Next month, STEM teachers from across the country will arrive in Reno for the annual UTeach STEM Educators Conference. UTeach is a nationwide, university-based teacher preparation program designed to increase the number of secondary teachers with STEM degrees. NevadaTeach, the dual-degree program for secondary education and STEM majors at the University of Nevada, Reno, will be cohosting the conference.

This is the first time the conference will be hosted outside of Austin, Texas, where UTeach was started. The conference attracts teachers, many of whom are alumni of UTeach programs, current UTeach students, UTeach program directors, and Master Teachers, who teach future STEM educators at universities. NevadaTeach has historically had a strong presence at the conference, with students, alumni and Master Teachers presenting and sharing their work.

UTeach Assistant Director for Communications and Network Support Amy Winters said that NevadaTeach, a program housed in the University’s College of Education and Human Development with degrees in the College of Science, the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources and the School of Public Health, is a model program. NevadaTeach has produced 141 highly prepared graduates. Currently NevadaTeach graduates are teaching in STEM classrooms across 11 states and internationally, with 81% teaching in Nevada.

“When we decided to take our conference out of Austin for the first time this year, Reno was our obvious choice,” Winters said. “Out of the 54 UTeach programs in our network, NevadaTeach program leaders, faculty, and students are some of the most enthusiastic. We can depend on them to pitch in with ideas and resources that benefit the entire network.”

NevadaTeach Master Teacher Glenn Waddell is organizing field trips for other programs to visit the NevadaTeach space and the W. M. Keck Earth Sciences and Mineral Engineering Museum at the University. Conference registrations are expected to exceed 300 attendees.

“By cohosting the conference here in Reno, our NevadaTeach students will have improved access to attend the conference and greater opportunities to network with other STEM education professionals,” Waddell said.

Four NevadaTeach faculty members are presenting sessions and over half a dozen NevadaTeach students will present posters at the conference, which will take place from May 20 – 22.

The conference theme this year is “Belonging as a Catalyst for STEM Learning” and Waddell will be facilitating a panel discussion for the opening session on belonging. The panelists include one NevadaTeach alumna who is now a high school math teacher.