The Clark Science-Math Teaching and Education Partnership (C-STEP) project is a Phase I Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship effort lead by Clark University in partnership with the Worcester Public Schools. The project supports twenty undergraduates and graduate biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics majors with scholarships or stipends toward becoming exemplary middle and high school teachers. The C-STEP draws teacher candidates from two pools: graduate students who enter the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program having already earned a baccalaureate degree or served as a professional in a mathematics, scientific or engineering field and undergraduates majoring in biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics who enter the five year Bachelor of Arts/MAT program (BA/MAT).
A unique focus of C-STEP is the neighborhood-based community of practice model harnessing personalized mentoring and group support on collegial mathematics and science teams in an effort to retain these exceptionally prepared teachers in high-need schools. The C-STEP crosses traditional school-university-neighborhood boundaries to create a synergistic space for the development and assessment of powerful curriculum and teaching practice by integrating the expertise of university mathematics and science faculty, urban teacher educators, and teachers.
The program interweaves several strong practices and commitments to build the community of practice approach: a strong intra-institutional partnership between the University departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics and the University's Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice and Hiatt Center for Urban Education; a close partnership with a high-need school district (Worcester Public Schools), including collaboration with a neighborhood-based set of partner schools; teams of partner school mathematics and science teachers working together to develop strong practice and serving as a pool of mentors as well as an induction community; an intensive one-year MAT program with a corresponding yearlong teaching internship; a five year BA/MAT teacher preparation pathway; and a neighborhood-based college success academic program for low-income, prospective first generation college-goers.
