Preparing STEM Teachers for Urban and Rural School Districts in Northwest Georgia

Berry College, Mount Berry GA

Investigators

Abstract

Preparing STEM Teachers for Urban and Rural School Districts in Northwest Georgia (STEMTeach) is a Noyce Track 1 project at Berry College. This project aims to address the national shortage of culturally-competent secondary teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). STEMTeach will use a combination of high-quality teaching approaches and student support to improve the quality of STEM secondary education available in Northwest Georgia. It aims to overcome two common obstacles for dual degree teacher certification programs. The primary challenge is that students rarely regard teaching as a "first-choice" career in STEM. The secondary challenge is the course and practicum requirements of completing two degrees. Some STEM majors do not consider teaching before their junior or even senior year. This late decision-making increases the time and, therefore, the expense to complete college, which students with financial need often cannot afford. The project will graduate 25 highly qualified Noyce scholars to teach in high-need rural and urban schools. Additionally, the project will strengthen Berry's STEM education program. The centerpiece of these efforts will be the expansion and further development of outreach and early awareness experiences, apprenticeships with master teachers, mentoring, and early field experiences. As a result of this project, Berry College will develop three new STEM-focused education courses. In addition, it will create activities and supports specifically for these STEM dual majors following their graduation. Through Noyce support, Berry College will increase its production of new STEM teachers by 50% annually. It will also recruit students into the teaching profession from a wider variety of STEM disciplines. STEMTeach at Berry College will support a total of 25 Noyce undergraduate scholars majoring in physics, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, or mathematics. Scholars will receive a second degree in secondary education and further complete an ESOL endorsement and 330 or more hours of field experiences and clinical practice in high-need schools. Berry will collaborate with high-need school districts in rural Floyd County Schools and urban Rome City Schools. The program will evaluate and share its Noyce project findings among stakeholders in Georgia, at national conferences, and via submissions to peer-reviewed journals. The research will focus on the specific impacts of the apprenticeship model, including its effect on STEM students' decision to pursue teaching, their retention in a certification program, and teacher selection of school placement and in-service retention. By adding this new knowledge, it will help increase the quality and quantity of life-changing teachers in high-needs school districts. 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.