This project aims to serve the national need for highly effective STEM teachers by developing a one-year Master of Arts in STEM Teaching degree program at Maryville College. This additional pathway to teaching licensure will address the needs of STEM majors who decide upon a teaching profession later in their college careers or even after graduation. Because of state licensure requirements, college students seeking teaching degrees are required to complete high credit-count coursework in both their primary STEM majors and in education. To do so in four years, most students begin on the traditional STEM education pathway, and their college coursework plans are prescriptive to ensure graduation within four years. The restrictions of this model can discourage transfer students as well as late deciders from pursuing teaching careers, as these students must often commit to at least two more years of study. The development and implementation of a Master of Arts in STEM teaching program aims to lower barriers for STEM majors to choose teaching as a profession.
During this project, Maryville College will partner with Blount County Public Schools, a neighboring high-need local education agency and four regional partners. Regional partners include the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, an environmental education center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the STEM Innovation Network of Tennessee, and the Little River Watershed Association. As the overarching goal of this project is to develop a one-year Master of Arts in STEM Teaching degree program, the project has three major objectives. One is to create a viable, attractive pathway for STEM majors from Maryville College and for transfer students from community colleges to pursue teacher licensure midway through their college careers. A second objective is to create educational materials to raise awareness of the new master’s program among Maryville College STEM students, regional STEM graduates, community college students, and potential professional partners with employees who may be interested in teaching. The third objective is to forge partnerships with several regional organizations to develop a recruitment pipeline of STEM professionals who want to change careers. The project also aims to provide professional development opportunities for undergraduate students and Master of Arts in STEM Teaching students through internships and teaching-related field experiences. Project evaluation will provide an opportunity to analyze the successes and challenges in developing and launching the proposed program, yielding valuable data for future program innovations at Maryville and for other institutions planning fifth-year STEM MAT program implementation. This Capacity Building project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. 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.
