Expanding collaborations that recruit, prepare, and retain diverse and highly-qualified STEM teachers in Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington University, Cheney WA

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Track 1 project aims to serve the national interest by diversifying and supporting the STEM teacher workforce. This project seeks to recruit diverse STEM preservice teachers to be awarded Noyce Scholarships to teach in high-need schools via new strategic partnerships across eastern Washington. These Scholars will receive dual degrees in a STEM content field as well as earn their teaching certification, to ensure a high degree of pedagogical content knowledge. The project will develop new professional development training for mentor teachers, a new field experience course for prospective Scholars, as well as additional cultural competency training for Scholars. This project provides wrap-around support for new STEM teachers via an induction program. Providing customized support and training to Scholars will help retain a more diverse STEM teacher workforce. This project at Eastern Washington University includes partnerships with Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, Columbia Basin College, Recruit Washington Teaching Academies, as well as Spokane, Cheney, and Liberty Public Schools. The project goals include: 1) increasing the number of STEM teachers with exceptional content and pedagogical content knowledge; 2) increasing the number of diverse STEM teachers in science and mathematics disciplines; 3) preparing STEM teachers to develop engineering and mathematical practices aligned with the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards; and 4) increasing the number of teachers who effectively teach diverse students and persist in the field. This project will fund 32 new STEM teachers over 5 years. Undergraduate scholars will be recruited from mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, and geosciences. This project will explore the ways in which both new and strengthened partnerships with external institutions and internal campus units increase the number of diverse preservice teachers, and what implications the contextual differences across the collaborating institutions have on recruitment efforts. This project will develop a new first year STEM education course and enrollment data will be collected in STEM education programs. Additionally, this project will explore to what extent, explicit instruction in cultural literacy and co-curricular activities improves cultural competence, and the ways in which expanding induction support and scholarships impact Scholars’ persistence in teaching at high-need schools. An external evaluator will assist in evaluating the effectiveness of the program at achieving the stated outputs and impact. The project team will disseminate findings at regional and national conferences, in journal articles, and online via a project website. Noyce Scholars will have a long-lasting positive impact on student learning through their use of the evidence-based practices emphasized in this program and by sharing effective practices with other teachers. Additionally, recruiting diverse students, preparing them for the classroom, and then developing, supporting, and retaining them in the profession will have a positive impact on all students in STEM. 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.