The Texas Tech Noyce Scholars (TTNS) program, implemented by the Departments of Mathematics & Statistics and Chemistry & Biochemistry at Texas Tech University (TTU), is providing scholarships to 26 upper level undergraduate students from Mathematics and Chemistry majors for a two-year long K-12 teacher preparation experience. Students take courses related to K-12 education and spend 10 hours per week in K-12 schools. Students are mentored by faculty and teachers committed to their educational development and are provided with long term support structures to ensure their continued success as teachers. The mix of mathematics and science students creates a synergy that dovetails with existing integrated programs at TTU. In addition, ten lower level undergraduates participate each year in summer K-12 programs designed to facilitate their induction into K-12 secondary teaching careers. This is particularly helpful to members of underrepresented groups who may not otherwise have considered teaching as a career. Scholarship recipients must teach for four years following completion of their certification in high needs schools in Lubbock Independent School District (LISD) in West Texas, a district with large populations of underrepresented students. Intensive mentoring is provided. The project is collaborating with the Center for the Integration of Science Education and Research, a partner in the T-STEM initiative at TTU, which has an established record of success in preparing and supporting teacher leaders, who are effective teachers, mentors, and developers of curriculum. Education officials from LISD supervise the placement and retention of the new teachers. Each year the participants form a cohort, a model that is known to lead to more successful retention in such programs. Effective mentoring practices are being studied and disseminated for replication in other programs. Coordinating the coursework and K-12 experiences with an intense environment focused on mentoring will give the cohorts a real sense of the work of teachers, thus promoting higher retention levels in teaching careers. The nation's schools also face a continuing problem in retaining effective mathematics and chemistry teachers. This program is developing a model support system, focused on mentoring and collaboration, which is designed to enhance the first four years of teaching experiences of these individuals.
