This project addresses the induction and mentoring components of an alternative teacher certification program and examines the effectiveness of these practices on teacher retention in urban schools. The Middle Grades Science (MGS) and Mathematics (MGM) program is a existing collaboration between the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) that involves the recruitment of individuals with strong science and mathematics backgrounds from underrepresented populations to teach in struggling urban schools. To retain these talented teacher interns, the induction and mentoring components are being redesigned to extend from one to three years, and a comprehensive professional development program is being added for both interns and their mentors. The professional development component is a joint effort of scientists, mathematicians, and education faculty. These individuals teach seminars and workshops that have been designed to deepen the understanding of content, demonstrate the integration of content and pedagogy, and educate interns on how to best address the varied instructional needs of a diverse student population. Significant program enhancements include: action-research projects, culturally relevant pedagogical practice, joint professional development for intern-mentor cohorts, creation of an on-line community, teaching and learning seminars led by scientists and mathematicians, and access by interns and mentors to advanced study in mathematics and science education.
The research component examines the identities that beginning teachers in an alternative certification program construct in relation to teaching middle grades science or mathematics in an urban context, and explores the role that mentoring practices play in supporting the construction of reform-minded teaching practices among science and mathematics teachers in an alternative certification program during this induction phase. The study participants include the MGS/MGM interns during their first three years of teaching in CPS, focusing on particular cohorts and interns at targeted stages within this extended induction phase.
By hearing firsthand from these beginning teachers, it is possible to learn how urban teacher identities are constructed at the intersections of personal experience, school culture, and broader educational policies that inform teacher preparation. The study has important implications for understanding how teachers prepared in an alternative certification program attempt to counteract the 50% attrition rate of new science teachers in urban schools through establishing communities of practice that sustain them as professionals and nurture their instruction and adds to the understanding of how best to service the science and mathematics instructional needs of middle grade students in urban schools.
