The history of persons who have entered the teaching profession armed only with knowledge of their teaching fields is not good. They found themselves overwhelmed, became disenchanted and often dropped out. The new program at Virginia Tech combines a careful study of what works in preparing teachers with the experiences and input of seasoned professional educators to ensure that its graduates will be superbly prepared to enter the classrooms of today and tomorrow. The math and science curriculum of middle and high schools is changing dramatically to address new state and national learning standards. These standards require more integration of technology, math and science concepts and applications to solve real world problems and issues.
Technology is a crucial component of math and science in today's schools.
The use of simulation and modeling, graphing calculators, and science probeware are examples. Virginia Tech has enjoyed a long-standing national reputation for the quality of its programs in math, science and technology, and this will carry over into this new program. Some universities in Northern Virginia pay stipends to students in their teacher preparation programs to defray tuition costs. These stipends come with a major string attached to them. To receive them, students are required to be substitute teachers in area schools.