Assistant Professor Scott Bartholomew has actively engaged in the role of teacher educator for many years. His positive impact continues to grow globally as he establishes and encourages better methods for education.
In the education world, there are students, teachers, and teachers of the teachers. Scott Bartholomew, Assistant Professor in the School of Technology and Engineering Studies, has a passion for teacher education. Recently, he received international support for his teaching endeavors through a National Science Foundation Discovery Research PreK-12 (NSF DRK-12) grant, a US-Embassy education grant in partnership with Turkey, and a Fulbright award to serve as a visiting professor in the Philippines.
Bartholomew first decided to pursue teaching after serving a mission in the Philippines for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he had the opportunity to teach religious lessons. He earned his teaching degrees at BYU and after teaching middle school for three years, Bartholomew developed an ambition to guide and help other teachers. After getting his Ph.D. at Utah State University, Bartholomew taught at Purdue for four years and then returned to BYU as a professor. During this time he continued to develop his role as a teacher educator.
Although he has instructed at the university level frequently, Batholomew dedicates a large portion of his time to instructing K-12 teachers. For a few years, Bartholomew has worked with science, technology engineering, and math (STEM) education, various professors, and other programs to develop and implement new methods of teaching.
The BYU motto, “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve,” is fulfilled by Bartholomew and many other professors in the College of Engineering. The director of the School of Technology, Steven Shumway, thinks it’s important to help local schools, teachers, and others outside of the community as they continue to develop and grow. Shumway has known Bartholomew since being his professor at BYU and is proud of his successes thus far.
“We have some [alumni] that not only do a nice job of teaching, but they become leaders in the profession,” Shumway said, speaking of Bartholomew. “He quickly established himself as a leader in our profession.”
Starting his work in Georgia, Bartholomew will use his awarded NSF DRK-12 grant of 1.5 million this August to test adaptive comparative judgement and evaluate its improvement on students’ design thinking. If the results show a positive impact, a partnership with the The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association has been formed to begin disseminating the teaching method out to other states, in hopes to spread the method nationally.
Continuing on in January 2022, Bartholomew will travel with his family back to the Philippines, where he served his mission, and work as a visiting professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He will take a leave of absence for three days from the Philippines in January to fulfill his assigned duties as a teacher educator in Turkey. There he will help foster U.S. and Turkey ties in the education world, while training the students and teachers. When he returns to the Philippines, he will continue his work and travel as far as Thailand to help assist others in their profession.
When attributing the source of his already accrued successes, Bartholomew said, “I have been blessed with great mentors...I think most people can do really great things if they have the right mentor.”
Many great opportunities lie ahead for this BYU professor. His impact will affect more teachers and students globally as he expands his research and continues his work as a teacher educator, supported by the grants and Fulbright award.