Investigating Relationships between STEM Teacher Preparation, Instructional Quality, and Teacher Persistence

Florida State University, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Track 4 project will investigate how features of STEM teacher preparation programs contribute to instructional quality and teacher persistence of beginning STEM teachers in high-need schools. Teachers are inequitably distributed across schools, where high-need schools have higher teacher turnover rates, teachers with fewer educational credentials, and teachers with less experience. Skilled STEM teachers are more important than ever because of the increased rigor of new standards in science and mathematics, and the growing need for a well-prepared STEM workforce. Although teacher effectiveness increases over time, because high-need schools tend to have more inexperienced teachers, it is imperative that new STEM teachers enter the classroom prepared to deliver quality instruction, and that they persist in those schools as they improve. Findings from this study have the potential to: a) identify program features that are essential to the production of effective, rigorous STEM teachers that persist in high-need settings; and b) provide schools with specific coursework and field experiences to look for as they hire new teachers. The goal of this project is to establish correlations between features of STEM teacher preparation and induction programs and beginning STEM teachers' instructional quality and persistence over the first three years of their teaching careers. The sample for the study consists of over 100 first year teachers prepared across seven geographically dispersed (CA, CO, FL, NC, NJ, NY) Noyce Scholarship programs who are teaching in high-need schools. Data from 6 task assignments and associated student work samples in science and mathematics will be used to assess the quality of teachers' instruction, specifically the academic rigor and clear expectations they present to their students. Using both linear regression and HLM, the project will investigate the relationships between teacher preparation program coursework, field experiences, induction supports, and quality of instruction. Additionally, using logistic regression, the investigators will examine the relationships between these features of preparation and induction and the likelihood of teachers persisting past their Noyce commitment into their third year of teaching. Finally, also using logistic regression, the project will investigate whether the quality of teachers' instruction is associated with their likelihood of persisting past their Noyce commitment. There is a substantial gap in the research literature regarding the relationships between teacher preparation and induction and the quality of teachers' instruction. This study aims to contribute research-based knowledge to this issue, as well as to provide guidance on specific areas where teacher preparation programs can focus program improvement efforts. This project will also form the foundation for future quasi-experimental research that focuses on significant features of preparation and induction.