The TELBio: Teaching English Learners Biology project is a collaboration between Kennesaw State University's (KSU) College of Science and Mathematics and the Bagwell College of Education, as well as with five high-need school districts in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area including Atlanta Public Schools, Fulton County Schools, Cobb County School District, Marietta City Schools, and Gwinnett County Public Schools. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program TELBio project supports thirty-six qualified students in obtaining a Master's of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and teacher certification in secondary biology, as well as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement. Biology is vocabulary-intensive and is often a particular challenge among the sciences for non-native English speakers, as evidenced by high failure rates on Biology End of Course Tests for students designated Limited English Proficient (LEP). Scholars with strong biology content knowledge are recruited into the program, and instruction in methods of teaching ESOL as well as cultural issues strengthens the skill set of these future biology teachers. Through the TELBio project, research-based best practices in biology instruction with English language support, social justice techniques, culturally relevant and culturally responsive pedagogies are used to equip Noyce Scholars to meet the needs of all students. Instructional classroom strategies, as well as state science, mathematics, and literacy standards, are addressed through graduate (MAT) courses, seminars, professional learning communities, pre-service teacher action research, and websites and blogs. Once scholars become teachers, mentoring is provided through teacher-mentor training opportunities (supported by districts' individualized induction programs), in-school mentoring, and KSU faculty mentorship support. Data regarding the academic strength and commitment of the applicants, evidence of development of candidate skills during the program period, and evidence of success during the induction period for scholarship recipients are used to evaluate program effectiveness.
