Getting the Facts Out About the STEM Teaching Profession*

The Get the Facts Out (GFO) project is a joint effort between four national societies and the Colorado School of Mines to change the conversation around grade 7-12 physics, chemistry, and math teaching careers. We have developed a toolkit of recruitment materials which are designed to be customizable and adaptable to the local situation. To develop these materials and better understand best practices around recruiting math and science teachers, GFO has a rigorous research arm. Our research includes the study of both student, faculty, and the general public’s perceptions of the teaching profession including development of instruments to measure these. We also have embarked on a study to identify emotionally engaging ways to share facts about the profession. Finally, to measure the effectiveness of the project, we have an aggressive research design that includes annual collection of qualitative data from eighteen departments and quantitative data from another ~50 departments.