Building Sustainable Pathways to STEM Teaching

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

With Capacity Building funds from the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, the University of Hawaii Manoa (UHM), in conjunction with faculty across colleges in the UH System and with outside experts, will establish and strengthen the infrastructure and collaborations that will ultimately lead to increasing the number and diversity of highly-qualified mathematics and science teachers in high-need schools across Hawaii. In Hawaii, the attrition rate for licensed teachers who come from out of state or who start teaching prior to completion of a teacher preparation program is significantly higher (50%) than for those who complete teacher preparation programs in Hawaii. Working toward solutions, project partners will include the UHM College of Education, STEM faculty from the College of Arts & Sciences and College of Engineering, as well as Kapiolani Community College (KCC) and the Hawaii State Department of Education. These partners will work collaboratively to create pathways for undergraduates majoring across STEM fields (specifically, mathematics, science, and engineering) to pursue a double major with secondary education. In consultation with an expert on the effective UTeach model, the project partners will (1) design course sequences allowing STEM and education double majors; (2) design new courses to introduce teaching to students early in their college careers thus enabling them to concurrently complete STEM degrees and College of Education coursework; and (3) develop recruitment plans involving awareness-raising, advising, scholarships, and articulation agreements with UH system community colleges.