The effectiveness and vitality of a college are dependent upon a qualified, talented faculty, diverse in education and experience. An institution's faculty creates the curriculum, ensures the quality of instruction, and impacts the learning experience in every classroom Faculty of diverse back- grounds offer students a rich learning environment which reflects the community of work and daily living.

A teaching internship at a two-year college would provide an alternative to a semester working in business or industry. The proposal to establish teaching internships would further the goal of creating a qualified and diverse mathematics faculty because it would; 1) provide a mechanism for recruiting superior candidates into two-year college teaching and 2) assist economically disadvantaged students to continue their education

Objectives:

• Provide opportunities for students studying graduate level mathematics to intern for either a term or a year as a member of a two-year college faculty.
• Attract mathematics majors or candidates with degrees in mathematics or related fields to teaching in two-year colleges.
• Create for potential two-year college faculty a new program of pre-service professional development and pedagogical training to enhance their backgrounds in the teaching of mathematics.
• Provide colleges with another mechanism for recruiting diverse faculty.

Criteria for Eligibility:

• Current enrollment in or completion of a Master's or Doctoral program, having successfully completed the equivalent of at least fifteen semester hours of graduate level mathematics.
• Potential to enhance the learning environment through innovative teaching, area of expertise, and/or by contributing to the diversity of the learning experience and cultural awareness of the two-year college student.

Characteristics of the Proposed Internship:

• An intern in a position similar to staff members with comparable teaching responsibilities, should receive a comparable salary.
• An intern who is not the instructor of record for a course, but who observes, assists, and team teaches with a full time faculty member, should also be compensated.
• Each intern should be provided with a faculty mentor who will assist with class preparation and development of instructional materials and exams, provide close supervision, and evaluate the intern’s instructional technique.
• A mentor should be a full time member of the institution’s mathematics faculty who embodies the principles of good teaching practice and professionalism as recognized through evaluations or other procedures.
• Faculty members who provide supervision or mentoring should receive either a stipend or released time.
• An intern should observe classes taught by mentors and other faculty to experience a variety of teaching styles and assessment techniques.
• An intern should attend department meetings, committee meetings, staff development workshops, and local conferences, and should observe the textbook selection process.
• If the intern is associated with a graduate institution intern program, guidelines for the internship, including evaluation criteria, should be agreed upon by both a representative from the graduate institution and one from the two-year college, preferably the intern’s mentor. These guidelines must be consistent with the eligibility requirements and the characteristics of the internship outlined here.
• When interns are placed in communities away from their homes or graduate institutions, every attempt should be made to place two interns in the same or neighboring communities so that they may provide support for and learn from each other.

Models for internships may be obtained by contacting the AMATYC office.
AMATYC National Office
Southwest Tennessee Community College
5983 Macon Cove
Memphis, TN 38134
AMATYC@amatyc.org
(901) 333-4643

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