Equipping STEM Educators to Teach in High Need Rural Schools

This project aims to serve the national need to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers in the United States, with a particular focus on rural schools. A unique challenge for STEM teachers in rural districts is that they may be the only STEM expert in the district, a position often called a "backbone teacher." Such personnel are often expected to teach a very wide-array of high school mathematics and science courses, while also leading STEM education initiatives for the district. This project proposes to increase the number of highly qualified, backbone STEM teachers serving in high need rural schools. This project will recruit and train backbone STEM teachers who are ready to lead both in their individual classrooms and across the rural districts in which they serve. A key aspect of this preparation is innovated field experiences in K-12 STEM classrooms. This project at Dordt University (DU) includes partnerships with the West Sioux and Le Mars Community School Districts. Project goals include the recruitment, training, and support of 27 highly qualified STEM teachers entering the field over the five years of the project. The use of an integrated STEM learning approach through robotics and mediated field experience will be studied and add important knowledge to the field of STEM education, along with the effectiveness of outreach and teacher preparation for rural, high-needs local education agencies. Outreach efforts to be employed to aid in recruitment of future STEM teachers include: 1) K-12 student programming that provides STEM enrichment and vocational discernment opportunities; 2) collegiate student outreach regarding opportunities available in STEM education; 3) teacher networking opportunities including workshops, teacher circles, and professional learning communities. Cohort experiences designed to increase teacher preparation, quality, and retention will include: 1) the application of the mediated field experience model shown to improve teaching efficacy; 2) professional development opportunities including STEM education conferences; and 3) professional support during and after completion of a STEM-education bachelor’s degree through the DU Noyce Professional Learning Community. Detailed evaluation of discernment, teacher training, and new faculty induction at high-needs school systems will be implemented and used to make on-going improvements. 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 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.