Preparing and Supporting Bilingual STEM Teachers in Puerto Rico

University Of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Mayaguez PR

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the local and national needs for more STEM teachers who are fluent in Spanish and English, and who are well-qualified to teach in high need schools. Successful strategies for recruiting highly qualified STEM majors to become teachers is key to addressing the national STEM teacher shortage in high-need school districts. To help in this recruitment, this project will provide undergraduate STEM majors up to two years of scholarship support as they complete their baccalaureate STEM degrees and obtain teacher certification. Scholarship recipients will complete 30 credits in the Teacher Preparation Program to obtain certification. Prior to their placement in high need schools, the Scholars will participate in STEM teaching experiences, as well as classroom action research to study the effectiveness of curricular materials developed for K-12 STEM outreach efforts. This project at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez includes a partnership with the Mayagüez School Region. Project goals include preparing approximately 39 STEM teachers over the five-year period of the award and placing these new teachers in high need schools or school districts. The University's more than 4000 upper-level undergraduate STEM majors are potential applicants. Knowledge generation will focus on determining the impacts of financial support, early pre-clinical teaching experiences, and classroom research on successful preparation of highly qualified STEM majors to become teachers. Rather than adding coursework, the project will provide pre-clinical teaching experiences through campus-based K-12 outreach efforts, including Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBAL) and Science on Wheels. The Scholars will also connect to campus research projects focused on studying the effectiveness of curricular materials that were developed by different campus outreach efforts. These research experiences will be integrated into the STEM Methodology and Teaching Practice courses, rather than as a separate requirement. Participation in undergraduate research is known to improve the chances of STEM degree completion at Minority Serving Institutions. This project will expand knowledge by providing information about how undergraduate experiences in education research affect the persistence and success of undergraduates who intend to pursue STEM teaching careers. Finally, the project will form a network of STEM and teacher preparation personnel that will encourage and support new and continuing STEM teachers. This Track 1 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. 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.