Ball State University has joined Purdue University, IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis in the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship to improve their schools of education.
Laurie Mullen, associate dean for teacher education, said the program, which begins this summer, will help students in the Teachers College get a higher quality of education that will better prepare them for a teaching job.
"Twenty students have been accepted into this summer's cohort," Mullen said. "This program will rethink and redefine the way we educate our future teachers."
In the program, students will spend more time in the field doing student teaching at Muncie Central, Muncie Southside, Anderson or Highland High Schools. Using video conferencing and other media devices, teachers can instruct students from campus while still giving the students the tools to teach their own classes.
"The students will be out in the field from August to May, and this will give them much more experience," Mullen said.
In a speech last week, President Barack Obama mentioned the fellowship and said that it would help the country increase the quality of science and math teachers.
Indiana was the first state to participate in the program but soon Michigan and Ohio will join it.
"Being a part of this program and getting the national recognition is in the best interest of Ball State," Mullen said.
According to the fellowship's Web site, the universities have received $10 million in funding from the fellowship, Eli Lilly and various private contributions for the program.
The Web site also stated that almost half of teachers leave the profession within five years because they feel like they haven't been prepared properly. This program aims at helping future teachers get the preparation they need to be successful.
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