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WILKES-BARRE — King’s College is now only the second institution of higher education to offer a state-approved “endorsement program” in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) teaching.
“We just nailed down dates for the kickoff of the first class,” King’s Curriculum and Instruction Graduate Program Director Deb Carr said. “The practicum course starts Aug. 10.”
STEM programs in public schools are booming across the state and in Luzerne County.
Hazleton Area School District opened its Science Academy high school in 2013, and Wilkes-Barre Area launched a program at Meyers High School that is rapidly expanding. Other area districts are looking to launch programs of their own in the near future.
The state has no certification in STEM teaching, Carr noted, but it is becoming specialized enough to merit a graduate program designed to improve a person’s ability to convey the complex material covered in the classes.
The new King’s program consists of four courses, three credits each, that generally last about six weeks, Carr said. Because it is expected to be taken by working teachers, much of the class is done through “accelerated weekend” courses and online work, she added.
While a teacher does not need the STEM endorsement gained by completing the courses, Carr said she believes it will help both those already teaching such classes and those hoping to land a job teaching them.
“As an administrator, if I’m going to make a decision on who is teaching where, this would certainly be a factor,” Carr said. Prior to her work at King’s, Carr was an administrator at Hazleton Area School District.
King’s is limiting enrollment to 18 for the first course, and will initially only offer one course at a time. But if demand is high enough the college can adapt to meet it, she said.
Tuition for each class is set at $900, which Carr said is considerably less than many other institutions typically charge. “It’s a well kept secret: King’s graduate courses are a great deal.”
Along with a practicum that has participants engaged in real lab work akin to what they likely want to be doing in their school districts, the other courses are a STEM design course, A STEM methods course, and a STEM assessment course.
Those teaching the four courses include two staff members from the Hazleton Area Science Academy: Assistant Principal Marie Ernst will teach the design course, and Academy chemistry and biology teacher Ryan Boris will teach the methods course.
King’s Assistant Professor of Education Sunny Weiland will teach the assessment course and King’s Cooperative Engineering Program Director Paul Lamore will teach the practicum lab course.