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Published August 21, 2018 This content is archived.

UB Teach program optimizes the teacher preparation process

GSE helping to improve the path to teacher certification

The UB Teach program, beginning fall 2018, is a collaboration between the Graduate School of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. Students who graduate from this program will spend one less year securing their master’s degree, at the same time allowing them to take advantage of UB’s outstanding academic content areas and historically successful track record in teacher preparation.

“The UB Teach program formalizes the pipeline into graduate study,” said Elisabeth Etopio, assistant dean of teacher education in the Graduate School of Education. The program allows students to enter as freshmen and have a seamless pathway available to them to becoming a certified teacher. The seven program areas in UB Teach are biology, chemistry, classics (Latin), English, geological sciences (earth science), history and mathematics.

Besides streamlining and shortening the path to becoming a certified teacher, the UB Teach program addresses a State University of New York initiative to implement innovative education programs. UB Teach provides undergraduate students who want to be teachers with access to the high-quality research programs at UB, as well as the expanding experiential, immersive classroom experiences developed within GSE (e.g., virtual reality classrooms, urban teacher residency).

“Those who become teachers recognize the lasting reward of seeing students have that ‘aha’ moment, that spark of interest in a child that represents learning,” said Etopio. “Teaching is a helping profession for those who want to involve themselves in communities and endeavor to transform society through high-quality education of all students.”

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