The National Science Foundation funds the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program. The primary goals of AGEP are to significantly increase the number of underrepresented minorities (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) obtaining graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and enhance the preparation of underrepresented minorities for faculty positions in academia.
Binghamton Unicersity has implemented several ongoing programs to encourage students from underrepresented populations (UREP) to enter the STEM professoriate by providing training and development for academic careers. One of the most promising efforts has been Binghamton’s Co-Teaching Project.
The Co-teaching project is a selective program through which mid-advanced level AGEP scholars are matched with faculty mentors to design and teach an upper level course within their STEM disciplines. It is often the case that senior graduate students in the STEM disciplines are on research grants and do not have opportunities to teach. It is our assumption that providing a co-teaching experience would allow such students to appreciate the teaching responsibilities of an academic career, making the professoriate an attractive option to private and government supported research positions. The co-teaching model allows for constant feedback which results in improved teaching techniques. It also enhances students’ exposure to the professoriate by encouraging collegial relationships between the students and faculty.
This project was launched in 2009, and has since selected two AGEP eligible graduate students each semester to participate in the program. Using pre-post evaluation models, student participants have found this experience to be rewarding.
For those who are interested in participating in the Co-teaching project, the application form can be downloaded from here.
