Noyce STEM Teaching toward a Just and Equitable Society

San Francisco State University, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce), this Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project at San Francisco State University aims to serve the national need of preparing high-quality STEM teachers for high-need school districts. Noyce STAJES (STEM Teaching toward a Just and Equitable Society) will provide financial and programmatic support to attract, train and retain academically talented STEM majors and professionals committed to creating access and empowerment for students through teaching in high-need secondary schools. STAJES scholars will engage in coursework and action research projects to learn effective social justice pedagogy and deepen STEM content knowledge. Scholars will also participate in field placements and mentorship with high-need schools and STEM education programs which integrate social justice with rigorous STEM teaching. Other project components include post-credential professional support through partnerships with Trellis Education and the Western Regional Noyce Alliance. Scholars will also complete a Noyce seminar and mini-courses, taught by SFSU faculty, to help scholars understand effective teaching, integration of STEM content, and pedagogical practices for promoting social justice through STEM teaching. STAJES will develop STEM scholars into teachers committed to promoting a justice and equity through STEM education. Over the five-year grant period, the project will support 26 undergraduate STEM majors or STEM post-baccalaureate credential students to become STAJES scholars and future mathematics or science teachers in high-need schools. Project partnerships include collaborations with two large local school districts (San Francisco Unified and Berkeley Unified), with a focus on leveraging the partnerships to include field-placements and internships which will further the equity agendas of the project while supporting preservice teacher education efforts. The leadership team will examine how participation in project activities affects scholars' understanding of and ability to enact STEM teaching that promotes equity in student outcomes. 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.