Increasing and Inspiring Highly Effective Secondary STEM Teachers for High-Need, Culturally Diverse School Districts

This project aims to serve a national need by increasing the number of highly effective secondary STEM teachers in high-need, culturally diverse schools in rural and urban areas of northeastern Oklahoma. The State currently faces teacher shortages, including teachers qualified for instruction in mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics. This project aims to attract, prepare, and inspire prospective teachers to select diverse areas in which to teach upon graduation and will provide 20 scholarships to high-achieving students, significantly reducing the financial burden of becoming a STEM teacher. These prospective teachers will receive enhanced programming through diverse experiential learning opportunities, enhanced mentoring, summer workshops, and after graduation, scholars will continue to receive high-quality induction support. An innovative feature of the project is its integration of instruction in place-based education - the immersion of students in local heritage as a foundation for learning, to prepare STEM teachers for careers in high-need school districts. By utilizing place-based education and other effective and engaging STEM instruction, this project promises to improve learning outcomes for the Scholars, better prepare the students they teach for college, and increase those students’ interest and engagement in the STEM fields. Over the course of five years, 20 undergraduate students will be awarded scholarships to earn a bachelor’s degree in their STEM fields as well as Oklahoma secondary teaching certification. Towards this end this project will rely on Northeastern State University collaborating closely with two K-12 partners: Tahlequah Public Schools and Union Public Schools. These partnerships provide ideal settings for the innovative preparation of prospective STEM teachers for high-needs school districts while combating the teacher shortage crisis. High quality, research-informed practices to enhance prospective teachers’ learning include experiential learning, which provides opportunities that extend beyond required internships; mentoring by highly effective practicing teachers from high-needs school districts; workshops focusing on best practices with a goal of preparing prospective teachers for their role as educators; and science and mathematics demonstration workshops facilitated by faculty and other STEM experts. This project has the potential to increase retention of graduating STEM teachers while also preparing effective teachers for tomorrow’s workforce. The intellectual merit of the proposed project is embedded in the integration of instruction to support teacher efficacy and in place-based education and its coursework as an innovative way to prepare STEM teachers for careers in high-need school districts. Results of this project will be used to develop evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the training of STEM educators at other higher education institutions and to investigate the impact of recruitment measures in recruiting scholars and the impact of programming in retaining scholars, especially those from minority populations. 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 persistence, retention, and effectiveness 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.