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Montana Tech offering secondary teaching degree

Starting next year, Montana Tech students will be able to get secondary teaching degrees in math and science.
In a partnership with the University of MontanaWestern, the new program will allow students to obtain undergrad uate math and sci ence degrees
from Tech and then a teaching certifi cate from Western — all while on the Tech campus.

By Barbara LaBoe of The Montana Standard

Western profes sors will travel to Butte to teach a semester of edu cation courses for students who have completed under graduate degrees at Tech.
Students will then student-teach in a Montana high school for a semester to complete their education training. After that, they can pursue a high
school teaching career or go into industry, said Ray Rogers, Tech’s director of college relations and marketing.
Both campuses and the students will benefit, admin istrators say.
“ It’s the first time in Tech’s 102-year history that we’re able to offer teaching certification for students,” Rogers said. “ And it’s because of this
cooperative effort between the campuses that allows us to match our top-notch science degrees with the really outstanding educational program
Western has going.”
“ We do not produce a lot of math and science teachers at Western, and we’d like to produce more,” said Cheri Jimeno, Western’s dean of
education, business and tech nology. “ And students at Tech wanted to get their science degrees, but also were looking at being certi fied to
teach.”
Western offers science education degrees; however, students there can’t get undergraduate degrees in science fields such as chem istry like this new
partner ship allows, said Tony Campeau, Tech’s associate director of admissions.
“ This allows you to go really deep in science here and then get a high quality education certification and become great science teach ers,” he
said.
The program will start this fall, but students must take two introductory educa tion courses and formally apply to Western before taking the upper
level edu cation courses, Jimeno said.
The introduc tory courses are offered at Tech and will continue to be available in Butte. While stu dents are taking the Westerntaught classes, they
will be counted as Western students for enrollment purposes.
Seven degree programs are part of the program: bio logical sciences, chemistry, computer science, mathemat ics, general science, geologi cal
engineering and geophys ical engineering. Each degree has a corresponding teaching endorsement through the program, such as a physics
endorsement for a geophysical engineering degree. The endorsements are for that particular sub ject and for high school instruction.
Students could sign up for the program at any point in college, and a team of acade mic advisers will help them meet both Tech and Western
requirements.
Theoretically, Tech alumni with the science degrees could return for the educa tional courses, but there may be additional electives or
requirements as well, Campeau said.
Rogers said he likes the idea of more Tech alumni teaching in Montana’s schools.
“ This will really be an opportunity to have some our grads out there in the high schools teaching and telling prospective students what Tech is all
about,” he said.

— Reporter Barbara LaBoe may be reached via e-mail at barbara.laboe(at)(at)mtstandard.com.

http://www.mtstandard.com/newslocal/lnews3.html

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