Preparing Engaged STEM Teachers through Multi-level Peer Mentoring and Early Teaching Experiences

Texas State University - San Marcos, San Marcos TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Track 1 project aims to serve the national need of preparing high-quality STEM teachers with deep content knowledge who are responsive to needs of students. Additionally, this project will support 20 to 30 STEM majors who seek teacher certification, with recruitment focused on physics, chemistry, and mathematics majors, which are areas of teacher shortage in US public schools. The project will accomplish this by providing scholarship support for future teachers; field-based teacher preparation collaboratively delivered by STEM and Education faculty; monthly full-day Saturday workshops taught by project personnel to enhance Scholars’ teaching-focused content knowledge and content-specific pedagogical skills; partial support for the operation of the Learning Assistant (LA) Program, a compelling early teaching experiences for undergraduates; and two years of induction support through a Vertical Peer Mentoring Network. The proposed project components will enable high-achieving prospective teachers to become secondary STEM teachers with extensive expertise in student-centered, research-based instruction. This project at Texas State University includes partnerships with Hutto, Leander, and Lockhart Independent School Districts. Project goals include the preparation of 20 to 30 STEM teachers over the five-year life of the project; recruiting primarily physics, chemistry, and mathematics majors; and supporting Scholars through both undergraduate and post-baccalaureate pathways into teaching. This project will be iteratively evaluated. Evaluation of the project will be guided by the following evaluation questions: EQ1 Career choice: What are the key influences (positive and negative) on Scholars’ choice of a teaching career? How do financial considerations factor into this choice, and for whom? How do background characteristics (notably secondary school experiences) factor into this career choice? EQ2 Peer mentoring: To what extent is the Vertical Peer Mentoring network useful for Scholars, and how do they use the network? What is the influence of being a mentor for new teachers, particularly in terms of their teacher identity? EQ3 Teaching practice: How do practicing teachers draw on their past experiences in the LA Program? What experiences in the LA Program do not appear to influence future teaching? Are student teachers’ performances on the Danielson Framework maintained in principal’s evaluations? EQ4 Project process: To what extent is the project achieving its stated goals and outcomes? Overall, what are the implications of these findings for the TXST Noyce program? 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.