- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 2151122
- First Name Matthew
- Last Name Clay
- Registration Faculty/Administrator/Other
- Discipline STEM Education (general)
- Role Co-PI
- Presenters
Matthew Clay, Paul Adams, Earl Legleiter, Eric Deyo, Imelda Koenke, Fort Hays State University
Need
This project is an approach utilized to address recruitment challenges both within the scope of a Noyce grant, but also for rural science teachers in general.
Research Questions
This effort focused on working with rural school districts to recruit in a way that was mutual beneficial. The intention was to form a partnership that allowed school districts to use the Noyce stipend in recruitment as well as provide an increased reach into rural communities for the project.
Approach
In this effort, rural districts were encouraged to list the Noyce stipend information within their job listings for science teacher openings. Districts that identified a potential teacher were able to use the stipend as akin to a signing bonus. This districts then frequently hired candidates as long-term substitute teachers. This effort did allow for a much wider reach for the Noyce project team in recruiting participants as it led to many school districts recruiting Noyce participants simultaneously to their own hiring needs.
Outcomes
Although fairly early in the project, this approach has led to the successful recruitment of multiple Noyce participants. This includes individuals who were hired by particular districts or those who simply saw the job advertisements.
Broader Impacts
This approach has the potential to serve as a mutually beneficial recruitment partnerships between school districts and Noyce teams, particularly in rural areas with large teacher shortage problems. This also has the potential to serve as a model for mutual beneficial recruitment between school districts and teacher preparation programs.
