The National Center for STEM Education at The University of Texas at Austin is proud to announce that it is the new home of Get the Facts Out (GFO), an initiative devoted to repairing the reputation of the teaching profession. This transition marks an exciting new chapter in the shared mission to build capacity across U.S. institutions of higher education, K–12 school districts, and state departments of education to strengthen the recruitment and preparation of STEM teachers across the U.S.
Get the Facts Out empowers universities, school districts, and professional organizations with research-based messaging and resources that counter common misconceptions about STEM teaching careers. The initiative is supported by the National Science Foundation and was developed by Colorado School of Mines in partnership with national STEM organizations, including the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, and the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. With the National Center, GFO will continue to grow its reach and impact through a larger national network of partners.
“From the beginning, Get the Facts Out has been built on partnerships—across disciplines, institutions, and national organizations,” said Wendy Adams, Principal Investigator for Get the Facts Out. “The Center provides an ideal home for this work, offering the infrastructure and national reach needed to sustain the GFO community and expand the reach of these fact-based resources.”
Advancing a Shared Mission
The National Center for STEM Education (formerly the UTeach Institute) has spent more than two decades supporting the expansion and continuous improvement of UTeach STEM teacher preparation programs, now operating at 54 universities nationwide. GFO’s mission aligns seamlessly with this work: Both initiatives seek to ensure that college students pursuing STEM disciplines have access to information about and opportunities to explore teaching as a career choice.
“Get the Facts Out addresses one of the most persistent challenges in STEM teacher recruitment—ensuring that students, faculty, and institutions are working from accurate, research-based information,” said Kimberly Hughes, Director of the National Center. “Bringing GFO Central to the Center allows us to support and amplify this important work at a national scale, in direct alignment with our mission to expand and strengthen STEM teacher preparation.”
Bringing GFO under the Center provides the national infrastructure needed to sustain and expand the initiative’s impact. In its role as “GFO Central,” the Center will support development and dissemination of data collection tools and recruitment resources; provide national coordination across disciplinary societies, institutions, and partners; disseminate research and findings related to recruitment messaging and practices; and scale impact by sharing best practices and promoting collaboration across institutions.
Get Involved
Together, the National Center for STEM Education and GFO are working to expand national capacity to recruit and prepare excellent STEM teachers, helping ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn from educators who love what they do. Join us in this work!
Visit getthefactsout.org. Sign up for program announcements, events, and updates. Reach out to us at gfo@uteach.utexas.edu.