Date:
Monday, December 21, 2020
The 5+ Club
The 5+ Club: Solving the US Physics Teacher Shortage
Did your college or university graduate five or more physics teachers in the last academic year? Apply to join PhysTEC’s The 5+ Club! The 2019-2020 application is now closed.
Did You Know?
School districts in the United States consistently rank physics as the highest teacher shortage area among all academic disciplines. The 5+ Club bridges the gap by reinforcing the efforts of US-based colleges and universities to graduate more physics educators. Since 2012, The 5+ Club has recognized dozens of postsecondary institutions for graduating five or more physics teachers in a given year, a figure that puts them in the 99th percentile of all institutions.
2019-2020 Awardess
We are pleased to announce this year’s The 5+ Club awardees:
These awardees will be recognized at the 2021 PhysTEC Conference, just prior to the APS March Meeting. Winners will also receive a letter to their university presidents and certificates to mark their achievement.
For every accepted institution, PhysTEC:
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Sends a letter of commendation cosigned by the presidents of the American Physical Society (APS) and American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) to the institution’s president and relevant administrators
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Presents a certificate of recognition to the applying faculty and their department
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Congratulates new members of The 5+ Club in APS News and the AAPT eNNOUNCER
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Includes the institution in The 5+ Club online directory
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Provides both a social media image and web badge for the program to publish as desired
How to apply
Complete the 5+ Club application above and submit it to PhysTEC by email or filling out the webform.
Part One: List of graduates, including descriptions of content knowledge and certification pathways, used to prove that these individuals meet the definition of a PhysTEC graduate.
What’s a PhysTEC Graduate?
Any student who has graduated from a PhysTEC member institution and has a major or minor in physics (or has completed equivalent coursework) AND has completed a teacher education program leading to certification.
Any student who has graduated from a PhysTEC member institution and has a major or minor in physics (or has completed equivalent coursework) AND has completed a teacher education program leading to certification.
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Physics Content Knowledge can be through:
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Physics major
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Physics education major
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Physics major equivalent
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Physics minor
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Physics education minor
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Physics minor equivalent
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Other (requires explanation).
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Certification Pathways can be through:
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Undergrad certification at your institution
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Undergrad at your institution and certification elsewhere
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Undergrad and post-bac certification at your institution
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Undergrad elsewhere and post-bac certification at your institution
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Other (requires explanation).
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Part Two: Provide a summary of the physics teacher education program, including a description of efforts contributing to the large number of graduates; the summary should be suitable for the web and will be placed (subject to editing by PhysTEC staff) on the PhysTEC institutions webpage on PhysTEC.org.
The Fine Print:
Applying institutions must be PhysTEC members. Membership is open to all US-based postsecondary schools with a passion for graduating exceptional physics educators. Not yet a member? Join today.
Thank you for doing your part to address the shortage of physics teachers in the United States. With questions, please contact the PhysTEC team at PhysTEC@aps.org.
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