Who We Are

A graduate school of education...

preparing the teachers of today

Get ready to explore the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (NJCTL)

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Since its founding in 2007 by New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), NJCTL has been taking on major obstacles facing K-12 STEM education.

The non-profit, charitable organization created and operates the world’s largest library of free, editable STEM resources.

And it produces the in-demand teachers needed so that all students have access to a quality education.

In the process, NJCTL became the first graduate school of education founded by a union of public-school employees: a graduate school for teachers, by teachers.

NJCTL’s scalable solution to the ongoing teacher shortage is based on low-cost, high-quality, asynchronous courses and programs for educators. NJCTL is already disrupting and improving the teacher pipeline.

While proudly local to New Jersey, NJCTL is an intense global operation that has helped thousands of teachers succeed with hundreds of thousands of students in the United States and in some of the neediest countries in Africa.

"[NJCTL] Empowered me with new skills to engage learners in the instructional process and make learning meaningful. Strategies used in this course will also improve students’ academic performance."

Gcamile Ndlangamandla
Middle School Science Teacher from Eswatini

Free editable teaching materials

NJCTL is the world’s largest producer of free, editable open education resources for the teaching of STEM subjects.

The nonprofit not only produces new STEM teachers, it gives them, and existing STEM teachers, curricula to teach these critical subjects to students. These resources offer everything teachers need to be successful in the classroom, so they can spend their time connecting with students.

Developed by top educators in their respective fields, these materials are intentionally designed to make it easy for teachers to create student-centered classrooms.

The materials – now used across the globe – interweave direct instruction, formative assessment, and social constructivism to create the ideal learning environment for students.

While these practices are well-accepted, creating the resources to implement them is beyond the capacity of any individual teacher.

The result? Better teachers. And, better learning outcomes for students.

NJCTL offers everything teachers need to be successful in the classroom so they can spend their time connecting with students, not developing new material to catch up to ever-evolving STEM programs.

NJCTL's free, editable course materials:

Support more than 100 Full-Year Classroom K-12 and AP Courses used by teachers worldwide.
In the last 12 months, 438,000 active users made 2.9 million pageviews to the NJCTL website and downloaded 811,018 files.
NJCTL has 74,640 registered website users from all 50 states and 212 countries.

A unique graduate school of education

NJCTL was formed in 2007 to empower educators to ensure all students have access to a high-quality education. It began by providing free, editable curriculum materials for STEM teachers.

Recognizing that equal access to quality education required more than just materials, NJCTL received NJ DOE approval in 2009 to begin producing teachers of critical STEM subjects. This initiative, now written into law, has supported over 600 school districts.

NJCTL became a licensed NJ graduate school in 2020, offering master’s degrees in the teaching of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. In 2023, it expanded to include degrees in the teaching of elementary mathematics, computer science, and biology.

NJCTL was approved, in 2024, to offer Alternate Route programs that prepare anyone with a bachelor’s degree in any subject to become certified to teach physics, chemistry, biology, or math. These programs are nationally recognized as Apprenticeship Programs by the U.S. Department of Labor.

NJCTL also now offers a special education endorsement program to address critical shortages in that area. More than 100 teachers enrolled in the first months.

All NJCTL programs are accredited by AAQEP and are 100% online and asynchronous, making them accessible to all current and prospective teachers.

NJCTL helps ensure a high-quality education for all students by producing free, editable curriculum materials and the teachers to use them.

"It is so difficult to find qualified teachers these days, especially in STEM areas, and I am not sure what we would have done without NJCTL’s top-notch support"

Melissa Campbell
High School Principal, Foundation Academies Charter School, Trenton, NJ

NJCTL in Africa

In 2012, the success of NJCTL’s work in the United States came to the attention of a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, who visited a Newark school and shared what he saw with a former student of his who had become vice chancellor of the University of The Gambia.

They saw the potential to improve education in The Gambia (West Africa) and asked the World Bank (WB) to support a three-year pilot in partnership with NJCTL.

That proved very successful, with a WB study reporting that students in the pilot program qualified for university at three times the rate of those in the control group. Because of this successful pilot, NJCTL’s education materials have become a significant part of the national curricula of The Gambia and has drawn educators from other African countries eager to have the same, New Jersey-based resources to enhance classroom learning.

That led to ongoing work in The Gambia and to projects to train teachers and/or create aligned course materials in many countries with need, including Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Niger, Lesotho, Malawi, and Eswatini.

