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PhysTEC Announces New Inductees to The 5+Club

Eight schools graduated five or more physics teachers in the 2018-2019 school year, joining the PhysTEC 5+Club

January 3, 2020 | Leah Poffenberger

Most colleges and universities graduate no more than two trained physics teachers each year, with many graduating none at all, compounding a severe shortage of qualified instructors. To highlight institutions that have made teacher training a priority, the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) recognizes schools that have graduated five or more qualified physics teachers—defined as teachers with a degree in physics or physics education—in a given year. These schools are inducted into The 5+ Club, as a recognition of their efforts to address the national shortage of physics teachers.

The institutions recognized by The 5+ Club in the 2018-2019 academic year are:

  • Brigham Young University (6)
  • Brigham Young University - Idaho (7)
  • California State University, Long Beach (5)
  • Illinois State University (5)
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (5)
  • Stony Brook University (5)
  • University of Central Florida (6)
  • Virginia Tech (5)

Graduating five or more trained physics teachers is well beyond the national average, and schools in The 5+ Club are playing a role in addressing a long-term issue in physics education. In 2013 the National Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics reported, “the need for qualified teachers is greater now than at any previous time in history.”

PhysTEC is a partnership between APS and the American Association of Physics Teachers aimed at improving and promoting physics teacher education by transforming physics departments, creating successful models for teacher education programs, and disseminating best practices.

For more on PhysTEC and The 5+ Club visit phystec.org.

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