Student teacher Tiffany Ward reads to children at the New Franklin elementary school.

Growing the Teacher Pipeline

• MU is committed to expanding teacher education options from early childhood through high school in all subject areas to address Missouri’s teacher shortage, particularly in rural areas.
• Offering online options in education courses will create pathways for those who have considered teaching but are unable to leave home or work to attend an out of town university. Courses will be asynchronous and online to open new doors of access statewide while maintaining a tradition of high standards in quality teacher preparation.
• We will begin launching courses in Fall 2023 with all teacher education courses available online by Fall 2024. Field experiences will continue to be in person where students live.

Current Projects

Teacher Education Program Expansion 

Academic programs to dramatically increase the number of education and human development professionals in the field. Current programs will be expanded to include online options and distance field experiences. Courses available online by Fall 2024. 

Contact: Sam Otten

Linking Science, Mathematics and Literacy for All Learners

Professional development for 6th-8th grade Life Sciences, Mathematics, English Language Arts and Special Education teachers.

Contact: Delinda van Garderen, Jessica Rodrigues, Amy Lannin, John Lannin, Bill Folk

Utilizing the Expertise of Elementary Mathematics Specialists 

Support for rural school districts in utilizing the expertise of Elementary Mathematics Specialists to improve mathematics instruction in schools by collecting data on the challenges and needs of districts.

Contact: John Lannin, Corey Webel, Tiffany LaCroix 

Designing for Equity in Missouri K-12 Mathematics Education

Support for rural districts in making immediate, evidence-based refinements to their equity efforts and guidance for districts in identifying and addressing their own equity challenges.

Contact: Charles Munter

Amplifying Rual Student Voices in Game-Based Learning Design

Testing of educational games in rural schools, helping students to gain confidence and interest in game development, while ensuring rural voices are heard in the development of new learning technologies.

Contact: Rose Marra, Alex Urban, Noah Glaser, Joe Griffin, James Laffey

Integrated and Evidence-Based Supports for Parents and Caregivers

A system to create meaningful change by strengthening families, increasing their resilience to adversity, and preventing children from entering foster care by building protective factors within families that help parents and caregivers.

April Anderson Ravert, Angie Nickell, Francisco Palermo, Kale Monk, Brenda Lohman, Bradd Anderson

Recently Arrived Immigrant Students In Rural Missouri

Assessment and support to ensure that immigrant students who arrive as adolescents persist in schooling and graduate from high school.

Lisa Dorner, Emily Crawford-Rossi

Supporting Educational Outcomes For Youth

A project to support better educational outcomes for rural students and schools, especially those who serve Native American youth and communities in rural and remote reservations.

Contact: Rob Petrone

Four-Day School Week Impacts

This study will provide guidance to policymakers and leaders in rural schools, informing their decisions on adopting a four-day school week as a strategy to address teacher shortages, in order to promote equitable access to high-quality education for rural students.

Contact: Se Woong Lee

Supporting English Language Arts Teachers with Artificial Intelligence Education

This project aims to develop an understanding of English Language Arts (ELA) teachers’ views on AI and support these teachers in facilitating AI curricula by investigating and demonstrating the relationship between AI and digital citizenship.

Contact: Sam von Gillern, Chad Rose

Growing Health and Science Literacy in Public Libraries and Community Gardens

This project aims to bring together public libraries, University of Missouri Extension, local science teachers, 4-H, and other groups to create community gardens and programming that is focused on health literacy, ecology and biodiversity.

Contact: Jenny Bossaller