STEM Stars: Strengthening the STEM Teacher Pipeline in Metropolitan Chicago

Dominican University, River Forest CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program capacity-building project aims to address the shortage of secondary STEM teachers and the disparity in underrepresented minority STEM teachers in Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area. Dominican University (DU, a private, four-year Hispanic-serving institution in suburban Chicago) will partner with Triton College (a public, two-year Hispanic-serving institution) to design a replicable pathway for potential STEM teacher preparation students to transfer from Triton to DU. A parallel pathway for high school students interested in teaching careers in STEM fields will be developed, with the help of STEM teachers from Proviso Math and Science Academy and Benito Juarez Community Academy, high-needs high schools with strong STEM programs. Faculty members from DU's School of Education and the STEM departments in its Rosary College of Arts and Sciences will participate in workshops with Triton College STEM faculty members, with the goal of developing curricular alignment and articulation agreements between the two institutions. STEM teachers from the Proviso Math and Science Academy (part of the suburban Proviso Public School District 209) and the Benito Juarez Community Academy (a Chicago Public School), both of which have high Hispanic enrollments and strong STEM programs, will engage in partnership-developing activities such as classroom presentations and campus visits with DU STEM and Education faculty members. These activities will increase awareness of STEM teaching as a career option for high-achieving high school students, as well as DU as a destination university where they could pursue this career path. This project aims to lay the groundwork for a subsequent Noyce Track 1 Scholarships and Stipends proposal by developing DU's capacity to recruit, enroll, and graduate diverse students in STEM fields who could also pursue secondary teaching licensure. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.