Strengthening STEM Teacher Education Pathways in Kentucky with Collaborative Partnerships

Bellarmine University, Louisville KY

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Capacity Building project aims to help address a national shortage of K-12 STEM teachers by strengthening STEM teacher education pathways in Kentucky. This project will enable Bellarmine University to streamline the institution's Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program so that STEM undergraduate students can complete it with only one additional year of study. The University also intends to develop partnerships with nearby community colleges to facilitate transfer of community college students to the University and their successful completion of both a STEM bachelor's degree and a MAT degree. By streamlining the teacher certification program and developing partnerships to increase access to the institution's MAT program, this project has the potential to increase the number of highly-qualified STEM teachers in high-need K-12 STEM classrooms in Kentucky. This project involves collaborations between Bellarmine University, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Jefferson County Public Schools, which is one of the nation's largest urban school districts, and the Kentucky Science Center. The project aims to accomplish the following goals: (1) develop an early-start MAT certification for STEM undergraduates; (2) develop a recruitment pipeline and support system throughout Bellarmine University's STEM teacher education program via partnership agreements with the collaborating community colleges and school district; (3) develop a partnership agreement with the school district to hire future STEM teachers produced by a subsequent project; (4) develop a STEM summer camp and internship agreement with the Kentucky Science Center for STEM undergraduates and MAT students; and (5) develop a plan to recruit, prepare, and support new STEM teachers in high-need school districts, thus expanding and diversifying the pool of new STEM teacher candidates. This project comes at a critical time in Kentucky because of changing student demographics, critical industry needs in STEM, and the state's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, which have a strong K-12 STEM curriculum. In addition to benefitting a high-need school district in Kentucky, this project is expected to contribute to national efforts in STEM teacher education and serve as a model for other states with similar needs in STEM education. 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 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.