North Carolina A&Teach STEM Scholars

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro NC

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, the North Carolina A&Teach STEM Scholars project is recruiting undergraduate majors in mathematics and science (physics, chemistry, biology) and preparing them to become mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology teachers in grades 9-12. The project is funding 25 scholarships over 5 years. In this project North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is collaborating with Guilford County Schools and is committed to work in areas with students who traditionally have underperformed in mathematics and science. The goals of the project are to emphasize inquiry-based teaching methods and culturally relevant pedagogical practices in the sciences and mathematics, and to retain novice teachers via collaborative induction support. The North Carolina A&Teach STEM project has three components: 1) a teacher preparation program that emphasizes inquiry-based and culturally relevant pedagogy with a summer application component with African refugee K-12 public school students, 2) a four-week summer internship with Guilford Education Alliance's STEM Externship project where students will work closely with middle and high school science and math teachers in a STEM-related business or organization, and 3) an induction program with individualized mentoring, instructional observations with explicit feedback, and release time to participate in the STEM Equity Education Institute, which will emphasize the links between inquiry in science and mathematics and inquiry-based teaching methods, and the On Common Ground Summer Conference, which will provide opportunities to work with university faculty and in-service STEM teachers in implementing culturally relevant pedagogy in science and mathematics as well as managing classrooms grounded in inquiry-based instruction. Noyce Scholars will develop a portfolio during their senior year that captures the depth and breadth of their content knowledge, content pedagogical skills, leadership ability within the school and community, and ability to personalize learning based on K-12 student needs. After attaining certification, Noyce Scholars will be placed in selected schools within Guilford County Schools, where they will be paired with experienced mentor teachers and will participate in ongoing professional development workshops throughout the year. The expected outcomes of the North Carolina A&Teach STEM Scholars project are (1) to produce qualified teachers who possess substantive content knowledge, (2) to develop teachers who will use pedagogical approaches that are proven to positively impact the student performance and standardized test scores of culturally and linguistically diverse students, and (3) to increase the retention rate of qualified science and mathematics teachers in Guilford County Schools. The strategies and activities developed by this project serve as a framework for recruitment at other institutions. In turn, this knowledge is leading to a significant increase in the number of highly qualified mathematics, and science teachers nationwide.