- Year 2023
- NSF Noyce Award # 1852700
- First Name Sean
- Last Name Freeland
- Discipline Mathematics, STEM Education (general)
- Co-PI(s)
Frank Ammer, Nancy Jacqmin
- Presenters
Sean P. Freeland
Need
This work highlights the Noyce Scholars program at Carlow University, a program that recruits and retains secondary STEM educators. While the western Pennsylvania region has not felt the effects of the teacher shortage as much as in other areas, there is still a lack of teachers choosing to teach in schools with high need. This program requires scholars who graduate to teach in one of these districts in need of effective and highly qualified STEM educators. Our unique recruitment and retention efforts combined with our focus on computational thinking create an experience that is powerful for Noyce Scholars at Carlow. This work also examines the mathematics identities of these STEM educators which is important as teachers’ gendered, racial, classed identities impact their work in the program and in their districts.
Research Questions
What recruitment and retention efforts are needed at a small, private institution? How do we prepare STEM educators to teach minoritized students through the use of computational thinking? How are the mathematics identities of Noyce Scholars at Carlow impacted by the curriculum?
Approach
This work examines the recruitment and retention methods of the Noyce team at Carlow University in order to prepare and develop STEM educators for careers in high needs districts. Along with this, students are prepared through a curriculum that is focused on computational thinking and equity in STEM education. Data from interviews with Noyce Scholars and coaches will be shared. This work not only examines these efforts, but it also explores the mathematics identities of the Noyce Scholars at Carlow University before and after courses in their core curriculum. This is through the development of autobiographies that students write and revise in these courses. This data will be presented as well.
Outcomes
This poster will present initial findings from alumni interviews, Noyce coach interviews, as well as mathematics identity autobiographies. The goal is to develop best practices in recruitment and retention at a small, private institution in a metropolitan area. It will also guide work on identity that will follow to examine the impact of identity on students’ preparedness and willingness to teach in districts with teacher shortages.
Broader Impacts
This project can provide best practices for recruitment and retention of STEM educators at a small, private university and for high needs school districts. This will guide our implementation of the Noyce program at Carlow University and may provide implications for focusing curriculum on computational thinking. This is also exploratory work on mathematics identities of STEM educators and the impact on their teaching and learning. Next steps include follow up interviews with alumni and current students, other staff involved in the project, and continued efforts focused on mathematics identities.
