- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1660506
- First Name Janelle
- Last Name Johnson
- Discipline Other: STEM
- Co-PI(s)
Hsiu-Ping Liu, Metropolitan State University of Denver, hliu1@msudenver.edu
- Presenters
Matthew Davis, Metropolitan State University of Denver, mdavi155@msudenver.edu; Janelle M. Johnson, Metropolitan State University of Denver, jjohn428@msudenver.edu
Need
Housed within an urban commuter HSI, the goals and objectives for our Noyce U-STEM program include increasing the number of students recruited into and graduating from STEM licensure programs; increasing the diversity of students recruited into and graduating from STEM licensure programs; preparing Noyce Teachers to work in high-need districts; assisting districts with professional development for STEM equity; establishing an innovative induction program for Noyce Teachers serving in high-need districts; improving mentoring of in-service teachers; and creating opportunities for Noyce Teachers to further their learning through professional learning communities. Work of this nature has been under-addressed in the research literature.
Goals
How can our program meet our goals and objectives while taking the specific needs of our first generation/working students into account? What are the programmatic tensions that inhibit rather than support Scholars’ preparation for teaching in high needs schools, and what do we as facilitators need to learn about and modify in our program design?
Approach
This poster shares some of the successes and challenges we have faced as we work towards these goals, and highlights a promising practice of near peer mentorship using a tool from Ambitious Science Teaching. Aspects of this tool that make it a good match for our Scholars in high needs schools include: flexible scheduling; near peer observation; design for working with English Learners; reflexivity; and a focus on process over product.
Outcomes
We have found that many of the so-called best practices in the literature do not function on the ground in our urban commuter university context. We have been collecting data from Scholars on the effectiveness of our programming in supporting their teacher development needs. We have begun to use the observational protocol from University of Washington’s Ambitious Science Teaching group. We plan to continue using this tool and collecting and analyzing data with the tool to help shape our future efforts.
Broader Impacts
Considering economic pressures and rising student debt loads, more and more universities’ students will be working commuter students. Lessons learned at our institution can offer constructive insights for other teacher education programs and funders of teacher education grants. Our next steps are to continue our data collection and analysis for dissemination and feedback; this poster is an important first step.
