Preparing Secondary STEM Teachers for Success in Teaching Students with Disabilities and from Diverse Backgrounds

University Of Lynchburg, Lynchburg VA

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 high-quality STEM teaching. This proposal specifically responds to a national and local shortage of qualified and certified mathematics and science teachers. The University of Lynchburg seeks to recruit 22 undergraduate STEM students (in four cohorts) who are majoring in biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, or mathematics and minoring in secondary education as they obtain teacher certification. The project focuses on increasing the effectiveness of future STEM teachers in teaching special education students with learning or developmental disabilities, an issue of national importance as these students can compose more than 10% of the student population. STEM educators need specialized preparation to work with special education students and students from a culture different than their own, as many are not prepared in educational techniques specific to these populations. This lack of teacher preparation leads to poor academic outcomes in many cases. This project also aims to recruit more diverse and qualified teacher candidates by developing educational pathways that enable community college STEM students to transfer to the University of Lynchburg, where they will complete a baccalaureate degree in a STEM major and obtain secondary teacher certification. This pathway will be facilitated by working with a local nonprofit whose mission is to empower high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds in pursuing higher education. These strategies are intended to increase the diversity among the Noyce scholars. This project, led by the University of Lynchburg, is a partnership with Central Virginia Community College, the nonprofit Beacon of Hope, and the Lynchburg City, Amherst County, Bedford County, and Campbell County school districts. It is designed to advance science and mathematics teacher preparation through experiential teaching opportunities, faculty advising, mentoring, and workshops to prepare preservice teachers to effectively teach students with disabilities and from diverse backgrounds. Faculty and in-service teacher mentors will be trained in the New Teacher Center model, which focuses on three domains that work synergistically to create an "optimal learning environment" by: (1) creating emotionally, intellectually, and physically safe environments; (2) implementing equitable, culturally responsive, and standards-aligned curriculum and instruction; and (3) meeting the diverse needs of every learner. A series of eight workshops focusing on supporting students with disabilities who are from diverse backgrounds will be provided to the Noyce Scholars and their peer-mentor, in-service teachers. Related to these workshops and field experiences on teaching STEM to students with disabilities, the project's research agenda will explore the following important questions: (1) Does participation in the Noyce workshops significantly alter knowledge and beliefs of pre-service and in-service STEM teachers about teaching students with disabilities? (2) How does interaction with students with disabilities during field experiences alter pre-service STEM teachers' beliefs about these students? (3) How do the in-service Noyce scholars, in their first year of teaching, rate their level of preparation and job satisfaction, and how do their results compare to those of other teachers who did not participate in the Noyce program? What skills, beliefs, or knowledge do in-service STEM teachers consider most important for working effectively with students with disabilities? This investigation has the potential to add new knowledge about the preparation of STEM teachers for teaching differently abled students in the general classroom. The evidence generated may advance new teacher preparation. Educational materials used in the workshops, data on workshop participants' knowledge gains, and the perceived effectiveness of the workshops, especially for preparing teachers for working with differently abled students within the STEM classroom, will be disseminated to the broader STEM education community. 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.