The University of Toledo UT3 Noyce Scholarship Program

University Of Toledo, Toledo OH

Investigators

Abstract

Through a collaboration between the Colleges of Education and Arts & Sciences at the University of Toledo and the Toledo Public School district, ten $17,220 stipends per year are provided to 40 professionals who hold at least a B.S. degree in engineering, mathematics, or the sciences. Stipend recipients enroll in graduate level coursework that makes them eligible after two semesters for the Ohio Alternative Educator License, thereby expediting the number of highly qualified teachers entering the profession. Coursework applies towards a post-baccalaureate degree in Education. The University of Toledo Noyce stipends are annually doubling the number of math and science teacher candidates entering the teaching profession at the high school level. All stipend recipients join "UToledo. UTeach. UTouch the Future" (UT3), a program that provides an extensive pre-service clinical experience for math and science education students including mentoring, field experiences, comprehensive student support services, and induction support covering the first three years of teaching implemented through a collaboration between K-12 and university partners. The project is examining what motivates STEM professionals to pursue a teaching career. Formative evaluation linked with research is exploring the barriers that prevent potential recruits from pursuing a teaching career. Barriers investigated include the common misconceptions about the teaching profession, the amount of time needed to obtain licensure, demographic data, and the presence or absence of factors that commonly motivate a person to become a teacher. As part of UT3, stipend recipients are guaranteed an urban teaching experience, the opportunity to practice under the watch of master teachers in the field, the opportunity to experience urban math and science education in informal settings through community service, and enrollment in courses on pedagogy that incorporate both the use of technology as a teaching tool and inquiry as an effective teaching strategy.