Graduate Experience and Residency for Acquiring STEM Teaching Competencies

University Of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chattanooga TN

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Track 2 project aims to serve the national need for high-quality teachers in mathematics and the natural sciences in high-need schools. The project’s one-year residency model, leading to the Master of Education degree, will address best practices for recruiting, training, and supporting high-quality, prospective teachers to serve as teaching fellows, and then, as teachers in the most-challenged area schools. This project has the potential for advancing knowledge of STEM content and pedagogies, particularly in high-need schools, via an intensive, field-based, school residency; a curriculum that is research-based and aligned with accreditation standards; and a pedagogically rich experience that provides mentoring, induction support, and professional development. Assessment protocols have the potential to inform the teacher preparation community on best practices for STEM teacher training and retention in a high-need school district. Practicing teachers prepared through this project will have the opportunity to assist with courses at the university level, thereby helping to prepare future educators. Additionally, this project will support 24 fellows in science and mathematics by providing fellowships, mentoring, and professional development. The proposed project components will enable high-achieving prospective teachers to become secondary STEM teachers with extensive expertise in active learning instruction, technology integration, and standards-based assessment. This project at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga includes a partnership with the Hamilton County Schools to share responsibilities for teacher preparation, mentoring, and professional development. Project goals include recruiting, training, and supporting 24 teaching fellows to fill positions in critical shortage areas in high-need schools; preparing graduates to persist in the profession as effective teachers; ensuring the inclusion of persons from groups traditionally underserved in the STEM disciplines; fostering collaboration in teacher training and induction practices to build a culture of coaching; and increasing teacher self-efficacy. Within the project’s six-year timeline, the teaching fellows will be grouped in two cohorts of 12, beginning one year apart, with each cohort pursuing a one-year degree program and receiving professional development for four additional years. Teaching fellows will be recruited from STEM professionals who desire a change in career to teaching at the middle grades or secondary level. Potential contributions to the field include advancing knowledge and understanding of mathematics and science pedagogies, particularly in high-need schools, via intensive field experiences. The project has the potential to prepare and retain high-quality teachers who will be well-supported to transition from residency to teaching. Project evaluation will collect and analyze knowledge, skill, and attitude data via qualitative and quantitative assessments, with the potential to inform the community regarding best practices on the use of a data-driven model to effectively recruit, advise, support, retain, and motivate students to successfully matriculate through the curriculum and have an impactful teaching career. This project will be iteratively evaluated. Evaluation of the project will be guided by the following evaluation question(s): (a) How are the project teachers impacting high-need schools’ access to talented, well-prepared, and engaging new teachers?; (b) How does the performance and retention of project teachers compare to their matched peers?; (c) How are the yearlong residency and induction programming impacting students in the classrooms of new teachers and the culture of schools?; and (d) How is the project affecting teacher self-efficacy of the program teachers? The results of this project will be disseminated to help enhance the field. This Track 2: 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.