The following faculty members and students from The University of Texas at Austin are available to the media for interviews concerning math and science education in secondary schools.
UTeach Natural Sciences programWeb site: http://uteach.utexas.edu/
Dr. Michael MarderCo-director, UTeach Natural Sciences
Marder is director of the Special Projects Office in the College of Natural Sciences and co-director of UTeach, the University program for preparation of secondary math and science teachers. He is helping to introduce inquiry techniques into undergraduate teaching, and is helping implement a new series of undergraduate degree plans involving computation.
Dr. Karen Ostlund.Director, UTeach Dell Center for New Teacher Success
Ostlund conducts research in the areas of teacher induction, classroom inquiry, and assessment. She presents workshops for science educators both nationally and internationally and has been president of the Council of Elementary Science International, as well as a member of the board of directors of the National Science Teachers Association.
Dr. Mary WalkerDirector, UTeach Summer Masters Program
Walker worked with the initial team of teachers who envisioned and developed key components of the UTeach program in 1997. Her past work in biochemical research focused on the mechanisms of tumor cell growth and identification. She has been a high school chemistry teacher, science department chair and professional developer.
UTeach Current & Former Students
Katie Weber
Weber graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Currently, she's teaching at Henry Middle School in Leander, TX.
David Vance Ballard
Ballard came to UTeach through an unconventional route that included a stint as a deputy sheriff. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Biology. He is now teaching for Del Valle High School in the Austin, Texas, area.
Alba Esparza
Esparza is a junior majoring in mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin. Originally from El Paso, she graduated from Clint High School near the top of her class, taking AP courses in mathematics. Now in her second semester with UTeach, she is working towards the goal of becoming a middle or high school math teacher
Tyler Ham
Ham is a senior majoring in mathematics. His strong high school performance, taking AP classes in math and physics, English, chemistry, computer science, and history, has carried over into college course work. He is pursuing certification in mathematics.
College of Education
Dr. Kamil JbeilyDirector, Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science Teaching
Created and directs a Texas network of teachers, school administrators, universities, businesses, legislators, parents and community members who come together to provide professional development training for science teachers. Jbeily can talk about what's needed to prepare students for careers in science and technology and ways thatcollaborative efforts between communities and schools can improve science education.
Dr. Jim BarufaldiDirector, Science and Math Education Center
Barufaldi can talk about science and math curriculum as well as teacher preparation. He also could discuss how policy changes will affect the way teacher preparation programs do business.
Dr. Jennifer SmithMath - Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Jennifer Smith is a specialist in math curriculum and math teacher preparation. She could talk about innovations in the classroom that already are addressing the need for a more tech-savvy, math-proficient future workforce.
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