School of Teaching & Learning

Our Mission: The faculty and students in the School of Teaching and Learning create and promote new knowledge and understandings about teaching and learning for the purpose of a just, compassionate, and informed citizenry. Using innovative, evidence-based practice and theory, we prepare and develop humane teachers, scholars, and other educational professionals to work in diverse contexts with diverse learners.

Welcome to the School of Teaching and Learning! With approximately 1,400 students and more than three dozen faculty, the School of Teaching and Learning (STL) at the University of Florida offers baccalaureate, master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees.  Our faculty generate, apply, and disseminate knowledge about teaching and learning through extramural funding currently exceeding $10 million dollars. They also collaborate with colleagues in the profession to solve seemingly intractable problems in education—such as improving student achievement in high poverty schools and meeting critical teacher shortages. The School offers rigorous teacher education programs in Unified Elementary Education and Secondary Education. These consist of five years of intensive work in the arts and sciences, and professional education culminating in the Master of Education degree and state certification as a classroom teacher.

The School also advances its scholarship and education missions through innovative partnerships. A job-embedded master’s degree program in conjunction with the College of Education’s Lastinger Center for Learning focuses on developing Master Teachers. It is delivered online and free of charge to teachers in Lastinger partner schools throughout Florida. In addition, recent collaborations with UF colleagues in the sciences have resulted in unprecedented initiatives such as Science for Life, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and UFTeach, sponsored by ExxonMobil.

The School of Teaching and Learning grants a doctoral degree (Ed.D. or Ph.D.) in Curriculum and Instruction aligned with Ernest Boyer’s four domains of scholarship (discovery, application, integration and teaching).  There are 9 specialization areas within the Curriculum and Instruction doctoral degree.  We encourage you to explore our graduate programs and note the accomplishments of our students and faculty.

We hope you will join the School of Teaching & Learning community and encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have.

Highlights:

• New!  Explore our summer and fall semester courses intended primarily for doctoral students.
• National Rankings:  U.S. News and World Report has ranked the following graduate programs in 2012:  Elementary Teacher Education (no. 18) and Curriculum & Instruction (no. 19).
• Faculty & Program Awards:  Faculty have garnered national awards for their scholarship and professional service.
• Student Awards:  Our doctoral students have received honors for excellence in teaching and research.
• Innovative Online Programs:  We offer online graduate programs in Curriculum, Teaching & Teacher Education (CTTE); Educational Technology; Teacher Leadership for School Improvement (TLSI).
  New programs in Reading & Literacy Education, Professional & Medical Education, and Online Academic Subject Area Induction Support (OASIS) are also underway.
• Doctoral Fellows:  We support the intellectual and professional development of these Ph.D. students by providing opportunities to teach and produce scholarship.
• Doctoral Dissertations:  Since May 2009, 55 doctoral students have completed their dissertations under the careful direction of faculty.
• Student Testimonials:  Some of our students reflect on their experiences in the School of Teaching & Learning.

“In the School of Teaching and Learning, coursework comprises such a small part of the entire educational experience. As a doctoral student I was provided countless opportunities to teach, to mentor, to supervise, to lead, to field test, to experiment, to write, to present, to publish, and to participate in research projects, both individually and collaboratively, both large and small, and always with the support of caring and accessible faculty.”
Emma Humphries, Doctoral Candidate, Social Studies Education