Preparation of Noyce Science Teachers for Greater Boston

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need of high-quality science teachers for the middle and high school grades who teach in high-need school districts. This project will additionally address the need for more science teachers of color, a need faced by both urban and rural high-need districts nationally. Research has established that students of color learn science better when they can identify more with their teachers. To recruit more potential teachers of color, this project couples a research university with a science teacher preparation program, Boston University, with a local community college, Bunker Hill Community College, serving a large population of students. The university and community college will combine to offer early teaching experiences for students of color to introduce them to the teaching profession. The outcomes for the project are expected to be highly qualified science teachers, with the graduating classes having an enhanced number of new teachers of color. This outcome may help the members of the science teaching profession better reflect our national diversity. This project is a collaborative effort by Boston University and Bunker Hill Community College, in partnership with the school districts of Somerville and Revere, with the goal of preparing culturally competent teachers for high-need school districts and increasing the number of science teachers of color. The student body of Bunker Hill is principally Asian, Black, and Latinx. Many of these students are interested in careers in science and engineering. The project will test the theory that early teaching experiences may lead to students of color going on to teaching careers. By introducing Bunker Hill students to teaching science as peer mentors and a field experience in a school early in their college career, the project expects that some will discover a joy for teaching and that teaching science is a way for them to give back to their community. The project expects to prepare 26 Noyce Scholars for Massachusetts State Teacher Licensure over the five years of the award. This Track 1 project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and post-baccalaureates to become STEM 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.