The project aims are (1) to better prepare students from the large and mostly underserved EBRPSS school system to meet high academic standards in collegiate STEM disciplines, (2) to foster the appreciation and capability of college students for high quality STEM teaching methods, and (3) to graduate high-caliber U.S. research doctorates who are well-prepared for content-oriented training of prospective secondary math and science teachers at colleges and universities in the U.S. Supported by NSF's STEM Teacher Preparation and R. Noyce Scholarship Programs, LSU's newly redesigned secondary STEM certification program features extensive field based preparation and broad-based collaboration among university faculty and a cadre of highly qualified STEM mentor teachers from EBRPSS. In this project, the mentor teachers help to identify each year eight pairs of math and science teachers who welcome the support of GK-12 Fellows and the professional development opportunities provided. Each teacher pair works with a Graduate Fellow and two Undergraduate Fellows throughout the academic year. Graduate Fellows spend ten hours a week providing direct assistance to the two teachers, with time given off for assignments for other GK-12 Tasks, such as presentations of .Discovery Kits within the LSU Science on Wheels Program. Undergraduate Fellows provide a wide range of instructional support in Math Labs they organize.
The intellectual merit of the proposal is based upon the extensive experience of the participating STEM investigators in the project, the breadth and depth of leadership and infrastructure provided by LSU, and the strong partnership among the university faculty and a corps of dedicated middle and high school mentor teachers. The project allows the testing of a model to enhance the scope and quality of undergraduate and graduate education at a large state university by helping to improve mathematics and science education in a school district that embodies all of the challenges that are faced by many districts nationwide, including low performing schools, a large minority population, and schools with a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students.
The broader impacts include an increased interest of faculty in academic STEM departments in K-12 math and science education, an increase in recruitment rates of high school students into STEM disciplines, especially among minorities and/or women, and an increase in the number of strong research-doctorates in STEM disciplines that are better prepared to provide content-based instruction to prospective secondary teachers as well as to in-service secondary teachers. Through careful documentation and dissemination of the project results, this project will have applications across the country, particularly in research universities that are in close proximity to school systems plagued by low student performance and a dearth of students being offered challenging STEM curricula.
