Optimizing the STEM Teacher Recruitment, Development and Retention Pathway: Aligning STEM and Teaching Identities

California State University San Marcos Corporation, San Marcos CA

Investigators

Abstract

The project aims to serve the national need of recruiting, preparing, and retaining high-quality teachers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. The shortage of STEM teachers is a national concern. With a growing need for a specialized STEM-focused workforce, high-quality STEM teachers can prepare students for STEM careers, expand access to STEM education, and create a more inclusive and equitable workforce. To help address the shortfall of STEM teachers, the project will encourage qualified mathematics and science undergraduate students and graduates to pursue teaching careers at high schools and middle schools in high-need school districts. The project will support 30 prospective teachers through scholarships, early teaching experiences, mentoring, and teacher preparation. Once they have obtained a teaching credential and start teaching as novice teachers, the project continues to provide professional development opportunities in their first two years of teaching. During this time, STEM and Education professors and experienced teachers will mentor these new teachers and help them refine teaching skills and stay in the teaching profession. The project at California State University San Marcos includes partnerships with three community colleges (MiraCosta, Palomar, and San Diego Mesa) and two high-need school districts (Escondido Union High School District and San Marcos Unified School District). Project goals are to (1) recruit and retain 30 high-quality STEM majors and professionals to teaching careers over five years; (2) recruit at least 50% underrepresented racial minorities and women in STEM; (3) expand and sustain recruitment and retention mechanisms from freshman to teacher induction; and (4) expand and sustain the STEM education community in the region. The theoretical framework is based on Wenger’s (1998) theory of social participation and identity in a community of practice. A key feature of the project is to support participants as they develop their identities to include characteristics of both scientists and STEM teachers. The project’s intellectual merit includes a refined model for enhancing cross-disciplinary and cross-college faculty’s ability to recruit and produce high-quality STEM teachers and a deeper understanding of how students find balance between their STEM and teaching identities. The broader impacts of this project will aid the teacher shortage and increase role models for California’s diverse K-12 students. The models for faculty teamwork and collaboration with community colleges and school districts to support STEM teacher recruitment and retention can provide insights for other institutions as results are disseminated. 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.