- Year 2016
- NSF Noyce Award # 1136335
- First Name Larry
- Last Name Horvath
- Discipline N/A
- Co-PI(s)
Eric Hsu, San Francisco State University, erichsu@sfsu.edu; Adrienne Cool, San Francisco State University, cool@sfsu.edu
- Presenters
Larry Horvath, San Francisco State University, lhovath@sfsu.edu
Need
Engaging students in high needs school is challenging work. Enabling novice STEM teachers to survive and thrive during their first years in high needs classrooms requires targeted preparation supported by a community of mentors able to model best classroom practices, leadership, and inquiry – all within a supportive community of practice. The strongest mentors are still actively teaching and working in high needs schools, and have the skills, dispositions – and corresponding social capital – to work with novice STEM teachers both in and out of the classroom. Targeted mentoring and modeling supports the learning of both the pre-service teachers and their students, and can transform future practice and foster resiliency, promoting continuing engagement in the community of practice even after formal support is no longer consistently available.
Goals
The San Francisco State Noyce Scholar Program – in collaboration with the San Francisco State Center for Science and Math Education (CSME) and STEM Teacher Fellows Program – has developed a Teacher in Residence cohort who support both our STEM (undergraduate and credential) Teacher Fellows and Noyce Scholars in very specific ways:
** Math and Science Teachers in residence plan and implement workshops (focus varies) for all Teacher Fellows and Noyce scholars, two per semester
** Math Teachers in Residence collaborate with our Math Noyce Scholars to plan and implement a common core/math/equity workshop for all of our math teacher fellows
** Science Teachers in Residence collaborate with our Science Noyce Scholars to plan and implement an NGSS/science/equity workshop for all of our science teacher fellows
** Math and Science Teachers in residence visit our Noyce Scholars in their student teaching placements for content specific mentoring and to support action research projects
Approach
Our goal is to develop, and continue supporting a cohort of Teachers in Residence who are exceptional models and mentors. There has been a very consistent group of CSME Teachers in Residence over the initial five years of our Noyce Program:
Math:
** Kentaro Iwasaki, recipient of Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, former teacher at Mission High School SFUSD, and now at ConnectEd.
** Marcus Hung, Noyce Master Teacher Fellow (UC Berkeley), teacher at June Jordan School for Equity SFUSD
** Norma Hernandez – Former SFSU Noyce Scholar, teacher at International Studies academy SFUSD
Science:
Eric Lewis, NBCT, former teacher at Mission high School and current Lead Science Teacher on Special Assignment SFUSD
Alton Lee, Chemistry and Physics teacher at Mission High School SFUSD
Donna Dela Calzada, former SFSU Noyce Scholar, teacher at Sequoia High School, Sequoia Union High School District, Redwood City California
Both Norma and Donna are our newest Teachers in Residence (Donna is in year 3, Norma year 1), and both are taking on greater mentoring roles as they work closely with Kentaro, Marcus, Eric and Alton in all aspects of our Teacher fellows and Noyce programs.
Outcomes
In the external evaluations of our Noyce project, both the Noyce Scholars and the Teachers in Residence consistently speak to the positive effect the mentoring relationships have on teaching practices that are effective in high needs schools, perspectives on leadership, development of a community of practice, and sustaining oneself as an urban educator.
Broader Impacts
Over the past five years, all of our 35 Noyce scholars, and over 250 STEM Teacher Fellows have experienced the modeling and mentoring provided by our CSME Teachers in Residence. Two of our Teachers in Residence, Norma Hernandez and Donna Dela Calzada, were recently interviewed for an article to be published in San Francisco State Magazine. Both Norma and Donna were asked to highlight the support the CSME and participation as SFSU Robert Noyce Scholars provided as they were able to overcome multiple challenges and continue to successfully teach in high needs urban schools. Now both Norma and Donna have returned to the CSME as models and mentors for the next generation of STEM Teacher Fellows and Noyce Scholars.
