Making Noyce in New Hampshire: Building Capacity for a Statewide Master Teachers Program

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

The Making Noyce in New Hampshire: Building Capacity for a Statewide Master Teachers Program is a Capacity Building project in preparation for a Track 3 Master Teaching Fellowships proposal in the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. The project has a goal of bringing together key stakeholders from across the state to develop a future Noyce Master Teaching Fellowships project in New Hampshire (NH). This project comes at a critical time for New Hampshire because of science education's shift toward Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the development of new statewide performance assessments, and a changing student demographic. In order to have a competitive STEM workforce in the future, teachers will need strong STEM pedagogy and a curriculum that improves the educational opportunities and achievements for all students, including the underachieving student populations of the socioeconomically disadvantaged, English language learners, and racial/ethnic minorities. The project team will bring together key stakeholders in NH to develop a proposal for high-need school districts to provide opportunities for teachers to become Master Teachers in their districts. The primary partners of this Noyce Capacity Building project will include the NH State Department of Education; two key school districts: Rochester and Nashua, NH; two professional societies: the NH Science Teachers Association and the NH State Math Teachers Association; and the University of New Hampshire, including STEM education researchers and teacher professional development expertise from the university. Given the size and autonomy of NH, implementing a statewide program for Master Teachers will require a significant partnership building and needs assessment. During the capacity building period, the project will bring together these key stakeholders to conduct a needs assessment and develop a statewide program proposal. The Making Noyce in New Hampshire project will have the following primary goals: 1) establishing strong within-district STEM pedagogy expertise, 2) developing and sustaining enhanced science and mathematics learning for students, and 3) developing and delivering STEM instruction and curricula that improve the educational opportunities and achievements of underachieving student populations. The project's long term goal includes advancing the capacity of STEM teachers to become teacher leaders in high-need school districts. This project recognizes that identifying and placing Master Teachers will not be successful without the creation of a network that understands the needs of individual districts and teacher candidates. As such, this capacity building project will allow us to work towards a successful model for Master Teachers in NH, one that will work in school districts across the state and could be used as a model for other states that are challenged with changing standards and student demographics.