UAteach Guest Speaker Shares Special Education Experiences

University Relations

Sandy Steinmetz

Sandy Steinmetz was the latest in a series of invited guests to speak to the UAteach mathematics and science teacher interns. She talked about her special education teaching experiences and offered advice to the teacher candidates about how to  deal with the challenges of inclusive classroom settings. She described the process of creating Individualized Education Plans (IEP) for special education students. She told the interns, "Once that IEP is developed, it is a legal document that you are required by law to follow." Also, said Steinmetz, "when you get your first teaching job, make a point to meet the special education teacher in your school, and get acquainted. Ask for help when you have questions."

 "Mrs. Steinmetz is a 25-year K-12 secondary teaching veteran. It was a great opportunity and an honor to have her come talk to our students about her experiences and to share helpful advice and suggestions with these prospective teachers" said Peggy Ward, clinical instructor and master teacher.  

Other invited guests this semester include Jaqui Lovejoy, a science instructional specialist with Bentonville Public Schools, Melissa Waits an AP math teacher at Har-ber High School and Brittany Stone, who teaches science  at West Fork High School. "The interns really value hearing from in-service teachers. They are so attentive and ask a lot of questions because they really want to learn about teaching. The key is to get excellent teachers and administrators to come and share their expertise with the teacher candidates," said Ward,

UAteach is an undergraduate mathematics and science secondary teacher education program which began in 2012. From the very first UAteach course students get teaching experiences in the local public schools. Over the course of the program, UAteach students have multiple teaching experiences and in their final semester, they participate in a full immersion internship experience. According to Bryan Hill, director of UAteach, "This spring we are graduating our first full cohort of 7 math and 6 science teachers. We are excited to continue to support these graduates to ensure their first few years as a new teacher are successful." For more information about UAteach, go to teach.uark.edu.