Building the Capacity to Address the Urban STEM Teacher Shortage in Massachusetts

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need of building capacity to increase the number of high-quality secondary school STEM teachers in urban, high-need schools. The project will explore factors that promote the decision of STEM majors at Worcester Polytechnic Institute to become teachers. It will identify these factors through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The project also aims to understand mechanisms to diversify the pool of potential Noyce Scholars. The project also plans to build strong partnerships with local, high-need schools that will supervise, mentor, and hire Noyce Scholars who complete the program. This project at Worcester Polytechnic Institute includes a partnership with the Worcester Public School district. The goals of this Capacity Building Noyce project are to establish research-informed plans for a successful Noyce Track 1 program that will support undergraduate STEM majors to become certified teachers. The project plans include development of a Teacher Preparation Program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute that better serves both the needs of teacher candidates and the needs of secondary schools that could hire these graduates. The intention is that local, high-need secondary schools will place students into early field work and practicums, which can help to solidify their intention to pursue a teaching career. Another goal is to better understand the value proposition of the teacher preparation program. Research will be conducted using human-centered design tools to develop insight and evidence so that more STEM secondary teachers trained at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are teaching in urban, high-need schools. Answers to two research questions are needed to understand how to build capacity and reduce barriers limiting the number of STEM majors becoming teachers: Do teacher candidates have unmet needs and what are the barriers preventing them from becoming secondary STEM teachers? How do local secondary schools, teachers, and hiring managers assess the teacher candidates and graduates, and what specifically is required for their high-need schools? This Capacity Building 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.