A Model NSF Teaching Fellowship Program to Improve STEM Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, Professional Development, and Retention in Rural High-Need Schools

University Of Maine, Orono ME

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Teaching Fellows project will provide teacher certification for 22 recent STEM degree recipients and STEM professionals. The project will implement and test a model for recruitment, preparation, and support for new mathematics and science teachers in high-needs, rural districts and create a strong community of new and experienced teachers. In their first two years, fellows will receive individual mentoring and classroom coaching along with community-based professional development opportunities. In the last two years of the fellowship, they will begin to develop leadership skills by working with teachers in their schools and assisting in pre-service teacher preparation. A unique feature of the project is the opportunity that fellows will have to observe university faculty and then advise them on teaching strategies through the NSF-supported University Course Observation Program. This partnership between the University of Maine and school districts across that state, was established through a Noyce capacity Building award. This project will address the mathematics and science teacher crisis faced by remote, high-needs schools in the state of Maine by training and developing new teachers through a rigorous course of study and extending some of the project activities to include mentors and content area coaches, chosen among teacher-leaders who have been recognized for their expertise. Throughout the project mentor teachers from high-needs schools will collaborate with, advise, and support the fellows. The coaches will partner with the fellows to develop strategies for teaching in the discipline and deliver professional development workshops to propagate exemplary instructional practices across the state. By the end of the induction period, the teaching fellows will have the training and experience to take on the roles of mentors and coaches themselves. Formative and summative evaluation will focus on interviews that will examine the fellows' perceptions and experiences related to their engagement with teacher-leaders and their development as such. Findings from this work will be presented broadly at conferences of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, American Educational Research Association, and the National Association of Rural Education. Manuscripts will be prepared for the Journal of Chemical Education, the Journal of Science Education and Technology, CBE-Life Science Education and other STEM education publications.