- Year 2017
- NSF Noyce Award # 1439849
- First Name Eric
- Last Name Pyle
- Discipline Other: Preservice Education
- Co-PI(s)
Kerry Cresawn, James Madison University, cresawko@jmu.edu
Scott Paulson, James Madison University, paulsosa@jmu.edu
Barb Reisner, James Madison University, reisneba@jmu.edu
Robbie Higdon, James Madison University, higdonrl@jmu.edu - Presenters
Kerry Cresawn, James Madison University, cresawko@jmu.edu
Robbie Higdon, James Madison University, higdonrl@jmu.edu
Need
Like many institutions, the number of pre-service science teachers at James Madison University has decreased relative to the total number of undergraduate students. As part of EPIC, we have developed ways in which to provide students who have expressed an interest in secondary science teaching various extra support networks in the form of close relationships with faculty (and more advanced students) in order to build a bridge between the students’ content area degree programs and the secondary education minor. We believe that by interacting with these students individually and on a more regular basis early in their program, they will be more persistent in pursuing the MAT needed for science teacher licensure.
Goals
Faculty from the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) and the College of Education (COE) have collaboratively developed strategies to increase the number of students who persist in obtaining licensure in science education and bring new students into the program through alternative pathways. This project provides students with an opportunity to gain many of the same competencies obtained in the current program in an alternative, earlier setting. It is our hypothesis that by doing so, we will provide students with the dispositions to persist through fifth year MAT program. This hypothesis is built on the premise that by providing an identity as a science teacher early in an four year content area degree program, students? motivation to complete the entire program will be increased. Furthermore, it is our hypothesis that this early identity development will establish a higher level of relevancy for the building of pedagogical content knowledge and mastery of evidence-based practices so that this skill set is viewed as an essential component of science teaching and learning. This, of course, is in contrast to the view that teaching is a safety net option for those science majors that do not continue on to graduate school. We will be able to test this hypothesis by comparing the motivation and performance of the EPIC students relative to their peers that stay with the current program format. Results may indicate that it is possible to streamline the undergraduate SEED program, which could eventually lead to a reduced time to graduation. EPIC represents the first large-scale modification to the SEED/MAT curriculum since its inception, with EPIC laying the foundation for continued discussions about a range of pathways towards science teacher licensure.
Approach
Using funds from a capacity-building NSF Noyce grant, we have developed new courses, summer experiences, and academic year experiences that provide additional ways for JMU undergraduates to work with middle and secondary school students. We have also developed new, sustainable routes into the secondary education minor and have reworked existing coursework to build participants’ science teacher identity. We have leveraged institutional supports including Admissions, Marketing and Outreach & Engagement to increase awareness of our program to incoming freshmen as well as current freshmen and sophomore taking content area science courses as part of their degree program.
Outcomes
Successes and challenges in implementing these EPIC strategies will be reported. To date, the current curricular structure has not supported a culture of coordination between the undergraduate and graduate experiences; this is a barrier to a coordinated pathway leading to an MAT for science teachers. There has been limited coordination between the courses for the science majors and those for the secondary education minor. There are physical barriers to
coordination (with the exception of the Geology Department, the science departments are geographically separated on campus); there have been administrative barriers, as well. Until students compete their undergraduate degree, they are the responsibility of the College of Science & Mathematics (CSM). Once they graduate and enter the MAT program, they are the
complete responsibility of the CoE. The implementation of the newly designed courses has promoted better coordination between CSM and CoE undergraduate learning experiences.
Broader Impacts
The immediate broader impact of the project is that the additional curricular on-ramps will remove barriers to completing a secondary education minor, which will lead to a broadening of the pool of participants who persist to complete the MAT degree at JMU leading to teaching licensure. Recruiting efforts and early exposure to teaching through service learning and outreach will target science majors early in their academic career who may not have considered teaching as a potential career. Early teaching experiences for include participation in outreach and summer science programs which will promote STEM education and impact the local community, including a significant rural, ethnically diverse, and economically disadvantaged population. Program elements supported by the Noyce program will lead to sustainable changes in the teacher preparation curriculum. In the long term, we will develop an expanded pool of well-trained MAT candidates who will be prepared to enter the workforce.
