Growing Future STEM Teachers in Maine

Saint Joseph'S College, Standish ME

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need of preparing high-quality STEM teachers. To help meet the STEM teacher shortage in Maine, the project will recruit undergraduate STEM majors into STEM teaching careers in biology, mathematics, and physical sciences. It will support these students through scholarships, mentoring, coursework, and seminars so they can become highly skilled teachers in their local communities. Key project activities include teaching career workshops to recruit community college students into teaching, as well as supervised teaching experiences in high-need schools. In addition, the project will include a field experience in a school that serves Native American students. Through in-person mentoring, electronic resources, and opportunities for alumni to interact with current students, the project intends to develop a community of STEM teachers in Maine. The project activities are designed to recruit talented undergraduate students into STEM teaching and help them develop the skills to be successful teachers who have long-term teaching careers. This project at St. Joseph's College in Maine includes partnerships with Southern Maine Community College, Bonny Eagle School District, Westbrook Public Schools, and teachers at Deering High School, Old Town High School, and Lake Region Middle School. The project seeks to prepare and support 18 undergraduates minoring in secondary education and majoring in biology, mathematics, or physical sciences, to achieve certification and become highly qualified STEM teachers. The long-term goal is to meet the needs of rural and urban Maine schools by recruiting future STEM teachers from the local community. Research activities will explore undergraduate student perceptions of teaching as a career. Project evaluation focuses on recruitment, quality and persistence, dissemination, and the degree to which Scholar employment trends indicate that Scholars are employed in their home communities. This Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). 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.