This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are awarding Noyce Scholarships to 39 students, including 24 undergraduate mathematics majors and 15 postbaccalaureate students, enrolled in programs leading to secondary teaching certification in mathematics. School districts served by the project include the small urban districts of Champaign, Urbana, Decatur, and Danville as well as rural districts in Tolono, Rantoul, and Mahomet. The Noyce Illinois program combines a rigorous mathematics and education curriculum with extensive interaction with leading faculty in the area of equity and effective mathematics teaching of marginalized students. It offers early field experiences and student teaching placements in high needs school districts, supported by targeted opportunities to learn and apply the latest theories and cutting-edge practices for supporting marginalized students to learn mathematics in the 21st century. Summer internships in K12 STEM education programs are offered as a recruitment strategy for prospective Noyce Scholars. A monthly Noyce Seminar focuses on problems from the field, reflection on coursework, the skills needed for teaching in high needs schools, and video examples of classroom teaching. Noyce Scholars have access to the particularly rich and diverse array of summer enrichment programs operated by the University of Illinois across the Colleges of Engineering, Agricultural and Economic Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, as well as UI Extension. Noyce Illinois incorporates formalized mechanisms to support ongoing interactions among Noyce graduates and campus groups as well as professional development sessions and online mentoring geared to support graduates in their first year of teaching.
