Earth Science Teacher Urban Residency Program: A Partnership Between a Museum and Secondary Schools

American Museum Natural History, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce), this Track 2: Teaching Fellowships project at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) aims to addresses the national shortage of qualified and well-prepared Earth science teachers in high-need schools, with a focus on New York City (NYC) and New York State (NYS). Recent data from 2018 suggest that only one-third of teachers teaching science in NYS are prepared to teach their subject area, and in NYC, 31 percent of Earth science teachers are not certified to teach in their subject area. The current shortage of science teachers prevents many schools from offering any Earth science courses, severely limiting students' opportunities to prepare for the NYS Regents Examination in Earth science, accumulate credits required to graduate, or prepare for higher education opportunities or careers in this field. The AMNH Master of Arts in Teaching program prepares and supports teachers in high-need schools and, through this project, will support two cohorts of 15 Fellows each over the six-year grant period. Fellows will be supported through matriculation of the master's degree program and through induction as they enter their four years of teaching in high-need schools. The project will also generate improved understanding about high-leverage culturally responsive teaching practices and their impact in diverse high-need settings. In partnership with four NYC- and Yonkers-based schools (Midwood High School, Bronx Early College Academy, Hunters Point Community Middle School, in NYC, and Roosevelt High School, in Yonkers), the project will recruit a total of 30 Earth science post-baccalaureate candidates to prepare them as highly-qualified and diverse Earth science teachers. The project aims to advance research and practice in the field of STEM teacher preparation and retention by helping to examine and develop program practice in three areas: 1) identifying effective strategies for recruiting a diverse body of candidates for STEM teaching; 2) providing a deeper articulation of what strong preparation for science teaching looks like, including, specifically, what culturally responsive teaching looks like in STEM classrooms; and 3) situating the learning of high-leverage science teaching practices in coursework. Program results will be shared broadly through professional publications, conferences, study groups, and online contexts as well as informal networks of research colleagues. The project's two cohorts of teachers have the potential to have a positive impact on learning and outcomes for approximately 3,000 students annually (assuming 100 students per teacher) in high-need schools, with the majority likely to be working in NYC, one of the largest and most diverse school districts in the country. 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.