NJCTL regularly travels to Africa to provide teacher resources and training. NJCTL team members have coordinated major teacher training projects in The Gambia, Lesotho, Malawi, and, currently Eswatini, where NJCTL is now training 150 middle school teachers in mathematics or science.

Based in New Jersey. With a worldwide mission

NJCTL’s influence stretches to the farthest reaches of the globe. In 2012, the nonprofit began working with the World Bank to greatly extend its mission to Africa. That has created many, many new stories, of individuals, of schools and of entire communities uplifted by the work of NJCTL. The positive effect will last for generations.

In 2024, 438,000 NJCTL website users from 212 countries made 2.9 million pageviews and downloaded 811,018 files from its library of free, editable K12 classroom teaching materials.

The world needs results-oriented nonprofits like NJCTL – which invests every precious dollar it receives to nurture lasting success for both teachers and students. And, as Dr. Goodman and his team plan for the future, they’ve only scratched the surface. Yes, the demand for teacher training is that great.

Metrics of Success

NJCTL is one tough grader, especially when it comes to grading itself.

All NJCTL courses and programs are geared towards busy professionals and are 100% online, asynchronous, and self-paced.

Student satisfaction is key. Ninety-seven percent of the NJCTL graduates recommend their courses or programs, while 89% have passed the required state Praxis exam(s). This shows the system works.
In 2020, NJCTL was duly authorized as a graduate school of education by New Jersey’s Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
In 2024, NJCTL earned initial programmatic accreditation from AAQEP and was determined by WSCUC to be eligible to apply for institutional accreditation.
Tuition is much lower than traditional universities, as NJCTL does not have the legacy costs or leafy campuses to care for. And there are none of those fees that typical college students must pay.

Underscoring Success

Since 2009, NJCTL has the proud distinction of being the largest producer of physics teachers in the United States and a major producer of teachers in hard-to-fill subjects. NJCTL has created nearly 500 new STEM teachers in New Jersey since 2009, reflecting the ethnic makeup of the state:

Racially diverse: 13% Black and 10% Hispanic
Gender diverse: 55% Female
Geographically diverse: All 21 counties in New Jersey, as well as 126 school districts

Directly addressing the special education need

NJCTL’s well-earned reputation for creating new teachers in shortage area subjects led to a pilot program funded by the New Jersey Children Foundation.

With this seed money, NJCTL developed an Add-On Endorsement program for current teachers that was approved by the state Department of Education in October 2024.

The reaction has been remarkable. More than 100 teachers enrolled and began their courses within three months of the program’s launch, and the pace is accelerating. There is little question that hundreds of special education teachers will be produced and that they will help thousands of students.

NJCTL relies on private donations to build new programs to their fullest potential. The need is so great, as teachers want to teach special education, and have been waiting for a cost-effective, realistic solution.

NJCTL has now provided the solution.

A charitable cause to support

For those with a passion for education and the financial resources to support groundbreaking work, you will be attracted to this lean, results-driven non-profit. You can support this worthwhile cause at every turn, with both your generosity and your input.

Experience the passion of NJCTL Executive Director Robert Goodman, Ed.D., and his assembled team of visionaries. Together, they are pooling tremendous resources to strategically address the shortage of teachers in K-12 science, mathematics, and computer science as well as, recently, in special education.

NJCTL’s success is remarkable. Training teachers, the non-profit has created the largest number of physics teachers in the United States since 2009. It is a stunning accomplishment in an era when STEM teachers are in such high demand and school districts are desperately searching to fill the gaps.

Moreover, NJCTL continues to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of teachers by creating the world’s largest library of free, editable curriculum materials for the teaching of STEM subjects.

Did you know? NJCTL offers courses at one-fourth the cost of what traditional colleges and universities charge. (Yes, we told you NJCTL is a disruptor!)

"NJCTL was much more affordable than the other options and I could become a classroom teacher in a shorter amount of time. It was exactly what I needed to achieve my goal!"

Christina Canonaco
Paraprofessional turned physics teacher at Indian Hills High School

Help NJCTL expand its mission

There is no question that this non-profit organization is making miracles. Success is evident, scalable and sustainable. Because of NJCTL:

There are now high-quality, well-trained STEM teachers in classrooms across the globe.
There are now special education teachers filling critical gaps in school districts, which will no longer have to rely on expensive private schools to get students the services they need and deserve.
There are now experienced physics, chemistry, biology and other hard-to-find teachers available in many school districts that had historically struggled to provide STEM courses.