UMSL Noyce Scholars: Building Excellence in STEM Talent (BEST)

University Of Missouri-Saint Louis, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL) Noyce Scholars: Building Excellence in STEM Talent (BEST) Program is recruiting Noyce STEM Teaching Scholars in the sciences and mathematics. The project is funding 21 scholarships (graduate tuition and stipend) over 5 years. The 21 newly certified STEM teachers will have a masters' degree upon graduation. In this project, UMSL is collaborating with St. Louis Public School district, Ferguson-Florissant school district, and the Hazelwood school district, as well as a local biotechnology business partner, Sigma-Aldrich. The goal of the project is to increase the recruitment and retention of high-quality, culturally-conscious science and mathematics teachers. The project is founded on an existing collaboration between STEM professors and the College of Education (COE), to prepare highly effective secondary teachers with deep content preparation through the UTEACH program and pedagogical preparation in the COE's clinical program, into the first two induction years. The UMSL BEST program is informed by theories of cultural competence, responsive design, problem-based education and professional learning theory. UMSL BEST is improving the preparation and effectiveness of secondary STEM educators through two additions to its existing certification and master's degree program. The first is a STEM InnoLab in which teacher candidates, along with experienced educators, teacher educators and community leaders, meet, design, and develop new instructional designs tailored to the needs and interests of students. The second addition is a partnership with the local biotech business partner Sigma-Aldrich, which is tightening connections between the STEM high school curriculum and career pathways, as well as with the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core Math Standards. Research is being conducted on the effectiveness of the Noyce specific components and the results are informing a sustainable model for the preparation of future STEM teachers. The PI team is using mixed methods data collecting techniques: in addition to the COE assessment system, interviews, surveys, and meta-analysis of classroom observation data will be used. The results will inform teacher preparation programs nationwide in best practices to recruit, prepare, and retain culturally-conscious teachers for high-needs schools.