One solution to the math and science teacher shortages that some districts have found to be successful is recruiting STEM professionals who have a passion for teaching young people, and who might also want to prepare future talent for their industries.
What’s great about the teachers who came from science, technology, engineering, or mathematics professions is that they can bring in the real-world knowledge many students crave, according to principals, teachers, and experts. They can help answer a perennial student question: When will I use this knowledge in real life?
But when these STEM professionals get into the classroom, they run into challenges that are often unique to those who switched careers, principals and teachers say.
Education Week interviewed teachers who came from STEM fields, principals who have hired teachers from those industries, and other experts in teacher preparation. Here are the most common challenges teachers from STEM fields face when they enter the classroom for the first time:
1. Understanding education jargon
David Thesenga, a science teacher at the Alexander Dawson School, a private school in Lafayette, Colo., said he felt ready on his first day, but there were still so many things he didn’t know. He remembered thinking: “What the heck is an IEP? What’s a 504?”
There’s “so much terminology” that it “becomes overwhelming,” Thesenga said.
In addition to IEP, or individualized education program, and Section 504 plans, other common education jargon include social-emotional learning (SEL), science of reading, universal design for learning (UDL), Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), scaffolding, and project-based learning.
2. Learning how to grade, fill out permission slips, and pay for field trips
Christine Cammuso, a pre-engineering instructor for the Tulsa Technology Center in Tulsa, Okla., said her biggest challenge was “learning the ropes,” as in how to grade assignments, how to record grades in the student information system, what permission forms need to be completed, etc.
Along with those challenges, Chris Page, the principal of Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., said some of the new teachers he’s had from STEM fields have needed to learn more about the various rules for organizing field trips and other classroom-related events.
3. Changing the mindset from working with adults to working with children
Another challenge these teachers face is having to shift their expectations because they’re working with children rather than just adults.
For instance, in the business world, when you have a deadline, “you’ve got to get it done,” said Sarah Malanson, a programming and web development teacher at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer, Mass. But in the classroom, many students turn in assignments after the deadline.
Ultimately, experts say students do assignments to learn. And while kids also need to learn the value of meeting deadlines, it is the development of those academic skills that is the top priority. In the working world, on the other hand, meeting deadlines is critical to the success of a business and there is very little flexibility. Making that transition to a more flexible approach with kids can take some time.
4. Adapting to students’ different learning styles
Teachers coming from private industry jobs also have to learn how to deliver the content in an engaging and effective way for all types of learners.
Malanson expected students to “hang on my every word” and to be “heads down, ready to learn,” but in reality, students aren’t always paying attention.
Chad Soupir, the principal of Elkhorn Valley View Middle School in Elkhorn, Neb., said that Malanson’s experience is common for teachers who had previously worked primarily with adults.
“They have a lot of knowledge. They know they want to help children learn, but the one thing they struggle with is, how do they articulate what they know so the children can understand it and master it?” Soupir said.
5. Getting used to a teacher’s schedule
For some people who switched careers, a teacher’s schedule is part of the appeal, especially because they get summers and holidays off.
But for others, a teacher’s schedule was something to get used to, especially if they’re used to not doing any more work after clocking out of a 9-to-5 job.
“My day starts at 7:30 in the morning, and I go home and finish grading or doing prep work around 6:30 at night,” Thesenga said. “I can see [how for] someone who has a family and has children, there’s a lot of things they need to adapt to. Because the reality is you’re going to be working off the clock.”
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