The Tennessee State University Project Tiger Teach (PTT) project is supporting STEM students who will earn a degree in biology, chemistry or mathematics with teacher certification. PTT is a collaborative partnership between Tennessee State University and the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) System, a typical urban system serving 81,003 students, 75% of whom are economically disadvantaged. PTT is targeting four cohorts of 10 undergraduate students each (3 biology, 2 chemistry, and 5 mathematics), over a period of 5 years. The goals of PTT are to 1) increase the number of highly-qualified certified high school STEM teachers in high-need schools in Nashville, TN; 2) increase teacher diversity with emphasis on recruiting African-American male STEM teachers and 3) provide four years of mentoring and professional development opportunities to graduates.
Recruitment efforts include introduction of PTT to 1) science, mathematics, and undecided majors' orientation classes; 2) area high school career counselors; 3) students in HBCU-UP, Regents Math Academy, and TLSAMP; 4) student organizations and student athletes, and 5) the general public via creation of a web page. Participants are involved in summer institutes that include tutoring high school students in the Math Academy and Tennessee State University's Math and Science Center. By the end of their sophomore year, Noyce Scholars are admitted to the teacher certification program in biology, chemistry or mathematics.
Prior to their senior year, students complete four educational courses and all required content courses in preparation for the MNPS high school-based Residency I and Residency II. The year-long residency produces highly-qualified teachers who have mastered content knowledge and who understand the learning process and application of assessment results to improve instruction.
Noyce graduates receive four years of support including mentoring and opportunities for professional development. Among the professional development topics are strategic planning period, from class to the classroom, improving working conditions, effective communication with administration, current research and trends in education, professional rights and responsibilities, and opportunities for professional growth/training. The mentoring component consists of professional and social support networking including Facebook and Skype.
