Ohio Secondary Teaching Academy begins at Miami University June 21-26, before students head to UC June 28-July 2. Students will learn and live on both campuses as the partnership holds the third year of a summer experience to recruit underrepresented students into the STEMM teaching professions.

The students will earn three college credit hours from a pre-calculus course and receive a free, top-of-the-line graphing calculator and college textbook. After completing the two-week experience, students will come back to UC toward the end of summer for a day of information covering college admission and financial aid. The majority of students taking part in the summer program represent Cincinnati Public and Princeton schools.

The Southwest Ohio Secondary Teaching Academy was supported by $340,000 in funding from the Ohio Board of Regents in 2007, as well as $255,000 in OBR funding in 2008. The 2009 academy is supported from leftover funding from the first two years of the partnership.

Shelly Harkness, UC associate professor of secondary education for the UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), says surveys from previous summer programs indicate that the student participants gained insight into the culture of a college campus as well as insight on the influence of teachers. The surveys indicated the students also enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends, and suggested a positive experience in the study of mathematics. “The Southwest Ohio Teaching Academy helped provide a foundation for college access and student success in STEMM education fields,” says Harkness.

Summer Program Contacts:

Miami University: Iris DeLoach Johnson, professor of teacher education in the School of Education and Allied Professions, 513-529-6437, e-mail johnsoid@muohio.edu

UC: Shelly Harkness, UC assistant professor of secondary education, CECH, 513-556-3743, e-mail shelly.harkness@uc.edu