- Nick Kim
- Post-Doctoral Research Associate
- VolsTeach for Appalachia (VFA)
- https://ceems.utk.edu/volsteach-for-appalachia/
- University of Tennessee
- Lynn Hodge
- https://tpte.utk.edu/people/lynn-hodge-phd/
- Professor and Director
- VolsTeach for Appalachia (VFA)
- https://ceems.utk.edu/volsteach-for-appalachia/
- University of Tennessee, Center for Enhancing Education in Math and Science, UTK...
Public Discussion
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David May
Hi Nick. Great video and exciting program! Question: Have you found it challenging to recruit students to the program? It looks like you have quite a few, which is fantastic.
My project (Get the Facts Out) is about helping recruit students to STEM teaching, and we're actually trying to expand our work with 4-year colleges to 2-year colleges. Perhaps we can work together!
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello David,
Yes, recruitment has been challenging to say the least. You really need to partner with one or more local community colleges in order to to get the word out about the opportunity. We've tried to go outside of East Tennessee to recruit but haven't had any luck since most community college students attend their local CC and don't want to transfer to a large university away from their home. Let me know how I can help!
David May
Corin Slown
Hi Nick! I agree-connecting learning with making learning personal is critical. As you recruit community college students to the teaching pathway, I am curious what your first point of contact is with students you recruit? Thanks!
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello Corin,
We partnered with a local community college initially when writing the grant, so they were the first point of contact. In the first year, we actually went to the community college mathematics classes and promoted our program in a short 5 minute spiel. For other community colleges, we contacted anyone from professors we've worked with in the past as well as advisors.
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello all,
Thank you for stopping by our page and viewing our video. Recruitment has definitely been a challenge as we are in our 4-5th year because we didn't have as many candidates as we hoped. It has really been a great program and has helped countless preservice teachers.
David May
Tabatha Rainwater
Great video, Nick! The students' culturally relevant pedagogical knowledge gave me goosebumps.
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Thanks! They had great guest speakers to inform them!
Joan Ferrini-Mundy
University President
Great work. The model of bringing community college students into teaching seems very wise and could allow for building capacity in specific local communities. Can you tell us more about impact - whether students are moving through the program and into positions/obtaining teaching credentials? The focus on high expectations is also good; do the participants have any specific challenges as they work to introduce and hold high expectations K-12 classrooms, and what strategies do you offer to support their efforts?
I will confess that I had to think for a minute about why it's called "Vols Teach" - got it!
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello Joan,
Currently, VFA has graduated 4-5 preservice teachers all with teaching positions here in East Tennessee or with teaching certification (One scholar decided to take a year traveling before teaching). The scholars do not all have associate degrees from a community college, some just have community college experiences but have transferred to the University of Tennessee. VolsTeach for Appalachia scholars are working with the VolsTeach faculty to use culturally responsive practices to keep students engaged in the material. When students are engrossed in meaningful/relevant STEM curriculum do rise to the expectations of the teacher. Most of our scholars have not completed their apprentice teacher (student-teaching internship), so there classroom time has been limited due to Covid-19.
Joi Spencer
Interim Dean and Professor of Mathematics Education
Thanks so much for sharing this project with us. I would love to learn more about what you consider to be the most outstanding features of your teacher preparation program. I notice that participants were discussing culturally responsive pedagogy. Do these participants engage in activities where they examine and reflect upon their own cultural practices, ideas and beliefs? Have they written positionality statements, for example? I am curious about how the teachers will bring their cultural selves to the activity of teaching.
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello Joi,
Before the pandemic, I would say early and often classroom experiences was one of our most outstanding features of our TPP. Our scholars do reflect upon their own cultural practice, ideas, and beliefs, but have not written positionality statements unless they are in their last semester of the program. That is an interesting point, and something I want to explore in this 5th year. The VolsTeach faculty try to emphasize the importance of understanding one's cultural self while considering the different cultures of others.
Tichina Ward-Pratt
Educator
Awesome program. I appreciate the focus on culturalIy relevant pedagogy. It is mentioned that this program was created to address the shortage of math teachers in East Tennessee. I am wondering what was the motivation for starting this program with a focus on culturally relevant pedagogy and was there an attempt to recruit teachers that reflected similar backgrounds of the students they would teach in East Tennessee?
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello Tichina,
I'm not sure if the initial thought when submitting this proposal was to incorporate CRP, but we did want to focus on bringing in local East Tennessee community college students in to represent their communities. The CRP focus really began 2 years ago, and we are still trying to incorporate it in practical ways.
Tracy Holbrook
Hello Nick! I was born in the "heart of Appalachia", just a couple of hours away from your campus near the tri-cities area. After graduating from high school, attending a community college, then transferring to a university, I ended up teaching chemistry and chemical technology at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC. I wish we were closer to each other! Our program is crafted to meet the needs of industry partners, but we do have students that are interested in teaching or would see this as a possible career option. It would be curious to know feedback from students in transfer pathways at CCs versus those in STEM career (CTE) pathways. Keep up the excellent work!
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Hello Tracy, that is an interesting prompt. Most of our CC students have transferred to UTK before earning there associates degree but something to consider for sure.
Ayanna Shivers
Hello, Nick! I truly enjoyed learning about your program. We are entering our 3rd year of our NOYCE project and would like to recruit more from our community college partner. Do you have any suggestions?
Nick Kim
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Recruiting definitely has been one of our toughest obstacles. That's why we are in our 5th year when we originally thought the project would last 3 years.
We partnered with a local community college initially when writing the grant, so they were the first point of contact. In the first year, we actually went to the community college mathematics classes and promoted our program in a short 5 minute spiel. For other community colleges, we contacted anyone from professors we've worked with in the past as well as advisors. We also went across the state and spoke with middle and west Tennessee CCs but did not have much luck. I believe most CC students want to stay in their local communities as much as they can. Good luck!