The Randolph-Macon College Noyce Teacher/Scholar Program - A Program Designed to Recruit, Train, and Support Well-Qualified Chemistry, Biology, and Physics Teachers

Randolph-Macon College, Ashland VA

Investigators

Abstract

In 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology called for the education of at least 100,000 new STEM middle and high school teachers with majors in STEM fields and strong content-specific pedagogical preparation. This project is responsive to that call, and will support the education of 16 teachers with majors in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, or physics, and education minors. Randolph Macon College will leverage an existing successful teacher-preparation program in which all of the pre-service teachers passed their STEM-related PRAXIS II examination and achieved employment. The Noyce program will attract students to careers in STEM education through targeted recruitment, with special emphasis placed upon recruiting underrepresented students. The local area encompasses multiple high-needs school districts, including the city of Richmond, Caroline County, and Petersburg, VA; these districts struggle to find qualified, certified STEM instructors. The Noyce scholars will gain experience working with youth from high-need school districts through field placements in local school districts, participation in a summer program designed to bring STEM education to students with high need, and seminar programs intended to give participants strategies to overcome challenges of working in a high-need school district. Program participants will receive dedicated induction support during their first years as STEM educators teaching in high-needs school districts; this support will include site visits, a stipend to fund classroom technology, monetary support for professional development, funds to travel back to the College to participate in a mentoring program for Noyce students still in residence, and the establishment of a social media group for Noyce participants to share their experiences and advice. The program will add to the broader base of knowledge on recruiting, training, and providing induction support to STEM educators by exploring the following topics: the effectiveness of targeted recruitment of STEM students, the effectiveness of financial incentive in attracting students to a Noyce program, how consistent field work effects teaching effectiveness, and the effect of endeavoring to create cohesive group dynamics on retention of Noyce Scholars. The project personnel will disseminate results of the Noyce program at various discipline-specific venues, allowing other institutions to adopt and adapt successful program strategies. The Noyce scholars will disseminate the results of their original scientific and educational research in the form of poster and oral presentations at professional conferences in the students' areas of discipline.