Building Capacity to Prepare Exemplary STEM Teachers through Partnerships, Assessment, and Curriculum Modification

Quincy University, Quincy IL

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Capacity Building Project from Quincy University (QU) aims to serve the national need of building the capacity necessary to increase the number of highly-qualified STEM teachers entering the workforce in high-need LEA’s. The project will build collaborative relationships with partners in west-central Illinois (Quincy Public School District), northeast Missouri (Canton R-V School District), and southeast Iowa (Keokuk Community School District) to address regional and national shortages of qualified K-12 STEM teachers. Through detailed needs assessments, the project team will tailor curricular changes, professional development, and other capacity building activities to the needs and realities of these district partners. The project will develop 4+1 programs that will allow students to complete an undergraduate degree in biology, mathematics, chemistry, or computer science, a graduate degree in education, and teaching licensure on an accelerated 5-year timeline. This combined bachelor's-master's program will give future teachers a smoother pathway to their future classrooms, while maintaining their preparation in both STEM and education. A partnership with John Wood Community College will allow QU to strengthen teacher preparation pathways for transfer students. The project efforts will provide expanded opportunities for pre-service educators and lay the foundation for a future Track 1 proposal to the Noyce program. Project goals include developing partnerships with high-need regional districts and community colleges, assess QU and partners' STEM education curricular and professional development needs, revising STEM education curriculum, and providing relevant professional development training to University faculty and school district partners. An expert advisory board comprised of partner representatives and QU faculty will provide guidance to the project team across all activities, with support and feedback provided via a multi-part evaluation plan. This project has the potential to inform colleges/universities and school districts of effective strategies to train, recruit, and retain high-quality STEM educators and inform districts of resources needed to promote sustainable best practices in teacher support and retention. This Capacity Building 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.