Building a Plan to Improve the Mathematics and Science Teaching Workforce in North Georgia

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Capacity Building Project will bring together faculty and staff from the University of Georgia (UGA) and local educators to develop plans to recruit, train, and support more qualified secondary mathematics and science teachers in Northeast Georgia. The plan represents a first step in addressing the shortage of qualified STEM teachers in the region. The overall motivational goal of the project team is to increase STEM talent in the region's workforce by better preparing teachers to work with diverse and under-represented students. To develop the recruitment, preparation, and support plans, the PI and Co-PI will create two teams, the Core and Advisory Teams, from the University of Georgia community. Together these teams will work to 1) assess the need for science and mathematics teachers in the region; 2) determine if STEM professionals exist in the community who could potentially enter the teaching workforce; 3) determine how well University of Georgia science and mathematics teacher preparation programs prepare and support students to meet national and state standards; and 4) strengthen ties between University of Georgia education and STEM faculty and staff. The collected data will inform the emerging plan, which will be written by the Core Team and critiqued by the Advisory Team. The final plan will be based on a process of evidence-based decision making, which will be shared with other institutions. With it in hand, the Core Team will be able to efficiently work towards increasing the number of high-quality secondary mathematics and science teachers produced at UGA. 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.