Fostering Emotional Intelligence with Pre-Service STEM Teachers in Rural Districts

This project aims to serve the national need for high quality STEM teachers in high-need rural school districts. The national shortage of STEM teachers poses a particularly significant problem in rural areas where it is challenging to attract and retain high-quality STEM teachers. The shortage of STEM teachers has been heavily felt in rural northern Minnesota, where many of the project's collaborative school district partners have struggled for several years to hire and retain qualified STEM teachers. This project will prepare at least 16 highly qualified STEM teachers to teach in rural high-need schools. The project will also support new teachers during their first years of teaching through monthly engagement with a peer cohort, mentorship, social emotional learning (SEL), and culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) training. The project at Bemidji State University includes partnerships with a local nonprofit Peacemaker Resources, a tribal college Red Lake Nation College, community colleges including Normandale, North Hennepin, and Minnesota North, and high-need school districts including Bemidji, Red Lake, Trek North, Laporte, and Brainerd. Project goals include: 1) recruit and educate at least 16 diverse and highly qualified undergraduate students to double major in STEM (biology, chemistry, mathematics, or environmental science) and professional education who are prepared to support diverse students in high-need schools, 2) enhance undergraduates' knowledge and skills through participation in bi-monthly learning community trainings on SEL, adverse childhood experiences, CRP, and resiliency, 3) build a supportive learning community among Noyce Scholars to help them complete their coursework and begin teaching, 4) support the long-term success and retention of new teachers in the workforce for up to two-years post-graduation through monthly peer cohort learning community. This project integrates research on SEL, adverse childhood experiences, resiliency, and CRP to build a uniquely skilled rural STEM educator workforce. Through evaluation, this project advances the knowledge of the resources needed to prepare and support new STEM teachers to work in rural underserved schools. As a direct result of this project, it is anticipated that regional school districts will see an increase in highly qualified applicants applying for longstanding open faculty positions and may also have greater diversity in their applicant pool. 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 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.