Supporting Future Science and Mathematics Teachers to Become Culturally Competent Educators

University Of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce), this Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project at the University of Rhode Island aims to serve the local and national need for highly-qualified STEM teachers. Freshmen and sophomore STEM majors will be offered summer internships as an initial experience with potential to excite them to become STEM teachers. These students may then later apply to become Noyce scholars during the junior and senior year of their undergraduate STEM degree program. This project will provide high-need school districts (HNSDs) with high-quality STEM teachers both through an undergraduate and graduate teacher education program and support them as beginning STEM teachers to improve student academic outcomes. Scholars will gain significant knowledge and practices in the STEM disciplines, including the Next Generation Science Standards, problem solving, and computational thinking. The Noyce Scholars will bring their expertise to HNSDs across the country, impacting STEM education in Rhode Island and beyond. The goals of the project are to recruit 20 freshmen and sophomores with STEM (e.g., biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics) backgrounds into teacher education through paid summer internships and then provide scholarship support to 16 STEM undergraduate majors and 5 STEM professionals (STEM graduates returning to become teachers). The project staff will mentor these 21 Noyce Scholars as beginning teachers in HNSDs. The project will collaborate with several HNSDs (e.g., Central Falls, Cranston, and Providence Public Schools) and the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association. Lessons learned will enhance the knowledge base regarding (a) factors influencing STEM majors and professionals coming into K-12 education and their interest in working in HNSDs, and (b) the types of support strategies that lead to successful student teaching and retention in a HNSD. 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, 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.