Thank you for supporting and participating in our summer programs, which included three new courses this year, as well as three courses through our Nebraska Partnership TEAMS initiative. In summer 2017, 300 distinct teachers in math and science education took a course through the Nebraska Math and Science Summer Institutes or other NebraskaMATH programs for a total of 535 registrations in 42 math, science and pedagogy classes. We hope that you and other K-12 teachers will continue their graduate education with us toward earning master’s degrees from the departments of Mathematics or Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education.
Courses were held in Ashland, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha and Papillion, as well as the additional TEAMS locations of Crete, Fremont, Norfolk, North Platte and Ogallala. Three new courses were popular and highly successful with participants: 1) SOCI 898: Activating STEM Identities; 2) TEAC 892: Manipulatives in Math Education; and 3) TEAC 880E: Teaching with Technology in K-8 Classrooms. If there is a particular course that you would like to have come to your area in summer 2018, please let your ESU staff development officer know before December 2017. We are happy to bring courses to you or offer them online when and where there is sufficient demand.
For those of you who have taken several courses, you might want to consider applying those credits toward a master’s degree from UNL. You need to declare a major and formally apply to UNL Graduate Studies before you reach 18 credit hours (six courses).
The UNL Department of Mathematics offers an online master’s degree for math teachers of grades 7-12. The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), with a major in mathematics, does have an option for minoring in teaching, learning, and teacher education or a specialization in the teaching of middle-level mathematics. It is required that at least seven courses (21 hours) of the 12 total courses are math courses that would count toward your major in mathematics. The other courses can be TEAC courses from teaching, learning and teacher education, or you can choose to take all 12 courses in math. All of the MATH courses that end in “T” count toward the MAT, as do some others, as well as any other pedagogy courses listed in the NMSSI course catalog. You can apply at any time throughout the year. For more information, start here: http://online.unl.edu/mat.
Most primary teachers prefer pursuing the Master of Arts degree offered by UNL’s Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education. Teachers usually choose to pursue the MA’s Option II, which requires a minor (such as a minor in mathematics). This is a popular option and degree for elementary teachers. It is required that at least six of the 12 total courses are TEAC courses. If you choose to minor in mathematics (the recommended route), then any MATH courses that end in “P” or “T” would count toward a minor in math. The application deadlines are March 1 and Oct. 1. For more information: http://cehs.unl.edu/tlte/programs/masters-programs. You can also pursue an MA degree with a science emphasis.
Feel free to contact Lindsay Augustyn at laugustyn2@unl.edu with any questions.