Noyce Teacher Preparation Program for Upstate New York

Clarkson University, Potsdam NY

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce), this Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project aims to serve the national need for culturally competent STEM secondary teachers in high-need school districts. Teachers who understand the culture of their students and the learning environment are critical to successful K-12 STEM education in high-need schools and districts. This project will address pre-service teachers' understanding of cultural competency and the relationship between cultural competency and gender. In addition, it will examine the impact of early field experiences on community building among current STEM teachers, preservice STEM teachers, and K-12 students. Project activities will include a Master of Arts in Teaching teacher certification program that features a one-year teaching internship in a diverse, high-need school. During the teaching internship, Noyce scholarship recipients will conduct action research, engage in cultural activities, participate in roundtable collaborations with a STEM teacher community, and complete an early field experience. The outcomes of the project have the potential to inform teacher education practices, improve understanding of teachers' cultural competency, and increase knowledge about how early field research experiences affect teacher capability and community building. Through this Noyce project, Clarkson University will recruit 20 STEM majors and prepare them for careers as science and mathematics teachers in high-need school districts in the rural north and urban capital region of New York state. The project will provide these undergraduates with scholarships during the undergraduate senior year and the post-baccalaureate/MAT degree year, as well as additional supports to help the Noyce Scholars to: 1) develop cultural competency in rural and urban settings; 2) conduct collaborative research; and 3) engage in STEM educational communities. Induction resources and support will also be provided during the Noyce scholars' early years of teaching. The project will partner with Schenectady City School District and Gouverneur Central School District in New York to share effective practices in recruiting, training, placement, and support for talented teachers in high-need schools and districts. Project evaluation will be conducted through focus group discussions, together with established instruments focusing on STEM teaching self-efficacy, competency, attitudes, and multicultural sensitivity. The project has the potential to benefit society by integrating teacher preparation and research to recruit, prepare, and retain a talented and effective STEM education workforce of culturally responsive teachers. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need 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.