Preparing Teachers to Integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in Elementary Classrooms

Sacred Heart University, Fairfield CT

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce), this Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project aims to develop highly-qualified teachers to fill shortages of STEM teachers in high-need elementary schools in Connecticut. Specifically, the project will educate, graduate, and place 18 new, certified teachers into high-need schools in Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Stratford school districts. The Scholars will earn a Bachelor of Science degree in STEM and a Master of Arts in Teaching, to prepare them to be highly effective teachers of science-, math-, and technology-related subjects to elementary students. In addition to scholarship support, the project will provide Scholars with service learning opportunities in high-need elementary schools to promote community engagement, and early and ongoing mentoring and professional development to promote retention. By emphasizing recruitment of students from diverse backgrounds, the project has the potential to broaden participation within the Connecticut teacher workforce. The project has three goals: 1) to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers who are teaching in a high-need elementary school; 2) to retain the Noyce scholars until graduation and certification; 3) to support the Noyce scholars to meet their teaching commitment in a high-need district; 4) and to increase the effectiveness of these STEM teachers through a revised education curriculum and engagement in service learning and inquiry-based research experiences. To meet these goals, the project has developed a strong collaboration between the University and the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Stratford School Districts. The Scholars will be recruited from prospective and matriculated first-year and transfer students, with an emphasis on including underrepresented minority students, first-generation college students, lower-income students, and veterans. The Scholars will benefit from a revised education curriculum, targeted STEM workshops, and engagement in service learning and inquiry-based research experiences. In addition, the Scholars will participate in a nine-month Graduate Teacher Internship at a high-need elementary school in Bridgeport, Norwalk, or Stratford school districts. In each of their participating years, Scholars will be paired with a STEM mentor teacher in a partnering high-need elementary school. Through publications and regional and national meetings, the project PIs will disseminate evidence collected about the effectiveness of the developed curriculum; the efficacy of preparing preservice teachers for high-need classrooms through topic integration in STEM; the value of service learning, STEM research, and emphasis on professional identity; and the success of early and ongoing mentorship for novice teachers. The Noyce Program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 mathematics and science teachers in high-need school districts and experienced and 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.