Developing Elementary STEM Teachers Through Mentorships, Interdisciplinary Instruction, and Cultural Competencies

Sacred Heart University, Fairfield CT

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need of producing high-quality STEM-prepared teachers who will teach in low-income, multicultural elementary schools. This project aims to recruit and prepare 18 new STEM teachers over five years who will commit to teaching in high-need school districts. A partnership between Sacred Heart University and Housatonic Community College will help community college students enter the elementary education field. It is anticipated that this will increase the diversity of prospective teachers, as many community college students are from ethnically or racially diverse backgrounds, are often first-generation college students, or are from financially under-resourced families. To be effective in high-need classrooms, prospective teachers need to be culturally responsive while teaching students how to be a scientist. The proposed project will provide mentoring and professional development in culturally responsive STEM teaching, and it is expected the teachers will develop a strong STEM identity and understand the connections between different STEM fields. This project at Sacred Heart University includes partnerships with Housatonic Community College and Ansonia, Bridgeport, and Stratford Public Schools. This project supports students who receive a Bachelor of Science degree focused on the biological and physical sciences and a Master of Arts in Teaching in elementary education. The project is based on the need for culturally responsive and trauma-informed pedagogy to effectively teach children in high-need classrooms. The development of a STEM identity in prospective elementary teachers will help them foster the same sense of identity in their future students. The project will research how project activities support prospective teacher understanding of how culture influences STEM learning and teaching. It will also investigate Scholar understanding of the interconnectedness of different STEM disciplines and their development of a STEM identity. Project evaluation will generate further evidence to demonstrate the ability of project activities to promote teaching efficacy. Joint programming with Sacred Heart University and Housatonic Community College will create a pathway from community college to elementary STEM education. Broader impacts include improved STEM education in high-need areas and a teacher preparation model that may be replicated. Dissemination will occur regionally in Connecticut and nationally. 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.