- Year 2017
- NSF Noyce Award # 1035465
- First Name David
- Last Name Torres
- Discipline Other: Education
- Co-PI(s)
Ruth Hidalgo, Northern New Mexico College, ruth_hidalgo@nnmc.edu
Joaquin Vila, Northern New Mexico College, joaquin.vila@nnmc.edu
- Presenters
Ruth Hidalgo, Northern New Mexico College, ruth_hidalgo@nnmc.edu
Need
Northern New Mexico has a continuing need for strong STEM teachers in secondary education. Low salaries and large classroom sizes often lead to high teacher turnaround. This project is important because it analyzes the results of the 7-year Noyce program at Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) using the following measures: number of Noyce awards for STEM undergraduates, number of Noyce awards for STEM graduates, number of students who completed the Alternative Licensure Program at NNMC, number of students who completed the teaching requirement, and number of students who persisted in the teaching field. This project benefits other projects because it identifies the challenges we encountered in administering the Noyce grant in Northern New Mexico.
Goals
The goals of this project were to recruit undergraduate and graduate STEM majors and have them complete the Alternative Licensure Program at Northern New Mexico College. Subsequently, we required two years of teaching in a high-risk district for every year of Noyce support. Our hope was that our Noyce graduates would build a career around teaching 7-12 grade students in STEM fields and become leaders at their schools.
Approach
We collaborated with the College of Education at Northern New Mexico College in identifying eligible candidates for the Noyce program. Noyce seminars were offered in the fall and spring semesters to bring Noyce students and faculty together to discuss issues surrounding teaching in the STEM field. Noyce students were tracked during the program and after exiting the program. An external evaluator assessed the program annually.
Outcomes
We awarded a total of 23 Noyce scholarships. Out of the 23, 4 students were undergraduates, and 19 were graduates. Recruitment was a challenge for our program, so we did not award the expected number of Noyce scholarships each year. Twelve of the 23 students have completed their Alternative Licensure Program coursework to date. Ten students have completed their teaching requirement.
Broader Impacts
The broader impact of our project was to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers in secondary education in New Mexico. Strong STEM teachers will foster and encourage careers in STEM fields in their students.
