- Year 2023
- NSF Noyce Award # 2050641
- First Name Jacqueline
- Last Name DeLisi
- Discipline STEM Education (general)
- Co-PI(s)
Abigail Jurist Levy, Education Development Center; Lisa Gonsalves, University of Massachusetts Boston
- Presenters
Jackie DeLisi, Abigail Jurist Levy, Lukas Winfield, EDC; Lisa Gonsalves, Miriam Niedergang, UMB; Jim LoBue, Sara Gremillion, Kania Greer, GSU; Sheila Vaidya, Drexel; Tetyana Berezovski, SJU
Need
The NSF Noyce Preparation for Persistence (P4P) Track 4 research project is a partnership between Education Development Center and ten Noyce scholarship programs at universities across the U.S. The goal of the research is to understand the features of preparation programs, including challenges and strategies, that might contribute to teaching and cultural self-efficacy among Noyce Scholars and ultimately lead to their persistence in high need schools. This project enables the ten partners to discuss and share important aspects of their work within the context of new data from program alumni and teacher candidates that highlight challenges and strategies for STEM teacher preparation for high-need schools.
Goals
P4P aims to understand the features of preparation programs that support the persistence of Noyce scholars in high needs schools. This poster will address the research question: What strategies are evident that support STEM teaching efficacy, cultural efficacy, and persistence of Noyce Scholars in high needs schools? How do these strategies vary across Noyce programs?
Approach
The P4P project is using a mixed methods approach to addressing our research questions. We are defining the features of preparation programs and connecting their contribution to teachers’ persistence through the lens of teaching and cultural self-efficacy. In the first phase of research, we administered a survey to Noyce program alumni to understand their varied pathways as educators and the features of their preparation that supported their science teaching self-efficacy and cultural efficacy. Interviews with alumni enabled further examination of program features and their relationships to teachers’ career pathways. In the second phase of research, we are looking more closely at the features of program, and how they support teaching and cultural efficacy in current Noyce scholars.
Outcomes
Findings from our analysis of the data collected from alumni highlighted the importance of maintaining connections with alumni. Many program alumni described the importance of mentorship, professional development, and/or induction programs that have continued beyond the time of their program completion. Through ongoing conversations among the P4P partners, we have found that these connections are also challenging to maintain for those who do not pursue a teaching career or who do not continue to teach and have real implications for following up with scholarship requirements.
Broader Impacts
The results from our study may serve provide guidance for teacher preparation programs regarding how they support and connect with alumni beyond the time of their preparation program.
