This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Tuskegee University is providing two or three-year scholarships to 18 high achieving science and mathematics majors preparing to become effective teachers who are committed to teaching in high-need schools in 7 partnering rural school districts located in Alabama Black Belt counties. The Noyce Scholars are provided with a purposeful, discrete, hierarchal, sequential, inquiry-centered and topical curricula in each year of their STEM major; and appropriately challenging and contemporary mathematics and science teacher education foundation structured to be highly synergistic with a professional practice infusion program element leading to teaching certification. The project provides on-going support and mentoring for program graduates after employment as teachers in the target high need school districts. Noyce Scholars are required to participate in professional activities including the Saturday Recruitment Academy, intensive summer short courses, new teacher-mentor biannual sharing/support conferences, on-campus seminars and selected regional conferences. Noyce Scholar graduates and their teacher colleagues join Tuskegee University faculty as members of a learning community to continuously improve training of teachers, student learning outcomes and retention of effective teachers. The scholarship program was developed in cooperation with a diverse group of personnel including teacher educators, scientists, and mathematicians at Tuskegee University, the Deans of two of its colleges, the University's Provost, along with school and district officials from seven high needs Local Education Agencies (LEAs). The various elements of the program prepare Noyce Scholars to be highly proficient in their STEM discipline as well as understand the importance of applying the standards set forth by bodies such as the Division of Education at Tuskegee University, the Alabama Department of Education (Alabama Quality Teaching - AQT), National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), as well as essential standards and objectives formulated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Research Council (NRC). The project is producing science and mathematics teachers knowledgeable about both the STEM content and research-based teaching methodologies. Scholars have the academic preparedness to make a profound impact on the mathematics and science education of children from the partnering high needs school districts. In addition, the Noyce Scholars also serve as mentors and role models for the children in the high needs schools.
