A Post Baccalaureate STEM Teacher Preparation Program for High-Needs Schools in the West Georgia Region and Beyond

University Of West Georgia, Carrollton GA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce), this Track 2 Teaching Fellowship project aims to serve the regional need for highly-qualified high school STEM teachers in high-needs school districts. It also aims to create teacher leaders in STEM disciplines. The project will recruit individuals with a baccalaureate or higher degree in a STEM discipline. These Noyce Fellows will be fast-tracked into teaching through a one-year Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, with teaching certification. The MAT program will include advanced STEM content and pedagogical content coursework, inquiry-based instruction, intensive coaching, and full-day internship/student teaching experiences. The Fellows will receive a salary supplement for each of the four years they teach in a high-need school district. Induction activities will support the Fellows from the beginning of their teaching careers, including attention to helping the master teachers develop leadership skills. Fellows will be part of a learning community that includes exemplary teachers, school administrators, university faculty, and community leaders. The program is designed to develop highly effective high school teachers who will help the state and nation develop a skilled STEM workforce, including future STEM teachers. The overarching goal of the project is to recruit, prepare, and sustain 20 additional STEM-certified master teachers who will be teacher leaders at high-needs high schools in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, geosciences, and mathematics. A concerted effort will be made to recruit Fellows from underrepresented groups, thus broadening participation in high school teaching. This project is designed for post-baccalaureate STEM majors who have also passed the state content exam in their respective fields. Fellows will be placed in Carrollton City Schools or Carroll County Schools, two high-need partner districts. The West Georgia Youth Science Technology Center, a non-profit organization, is partnering with the project to provide professional development during the post certification years, as is the Carrollton/Carroll County Education Collaborative. An additional project goal is to assess the effectiveness of the project's preparation model for developing teacher leaders. The research plan includes analysis of pedagogical approaches, induction strategies, and leadership development activities. The engagement of Fellows in this scholarly work is expected to build their capacity for making ongoing contributions to the field. Findings from project research will be presented at professional conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. This project will make an impact on society by producing more highly-qualified STEM teachers who have a commitment and are better prepared to teach in high-needs schools. These Fellows, in turn, can inspire students to pursue STEM careers, thus strengthening the technology-based workforce needed to grow Georgia's economy. In addition, the Fellows can inspire more students to pursue STEM teaching, ensuring that the pool of high-quality teachers continues to grow. 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-needs school districts. It also supports research on persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-needs 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.