Working to Improve STEM Educator Recruitment and Retention through Relationships

Winthrop University, Rock Hill SC

Investigators

Abstract

The Track 1 Noyce project aims to serve the national need to increase the numbers of STEM educators with high-quality preparation and provide support that increases their retention rates. Attracting STEM majors and specialists to teaching careers has long been challenging, and low retention rates make this problem more difficult. WISER3 intends to address these issues by focusing on relationships and community among STEM educators. The project provides early professional experiences for STEM majors to explore content-specific research and STEM careers so that they connect with professionals in their field, including teachers. Scholarships support STEM majors who pursue teacher certification through a program enhanced by pairing student teachers and incorporating cross-cohort mentoring groups. Scholars participate in a systemic and data-informed approach to STEM educator recruitment that spans P-12 and university-level audiences. Support beyond the preparation program continues through cross-cohort mentoring in the early years of a scholar’s teaching career. These components intend to attract STEM majors to the teaching field and increase STEM educator retention rates by developing an enduring support community. This project at Winthrop University (WU) includes partnerships with Clinton College (a nearby HBCU) and three local high-need school districts: Chester County, York District 1, and Rock Hill Schools (York District 3). Project goals include increasing participation in WU’s STEM education programs; ensuring WISER3 scholars are effective classroom teachers; retaining these STEM educators in high-need schools in the partner districts; enhancing mentoring supports through near-peer and cross-cohort design that spans the preparation program and continues through induction years; and implementing community-building components through regular professional development and social events. Across the five-year funding period, WISER3 will produce 42 new STEM educators through scholarships for high-achieving students to obtain teacher certification through a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. Among these, six will be recruited from biology majors at the Clinton College. The remaining 36 will be WU students with majors in biology, chemistry, or mathematics. The project has the potential to contribute additional research insights on implementing (a) paired placements in field and clinical experiences and (b) cross-cohort mentoring. 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.