Developing more, highly qualified science and mathematics teachers is a national priority. Through funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Phase I Noyce Teacher Scholarship project will recruit, prepare, and support twenty-four students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in a STEM discipline to simultaneously complete requirements for teacher certification in Oklahoma over a five-year period. This project is responsive to both the national and local shortage of outstanding STEM secondary teachers and to the need to diversify the teaching workforce to take advantage of the richness that this country offers. This project is a collaboration among Langston University, the Oklahoma City Community College, and Oklahoma City and Guthrie School Districts.
LU Noyce Scholar pre-service teacher candidates will be recruited from four groups: community college STEM majors; existing Langston University (LU) STEM Scholars who indicate a preference for teaching or who are not committed to pursuing graduate school in their discipline immediately upon graduation; LU undeclared majors who indicate an interest in teaching and exhibit acumen in STEM subjects such that they would pursue a degree in a STEM discipline; and pre-college students in Oklahoma's high schools. This project will also leverage LU's decades of long demonstrated capabilities as the primary training resource for Oklahoma's African-American secondary teachers, and its track record to develop outstanding STEM majors who will bring their core content knowledge, passion for learning and commitment to social justice to the teaching and learning enterprise. In addition to strategic recruitment activities, components of the project will include: a Pre-scholarship Support Program; LU Noyce Teacher Preparation Program; LU Noyce Program Performance, Retention, and Enrichment Experiences Program; and the LU Noyce Post-Graduation Support/Retention Program. The project builds upon and integrates a number of research-based approaches and tools, including the Competency Performance Recordings for Learning (CPRL), a teaching and learning protocol demonstrated to support students' problem solving skills, and the STEM Digital Village, an online STEM learning community that supports and recognizes the Scholar's activities and performance, provides educational resources, and supports monitored, education-oriented discussion beyond LU's campus. The ultimate societal benefit of this LU Robert Noyce endeavor, both within Oklahoma and nationwide, will be the development and support of a diverse group of highly qualified STEM teachers, who have a love for their STEM discipline and who are well-grounded in teaching in high-needs school districts. An external evaluator will conduct a formative and summative assessment, which will examine the impact of the online aspects of the work, as well as the indicators of success associated with the recruitment, development, and retention of the twenty-four Langston Noyce Scholars.
