NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2006

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

 

TEXAS’ STUDENT TEACHER OF THE YEAR HAILS FROM UH
Fatyn Khawaja Exemplifies College of Education Efforts to
Train, Retain Science and Math Teachers

HOUSTON, Aug. 21, 2006— Although her young students respectfully call her Miss Khawaja, Fatyn Khawaja will soon be called the Texas Student Teacher of the Year. The University of Houston graduate received the honor from the Texas Directors of Field Experiences (TDFE), a professional organization that supervises the placement of future teachers in “hands on” experiences in classrooms. She will share the honor with a student from Texas A&M in an October ceremony in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 22-year-old student represents the enthusiasm, energy and leadership of young, first-time teachers that a new UH program is harnessing. Khawaja is participating in the Mentor Teacher Cohort program at UH that enlists graduate students in the college’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction who are also first-year teachers. The 22 selected students who were chosen because of their academic excellence and leadership qualities will pursue graduate studies while they mentor incoming graduate students on the experiences of first-year teachers. The program aims not only to fill the need for more science and math teachers, but also to create mentors who are models of teaching.

“The college is really being very creative and innovative as we look for ways attract, train and support new science and math teachers for all grade levels,” Juanita Copley, professor and chair of the UH Department of Curriculum and Instruction said. “Our efforts collaborate with other UH colleges and bear in mind the dire need for more and qualified teachers in the classroom.” Many of these efforts involve College of Education as well as College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and College of Engineering.

There is a critical shortage of math and science teachers nationwide. Here at home, the Texas Legislature recently enacted a law that requires four years of high school math and science beginning in the 2007- 2008 academic year, meaning schools will have a short time to beef up their available pool of science and math teachers for those extra classes.

“I’m thrilled with this honor,” Khawaja, a graduate student in the UH College of Education, said of her state recognition. “My hope is to teach science to sixth graders.” Among the activities cited in her award was her energetic approach to teaching, which included a Jeopardy-style game that divided her class into teams and quizzed them with science questions. The result of that game was a high performance on a science exam that week.

Khawaja’s award consists of public recognition by the Texas Directors of Field Experiences, a plaque and an honorarium. She was judged on her planning and preparation of lessons, knowledge and presentation of materials, communication to students, interaction and inclusion of students and class management. Khawaja graduated with a bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from the UH College of Education in May 2006. She was a student teacher in Galena Park Independent School District during the spring 2006 semester.

The Mentor Teacher Cohort program to which Khawaja belongs is one of several initiatives at the UH College of Education that cultivates interest and support for science and math teachers.
These programs include:
• The Teach Houston Program, which provides training for UH students of any major to prepare for a science of math teaching position in an area school district.
• The Quality Teacher Recruitment and Certification (QTRAC) program, which recruits and trains degreed professionals for transition to science or math teacher careers.
• Transition to Teaching program, which trains retiring certified public accountants and other business persons to become new science and math teachers
• Professional Development for Preschool Teachers with special emphasis on early math learning.
In addition, Copley and other college faculty will lend expertise in math and science education to the National Head Start program which prepares low-income children for school.

“Math and science education is a focus not just here, but all across the country,” Copley said. “UH and the College of Education want to be part of the solution to this critical problem.”

For more information of the UH College of Education and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, please visit www.coe.uh.edu/

About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.