Boston University's Noyce Scholars Program in Mathematics

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

Building on two existing programs, the Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS) for Teachers and the Focus on Mathematics (FoM) Partnership, involving school leaders in mathematics and incorporating strong support from the Massachusetts Department of Education, this phase 1 project prepares outstanding mathematics graduates for teaching careers in challenging urban school districts. Boston University's Noyce Scholars Program In Mathematics is a collaboration of the School of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, five high-need school districts and one high school (Arlington; Chelsea; Lawrence; Waltham; Watertown; and English High School in Boston). A total of 39 college graduates with a major in mathematics (13 per year for 3 years) receive full scholarships to enroll in a one-year graduate program that leads to the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree and initial teacher licensure as either a middle or high school mathematics teacher. The program provides scholars with immersion mathematical experiences that are later linked to classroom practice through thoughtful reflection. Clinical experiences with master teachers trained by the FoM partnership are included along with coursework and workshops designed to support teaching focused on student reasoning. Follow-up opportunities offered to graduates of the program include workshops and seminars that connect participants to a robust mathematical community of teachers, mathematics educators, and mathematicians. Evaluation to determine the effectiveness of this recruitment, retention, and follow-up teacher preparation model program includes a time series design with multiple data collection points, pre and post intervention. Teacher effectiveness is being examined through performance evaluation measures including students' performance scores on state tests. All aspects of this evaluation involve the collaboration of the partner schools. The intellectual merit of this project includes: a research-based design that builds on prior work; the program's integration of knowledge about university mathematics experiences that support teaching with an understanding of the needs of mathematics teacher in challenging urban school districts; a coherent program of professional training for teachers centered on mathematics and how students learn mathematics; core involvement of mathematicians; and the collection of information concerning the effects of lasting school-based mathematical communities on recruitment and retention of strong mathematics teachers in urban school districts. The broader impacts of this project include the following elements: a model that recruits strong mathematics students into teaching and retains them through ongoing development of mathematically active careers in teaching; an exemplar for experience-rich and inquiry-based teacher preparation programs; collection of information about the effect of a mathematics-focused community involving educators, mathematicians, and teachers on student achievement in mathematics; and the commitment of the program to supply students from linguistically and racially diverse low-income communities (Boston, Chelsea and Lawrence) and communities where there has been significant teacher attrition to continued access to qualified mathematics teachers.