Department of Education and Interdisciplinary Studies

Kastro M. Hamed, Ph.D., Head

Director, Computing Education
Scott R. Tilley, Ph.D.

Degree Programs

Undergraduate Minor Programs

Athletics Coaching Minor 
Sustainability Minor  

Graduate Certificate Program

Teaching Certificate  

*STEM Education program may only be used as the secondary program concurrent with an approved primary science, technology, engineering or mathematics degree program at Florida Tech. See the department office for a current list of available primary STEM majors.

Professors
Kastro M. Hamed, Ph.D., STEM teaching and learning, physics education, teacher education.

Kenyon C. Lindeman, Ph.D., sustainable coastal policy and climate adaptation, reef fishery conservation, applied system sustainability.

Thomas J. Marcinkowski, Ph.D., environmental education, curriculum and instruction, research and evaluation design.

Scott R. Tilley, Ph.D., software engineering, computer education.

Assistant Professor
Samantha Fowler, Ph.D., functional scientific literacy, socio-cultural attitudes toward science.

Joo-young Park, Ph.D., mathematics education, mathematical modeling.

Instructors
Ivan Farrell, M.S.
Joseph Laub, M.S.

Professors Emeriti
Richard E. Enstice, Ph.D.; Robert H. Fronk, Ph.D.; Robert F. Richmond, Ed.S.

Instructor Emerita
Debra Blenis, M.S.

Teacher Preparation Programs

Florida Tech has partnered with Brevard County Public Schools to implement a new teacher preparation program based on the national UTeach model. One of only four universities in Florida offering UTeach teacher preparation courses, students enrolled in UTeach at Florida Tech can earn a science, mathematics, engineering, technology, computer science or interdisciplinary science degree and become eligible for secondary teacher certification upon graduation.

The goal of the UTeach teacher preparation program is to increase the quantity and quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in U.S. schools. UTeach responds to the shortage of such teachers on local, state and national levels.

The UTeach program is nationally recognized for its success at training highly qualified teachers and successfully placing them in schools around the country.

The department offers the ability for interested students to apply for teacher certification upon graduation so they may go into schools qualified and well prepared.

Minor Programs

Minors in athletics coaching and sustainability are offered through the department and are available to all majors. A complete policy statement regarding minors can be found in the Academic Overview  section. Information about current minor offerings is available through the individual colleges/departments. See the director of teacher education for specific information about teacher certification.

Athletics Coaching Certification  

Research

Departmental faculty and students are involved in many research projects as outlined below.

National Environmental Literacy Assessment (NELA) Project: Funded by NOAA and EPA, and administered by the North American Association for Environmental Education, the NELA project is a multi-phase research project to help determine how environmental education practices support the development of environmental literacy among middle-school students around the U.S.

Quarknet: The national Quarknet educational outreach research program exposes high school physics teachers and students to particle physics through hands-on experimental workshops. The program has built and is operating an educational cosmic ray air shower array distributed over participating high schools in Brevard County.

Sustainable Coastal Management: Graduate research in sustainability often involves coastal management issues such as climate change, marine parks or reef fisheries. Undergraduate research includes campus sustainability projects such as green building design or water efficiency. Additional opportunities are based on varied student interests (sustainable business practice, green aviation).

Mathematics Education: Diverse research activities arise from student interest, are conducted in collaboration with student advisers and span the entire K-16 community. Research is guided by current research and related issues that emerge from within the mathematics education research community.

Science Education: Research activities in science education vary across all major science disciplines including aeronautics, biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental and earth science, physics and psychology. Students are encourage to pursue research topics commensurate with their science background and teaching experience and represent the application of science to the K-16 education community.