Fordham University NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

Fordham University, Bronx NY

Investigators

Abstract

Fordham University's Noyce Mathematics Scholarship Program is preparing 18 STEM majors and STEM professionals to teach middle and high school mathematics in high-need New York City public schools. Students in this program earn a Master of Science in Teaching while carrying out training in a core activity, the Japanese Lesson Study. This intensive and structured approach to planning lessons involves collaborative planning, presentation of the lesson to actual classes of students while being observed, and revision of the lesson as a result of the critique of the observers? and the teachers' own perceptions of the lesson's strengths and weaknesses. By learning to reflect on their own practice, to be open to observation and feedback from their peers and to encourage their colleagues, new teachers are better prepared to engage continuously in efforts to improve their practice, not only on the "planned" lessons, but on all their interactions with their students. Noyce Scholars continue to interact with the program during their challenging first two years of teaching, helping them to remain in the classroom despite structural and systemic conditions that drive many teachers away from the profession. Overall, this program can become a model for teacher preparation while serving the broader need of providing qualified teachers with high mastery of their content to the high-need classrooms of the city of New York.