Cultivating Exemplary STEM Teachers for High-Need Rural School Districts

University Of Saint Mary, Leavenworth KS

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need of preparing high-quality mathematics, chemistry, and biology teachers to teach in predominantly rural high-need school districts. Nationally, STEM teaching positions are often hard to staff and retain, particularly in high-need, rural schools. This project will address this need by awarding scholarships to STEM students who will earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, chemistry, or biology while completing a secondary education minor and teacher licensure program. These STEM students will also complete their student teaching practicums in high-need schools and teach in high-need school districts for a minimum of four years after graduation. The project will provide a unique blend of short- and long-term field experiences, one-on-one and group mentoring and tutoring, and innovative new-teacher support. The project has potential to contribute to knowledge on how to prepare and support teachers in predominantly rural high-need school districts. In turn, the project aims to increase the number of STEM graduates prepared to teach in high-need schools and address the STEM teacher shortage in Kansas and Missouri, and across the United States. This project at the University of Saint Mary (USM) includes partnerships with Donnelly College, a two-year Hispanic Serving Institution, and the local education agencies (LEAs) of Leavenworth, Lansing, and Tonganoxie. Project goals are to: (1) recruit, retain, and graduate eighteen highly qualified STEM secondary teaching candidates; (2) increase opportunities for preservice clinical training in high-need partner schools; and (3) increase the retention rate of STEM teacher alumni in high-need schools. The project is based on the theoretical basis that with the support of three mentors (faculty, in-service teachers, and district-appointed) along with a total of 130 hours of field experience, the completers of the program will be more likely to become highly effective teachers who are retained in their positions in high-need LEAs. The project will contribute to the knowledge base regarding how the mentorship and in-service hours contribute to placing and retaining STEM teachers in these high-need LEAs. The project will be evaluated using a mixed-methods approach that includes process (formative) and outcome (summative) components. In collaboration with an external evaluator, the leadership team will disseminate results locally, regionally, and nationally through meetings with partners and organizations and submissions to scholarly journals and conferences. 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 effectiveness and retention 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.