Collaboration for Excellence in Science and Math Education II

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

The Collaboration for Excellence in Science and Math Education II project is a Robert Noyce Track 1 Scholarships & Stipends project at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). The project joins UAB's Center for Community OutReach Development, UABTeach, and Lawson State Community College (LSCC), a local Historically Black College. Through these partnerships, the project aims to increase the number of STEM secondary teachers in this high-need area of the country and build a new student pipeline to secondary education STEM careers. Over the five-year project period, at least 42 undergraduate STEM majors and STEM post-baccalaureates will receive Noyce scholarships to become STEM teachers. Support for all scholars will continue through induction efforts during the graduates' first years in teaching in high-need schools. The project will also introduce community college students to STEM teaching careers. This experience will provide developmental support for community college students through a program of academics and practical experiences that lead to STEM teacher certification through either a Bachelor of Science degree or a master's degree with certification in secondary STEM education (MAEd). The project will investigate the usefulness and success of three models for preparing STEM teachers: Model Type 1 is a multi-year program that will engage first and second year students and provide scholarships to juniors and senior STEM majors; Model Type 2 will engage students in their third or fourth year in a STEM major, leading to a 5th year MAEd degree with teacher certification; and Model Type 3 is a one-year program that will engage career changers who already have a STEM bachelor's degree. Model Type 1 students will enter the program by taking inquiry-based courses at UAB or LSCC and informal summer STEM programs for middle school or high school students. Many of the MAEd students will enter the program by participating as facilitators in UAB's Summer Science Institute, which will provide them with a taste of inquiry-based education and in-depth STEM educational experiences. The models will aggressively recruit students who are currently underrepresented in secondary STEM education. This project will support the graduates via classroom visits, Professional Learning Communities, UAB faculty support, and resources via many Center for OutReach Development programs for secondary STEM education. The project goal is to create a cadre of excellent teachers who will remain in secondary STEM education and be committed to teaching and improvising STEM education in high needs schools and to add to the knowledge base of how and why these three programs are successful. 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.