This Phase II project builds on the successes of the previous Phase I award which recruited and prepared four cohorts of new science and mathematics teachers, providing them with mentors and over 1,150 hours of field-based urban and rural experiences in learning to teach for diversity, and with special workshops and seminars geared towards developing the knowledge and skills they need to teach science and math effectively in high needs schools and districts. Mentoring is provided by Michigan State University (MSU) faculty with expertise in urban/rural teacher education, Master teachers in urban/rural school districts, and MSU Phase I Noyce Scholars. The project seeks to: (a) increase the number of teacher candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, from among those mathematics and science students not already in the education track, and from students in high-need science areas (i.e., physical and geosciences), and (b) provide a greater network of support across the teacher preparation years and the first years of teaching. The Phase II project expands the Michigan State University (MSU) Noyce Program through the following four objectives: (1) To recruit and retain three cohorts of MSU Noyce Scholars who are committed to teaching in high needs schools and districts; (2) To support MSU Noyce Scholars in developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions they need to excel and persist in teaching placements in high needs schools and districts; (3) To collaborate with and leverage powerful programs in place at MSU in teacher education induction programs in order to provide MSU Noyce Scholars with institutional and peer support; and (4) To determine the effectiveness of the MSU Noyce Scholars program in recruiting, retaining and supporting new teachers in attaining high needs placements, and to investigate the impact of the project on students supported under the first award in terms of their performance as teachers, their completion of the teaching requirement, and their retention in the teaching profession. The project is providing Noyce Scholarships to recruit and prepare 17 STEM majors to teach in urban school districts including Detroit and Chicago Public Schools.
