- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1340042, 1439827
- First Name Jessica
- Last Name Krim
- Discipline Biology, Chemistry, Math
- Co-PI(s)
Math PI: Tammy Voepel, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, tvoepel@siue.edu; Kelly J. Barry, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, kbarry@siue.edu, Sharon Locke, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, slocke@siue.edu, Susan Wiediger, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, swiedig@siue.edu
- Presenters
Jessica S. Krim, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, jkrim@siue.edu; Kelly J. Barry, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, kbarry@siue.edu
Need
Southwestern Illinois’s high-needs districts have an urgent need for high quality teachers who can inspire young students to pursue STEM careers. Declining cities along the Illinois side of the Mississippi River are characterized by high rates of crime and poverty and low student achievement. In East St. Louis, only 47% of 7th graders and a mere 8% of 11th graders meet performance standards for science on state examinations (ISBE, 2012). Rural communities are also suffering economically (IBHE, 2009), and their small school districts are under-resourced, especially for teaching STEM (NIU, 2006). The SIUE Noyce program responds to regional needs by 1) preparing new teachers who will have the self-efficacy and commitment to stay in their positions, and 2) supporting the new teachers and their STEM teaching colleagues through a professional network that adds value and nurtures the development of teacher leaders.
Goals
Guiding questions are constructed from the objectives and implementation strategies of the project: 1) recruit highly qualified STEM students that demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, 2) provide these students with an enhanced experience in STEM education and research, 3) supply high-needs middle and high schools with exemplary science educators, 4) increase outreach in the communities of southwestern Illinois, and 5) disseminate project findings for use in other STEM education settings. The program will implement strategies for recruiting and nurturing cohorts of STEM teacher candidates during their college years and into their early teaching careers in high-needs schools. Key components of the program are: 1) a self-efficacy framework that imparts confidence and skills to developing teachers, 2) a two-phased recruitment strategy that exposes underclassmen to the rewards and challenges of education and offers scholarships and research opportunities to upperclassmen, and 3) the development and support of a STEM teacher network in southwestern Illinois high-needs schools.
Approach
The program will implement strategies for recruiting and nurturing cohorts of STEM teacher candidates during their college years and into their early teaching careers in high-needs schools. Key components of the program are: 1) a self-efficacy framework that imparts confidence and skills to developing teachers, 2) a two-phased recruitment strategy that exposes underclassmen to the rewards and challenges of education and offers scholarships and research opportunities to upperclassmen, and 3) the development and support of a STEM teacher network in southwestern Illinois high-needs schools.
Outcomes
To date, 23 science majors, 15 math majors, and 50 interns have participated in SIUE’s Noyce Programs. Over 29 presentations on research about these programs or produced by Noyce Scholars, have been prepared to disseminate information gained from these grants. Next steps include 6th year extensions and preparing proposal for future cycles of NSF Noyce awards.
Broader Impacts
The project addresses a need for high quality teachers in underperforming urban and rural districts in southwestern Illinois. The scholars will teach in schools in depressed small cities on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, which have a large minority population, as well as in rural districts with high poverty rates and low high school graduation rates. Through outreach activities built into the program design, the Noyce interns and scholars will reach an additional 2500 middle and high school students, providing minds-on STEM activities designed to generate interest and enthusiasm in STEM and STEM careers.
