With support from the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Track 1 Stipends and Scholarships project aims to serve the national need of preparing excellent STEM teachers for high-need schools and districts. Over its five-year duration, this project will recruit and prepare at least 27 Biology, Chemistry, and Physics majors to become teachers in high-need school districts in the San Luis Obispo area. The project includes a collaborative partnership with a Hispanic-serving two-year college (Cuesta College) and two high-need school districts (Lucia Mar Unified School District and Santa Maria Joint Union School District). The project builds on previous Noyce awards by: 1) establishing a summer program for new teachers; 2) enabling interested undergraduates to participate in program activities before they commit to becoming Noyce Scholars and to pursuing a teaching career; and 3) providing research experiences for Noyce Scholars. Results of this project will inform colleges and schools about effective approaches for recruiting, preparing, and supporting science teachers in high-need settings. In addition, incorporation of training about culturally responsive teaching and the collaboration with a Hispanic-serving institution have the potential to broaden participation in STEM.
The project activities build on a foundation of curricular and support strategies developed with previous Noyce awards. The overarching the goal is to increase access to STEM education and careers, including populations historically underrepresented in STEM fields. New activities include creation of two professional development units on culturally-responsive teaching for pre-service STEM teachers. In addition, cross-disciplinary science instruction will be incorporated though implementation of the Ambitious Science Teaching model. This teaching model provides a roadmap for student-centered science teaching in which students create and revise scientific models, and make evidence-based arguments. This strategy is intended to help students solve authentic, relevant problems that require an interdisciplinary approach, which is a major goal of the Next Generation Science Standards. Dissemination of project outcomes has the potential to provide new information to teacher education programs, including those working with populations that are underrepresented in STEM majors and careers. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
