Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Capacity Building/Track 1 at Sam Houston State University – Round 1

Sam Houston State University, Huntsville TX

Investigators

Abstract

Noyce Track 1 and Capacity Building project address the national need to recruit, prepare and retain highly effective secondary math and science teachers who are committed to long term-term classroom teaching in high-need school districts. This project aims to build institutional and national capacity to increase and retain the number of certified STEM educators serving in high-needs school across Texas. Additionally, this project will support 39 undergraduate scholars who double majored in Education plus at least one STEM major of science (biology and/or chemistry) or mathematics by offering each scholar a $20,000 scholarship to cover the cost of tuition and fees, specialized programming focused on STEM related community building, active learning, teaching preparation for STEM educators, as well as providing STEM related volunteer opportunities with the local community. The proposed project components will enable high-achieving prospective teachers to be retained throughout the entirety of their undergraduate coursework, which later ensures successful transition into secondary STEM classrooms upon degree completion. Scholars will become secondary STEM teachers with extensive expertise in active learning instruction, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, their content areas and, pedagogical knowledge and skills. The monetary support provided by the scholarships will allow scholars the mental space and tangible tools to fully engage in their undergraduate teacher preparation program, STEM-focused coursework, and additional STEM-focused service and scholarship opportunities. This project at Sam Houston State University includes institutional partnerships between the College of Education (including the departments of Academic Enrollment & Administration, Assessment & Accountability, Student Success and Partnerships, and School of Teaching & Learning), the College of Science & Engineering Technology (including the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Engineering Technology, Environmental & Geosciences, Mathematics & Statistics, and Physics & Astronomy) and the Student Advising & Mentoring Center. It also includes a partnership with the Lone Star College, specifically the Montgomery campus location. Project goals include the following: 1)recruitment of a total of 39 Noyce Scholars across the following key undergraduate student populations: a) incoming transfer students from regional two year institutions, b) STEM majors, and c) newly declared secondary education majors already enrolled at SHSU, 2) preparation of highly qualified STEM teachers to be experts in both their content areas and pedagogical knowledge and skills, and 3) retention of existing undergraduate Noyce Scholars throughout the program as they pursue degree completion and commit to teaching in high-need school districts upon graduation. The project goals align with NSF’s goal of improving Pre-K through grade 12 STEM education and teacher development with a focus on intentional recruitment, preparation, and recruitment of STEM educators. This project will be iteratively evaluated. Evaluation of the project will be guided by the following evaluation questions (a) Are the quality and quantity of STEM majors recruited into the Noyce program sufficiently high? This will be monitored by the number of applicants (at least 60 will be sufficient), and the rate of completion of each cohort (the goals are 100% graduation and certification rates,) (b) Does the EPP program at SHSH adequately prepare STEM majors for the challenges of the classroom? This will be monitored by the number of Noyce graduates hired into regional high-need school districts (the goal is 100% hiring rate), their retention at these schools and in the teaching profession. (c) To what extent did the Noyce program play a positive role in the success of the first years of teaching? Progress on this metric will not be evaluated until the first graduates (Spring 2026) enter the teaching profession in the Fall of 2026. These goals support the NSF’s broader impact priorities: developing a globally competitive STEM workforce (Goal 5), improving public scientific literacy (Goal 6), and expanding access across geographic and socioeconomic lines. 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.