Incorporating Communities of Practice and Research Experiences into the Preparation of High School STEM Teachers

Lewis University, Romeoville

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need for preparing highly qualified high school STEM teachers. It has the important goal to prepare 30 high school STEM teachers across the subjects of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics to serve in high-need schools in Illinois. The project is designed to support the development and retention of STEM teacher candidates in multiple ways. These future teachers will participate in an on-going support community during their preparation and early teaching years. This STEM education community aims to bring together teacher candidates, university faculty, mentor teachers, and teacher alumni of the program. In addition, prospective teachers will complete extensive classroom field experiences and coursework focused on culturally responsive teaching practices to prepare them to be successful in STEM classrooms in high-need schools. Finally, prospective teachers will have the opportunity to participate in laboratory research experiences and be supported in developing curricular materials that translate their research experiences into classroom lessons for their future students. Through a combination of financial and programmatic support, the project aims to produce high school STEM teachers who can succeed and persist in STEM classrooms in high-need schools and inspire future generations of students to pursue STEM learning and careers. This project at Lewis University includes partnerships with three high-need school districts in the Greater Chicagoland area in Illinois: Valley View Public School District U365, Joliet Township High School District 204, and Bremen High School District 228. Project goals include recruiting, supporting, and retaining 30 undergraduates, who obtain degrees in a STEM discipline, and become secondary STEM teachers. Support of these Noyce Scholars in their early years of teaching is intended to enhance their retention as classroom teachers. Teacher candidates will be recruited from undergraduate Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics majors, which include significant numbers of transfer students and students who identify as members of racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in STEM disciplines relative to their numbers in the general population. A new Equity in STEM Education course will be developed to expand secondary STEM teacher preparation in culturally responsive teaching practices. Learning community activities aim to provide STEM professional development to area K-12 teachers in addition to prospective STEM teachers. Project activities are designed to support prospective teachers in deepening their content knowledge, developing skills in culturally responsive teaching practices, engaging in communities of practice, and experiencing STEM research within their discipline. Activities are designed to improve the retention and effectiveness of future secondary STEM teachers in high-need schools in the region. Project evaluation aims to measure the extent to which the project develops prospective teachers’ self-efficacy in culturally relevant teaching practices, as well as how the learning community model impacts their efficacy in STEM classrooms and attitudes towards STEM teaching careers. Further, the project aims to investigate how prospective teachers’ learning through STEM research experiences may be translated into STEM classroom teaching. These and other findings will be shared through multiple venues, including the University’s social media outlets and at regional and national STEM teacher education meetings 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.