A multi-society partnership: Changing the conversation around STEM teacher recruitment.

Recent research in STEM teacher preparation has identified strongly held beliefs about the teaching profession, many of which are misperceptions. These misperceptions discourage STEM undergraduates from exploring teaching as a viable career option. Study results also suggest that college and university faculty in STEM departments either do not mention middle or high school teaching as a career option or misrepresent the profession. Major misperceptions include: (1) the inaccurate belief that the salary gap between teaching and private sector employment is very wide; and (2) inaccurate beliefs about tangible and intangible benefits of the profession. Encouraging discussion of teaching as a profession and changing these misperceptions is the goal of \textit{Get the Facts Out}, an information campaign guided by behavioral theory that aims to increase the number of well prepared math and science teachers who will, in turn, increase the number and diversity of high school graduates well prepared to major in STEM disciplines. We have formed a team that includes the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Chemical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and faculty at the Colorado School of Mines and West Virginia University. The team is developing a \textit{Get the Facts Out} campaign toolkit to support local faculty champions in changing the conversation about STEM teaching careers in their department. The toolkit is based on pilot interventions that show positive results in shifting perceptions among students and faculty, and outperform traditional recruitment efforts.