Limestone University Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship Program

Limestone College, Gaffney SC

Investigators

Abstract

The project aims to serve the national need of K-12 teacher leaders in STEM-related teaching fields in South Carolina by providing an immersive 6-year transformative program that includes leadership, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), and Project-Based Learning (PBL) coursework and professional learning experiences with partnership organizations. The project utilizes a small size cohort model to allow for more targeted attention of the Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs), i.e., teacher leaders, and to offer districts flexibility and support given the time allocations required for the fellowship. The program will produce twenty (20) STEM Teacher Leaders. The program plans to recruit experienced and exemplary K-12 STEM teachers under the Noyce definition who have completed a minimum of an undergraduate degree and are licensed and teaching in their field at partner local educational agencies (LEAs). This project at Limestone University (LU), a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), includes partnerships with two non-profit organizations: Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED) and South Carolina’s Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention & Advancement (CERRA). The project will impact students in two high-need school districts in South Carolina (Cherokee School District 1 and Spartanburg Schools District 3) by retaining and supporting highly effective Title 1 STEM teacher leaders. The project aims to advance knowledge on effective practices that have the potential to impact the development, support, and retention of STEM teacher leaders in high-need K-12 schools. The plan for developing STEM teacher leaders is organized under five goals: (1) Build Capacity to Lead (2) Design and Evaluate Equitable, Data-informed Curriculum and Instruction (3) Mentor and Lead Beginning Educators (4) Advocacy Skill Development (5) Improve Impact on K-12 Student Learning. The project will be monitored and evaluated with respect to its success in recruiting, preparing, and retaining MTFs in high need LEAs in South Carolina. Longitudinal data will also be collected to provide information concerning the long-term program features that contribute to effective STEM teacher development. This Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowships 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.