Preparing Rural STEM Teachers for Success

Wayne State College, Wayne NE

Investigators

Abstract

The project aims to serve the national need of mitigating increasing STEM teacher shortages in rural and high-need school districts. By recruiting, preparing, and placing a greater number of highly qualified STEM educators in rural settings, this effort will allow rural districts to hire a larger number of well-prepared teachers. In turn, this will allow schools to better engage the breadth of learners within northeast Nebraska and other rural settings nationwide. To meet this need, Wayne State College, in concert with multiple local educational partners, will support and prepare teachers through its existing dual-credit educator pathway program. This intentional pathway program is guided by principles of equity, excellence, and affordability. The pathway program is designed to change the way teachers are recruited and prepared for their world of work. This project will recruit and support high school students interested in becoming STEM teachers through early access to college-level courses and exposure to careers in STEM education through hands-on, experiential learning opportunities. The project will engage participating students through college acceptance, STEM internships, teacher candidacy, scholarship support, student teaching, and ultimately placement as a STEM educator in a high-need district. This project at Wayne State College includes partnerships with Columbus Public Schools, Grand Island Public Schools, Norfolk Public Schools, South Sioux Community Schools, northeast Nebraska’s Educational Service Unit #1, and several smaller rural districts throughout the state. Teachers in high-need and rural districts often do not receive the preservice training or in-service support that they need to successfully embark on long careers in high-need districts. The project’s first goal seeks to provide scholarships and professional development to twenty undergraduates as part of an effort to increase the number of highly qualified mathematics and science teachers graduating from Wayne State College and being placed in teaching positions at high-need school districts. Secondly, through pedagogical innovations, experiential learning opportunities, and sustained peer mentoring, this project aims to improve the cultural competency, STEM content knowledge, and overall preparation of graduates to teach mathematics and science in high-need, rural secondary schools. 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 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.