Preparing Secondary STEM Teachers with Experiential Learning and Computational Thinking Skills for Effectiveness in High-Need School Districts

Carlow University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Track 1 Scholarships and Stipends project aims to serve the national interest in preparing high-quality STEM teachers. It will do so by recruiting undergraduate STEM majors and STEM professionals and preparing them to become STEM teachers. In partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools, Carlow University seeks to prepare 26 highly effective biology, chemistry, and mathematics secondary education teachers. The secondary education program in STEM at Carlow University is a five-year, master's degree program. Consequently, STEM majors in their junior year and STEM professionals will be recruited to enter the program. The STEM majors will receive three years of scholarship support as they complete a baccalaureate degree and a master's degree in secondary education. The STEM professionals will receive one year of support as they complete a master's degree in secondary education. The Noyce Scholars will have multiple opportunities to engage in experiential learning, with an emphasis on developing computational thinking skills. These learning opportunities include workshops, and weeklong courses. Their teaching skills will be enhanced with training about restorative justice practices and culturally responsive teaching to prepare them to teach successfully in high-need classrooms. Successful passage of the Noyce Scholars into teaching careers will be supported by a team of advisors that includes STEM and education mentors, a teacher-mentor from Pittsburgh Public Schools, and a coach that works with the Scholar from enrollment through the first three years of teaching. The project intends to recruit and enroll 12 biology, chemistry, and mathematics undergraduates as Noyce Scholars between 2019-21 and 14 STEM professionals between 2019-23. To help prepare the Noyce Scholars to be successful in supporting diverse learners in high-need school districts, the Carlow University program will include coursework that includes issues of social justice, positive behavioral supports, restorative justice practices in schools, culturally responsive pedagogy, universal design, individualized learning, trauma-informed teaching practices, classroom design and instructional techniques to support students with disabilities, and content specific literacy practices to support English Language Learners. Noyce Scholars with complete practicums and student teaching in Pittsburgh Public Schools. The project will develop, apply, and assess best practices in experiential learning, with an emphasis on computational thinking, which is a method of problem solving developed in computer science that has a broad application across disciplines. It involves the applicable concepts of decomposition of large problems into smaller parts, abstraction of relevant pieces, identification of similarities to already solved problems, and development of algorithms. Results of project evaluation and research activities should generate new knowledge that will contribute to best practices in recruiting and preparing highly effective STEM teachers for careers in high-need schools. The research study intends to address gaps in the literature about the impact of computational thinking training on the effectiveness of pre-service teachers, on secondary education, and whether pre-service and in-service coaching enhances teacher proficiency in computational thinking. Carlow University is a longstanding member of large local educational consortia in the region, which will enable swift and comprehensive dissemination of project findings. The program has the potential to help address the high-need STEM teaching shortages in the local community and region. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. 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.