Recruiting and Supporting a Diverse Pool of Highly-Qualified STEM Teachers through Communities of Practice and Informal Science Internships

University Of Houston - Clear Lake, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Track 1 project aims to serve the national need of preparing highly-qualified STEM teachers in mathematics and science. Additionally, this project will support 25 scholars in STEM major areas of science and mathematics by providing scholarships, internships, and communities of practice. The proposed project components will enable high-achieving prospective teachers to become secondary STEM teachers with extensive expertise in active learning instruction, secondary science/mathematics teacher-leaders, and understanding of best practices for using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education. This project at University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL( includes partnerships with eight high-need school districts (Channelview, Dickinson, Goose Creek Consolidated, Hitchcock, Humble, Pasadena, Spring Branch, Texas City), four community colleges (San Jacinto College, Alvin Community College, College of the Mainland, Galveston Community College), and four STEM organizations (Armand Bayou Nature Center, Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation, Environmental Institute of Houston, and Lunar Planetary Institute). Project goals include 1) recruit, train, and support at least 24 Scholars and up to 48 Interns over 5 years from among STEM undergraduate science and math majors as they enter the teaching profession, 2) increase prospective STEM teachers’ content mastery and pedagogical skills, and 3) enhance new STEM teachers’ retention and success in the teaching profession. This project will be iteratively evaluated. Evaluation of the project will be guided by the following evaluation question(s): Q1) How does scholarship support increase motivation to pursue STEM education careers? and Q2) How does scholarship support increase student success? The results of this project will be disseminated to help enhance the field. 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.