Title
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
The University of Massachusetts (UMass) STEM Education Institute and the UMass School of Education hosted a National Science Foundation funded conference entitled “Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—Alternative Certification for Teachers” (STEM-ACT) in Arlington, Virginia on May 5-7, 2006. This “practice” white paper summarizes issues presented at the conference that are of importance for providers of alternative certification (AC) for science teachers, highlights what we know so far about effective alternative certification programs, and discusses what we still need to know through future rigorous research on AC programs for science teachers. This paper also provides guidelines for assessment of alternative certification programs for science teachers. Two similar papers have been prepared for academic researchers and policy makers.