- Year 2017
- NSF Noyce Award # 934928
- First Name Bradley
- Last Name Hughes
- Discipline Biology
- Presenters
Bradley Hughes, University of California, Irvine, bhughes@uci.edu
Need
Our project targets students that are potentially interested in teaching STEM fields in areas with high-need students. There is a lack of teachers in the STEM fields, and our project aims to bridge the gap by providing financial assistance to those who are pursuing this particular field in education. This project benefits the students, as they receive financial support, schools districts that can hire newly trained science and math teachers, and high-needs students who are being served.
Goals
The goals of our project are to address (1) misconceptions of teaching in areas with high needs students by placing pre-service teachers in specific schools, (2) provide assistance for pre-service teachers by practicing self-reflection and feedback through video club analysis, (3) target potential students who are interested in the career of STEM teaching by creating a video for advertisement.
Currently this year, there are two Noyce scholars that are also part of the Cal Teach program (undergraduate program that allows students to obtain their credential and bachelor’s at the same time), that are involved with teaching in a classroom and using reflection tools to improve their methods.
Approach
Our university has a specific program for students who major in STEM and help them get a teaching credential simultaneously. These students are ideal candidates to work with high needs students, as they mostly do fieldwork in these locations. We provide a repayable scholarship, in which the recipients commit to serving two years as a science or mathematics teacher for each year that they receive funding. The goal of this project is to support educators in their studies to become a certified educator in areas of demand, such as science and math. The students that receive our scholarship are already receiving the necessary training during this university program.
In addition, these scholars participate in a video analysis club, where they record themselves teaching a lesson. These footages are shared with the group of scholars, where they receive feedback in a safe manner without the need of a physical evaluator in the classroom that can affect the classroom interaction.
Outcomes
The Noyce Scholars are alleviated from some financial burden while pursuing their studies in both a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential. The previous four academic years have been reimbursed which shows the scholars have completed their commitment in teaching at high needs for at least two years.
The video club also gives pre-service teachers a platform/method/ to receive feedback and find ways to improve their pedagogy. At the end of the year, an exit interview is conducted to analyze changes in how these pre-service teachers reflect upon their teaching pedagogy. These pre-service teachers show confidence in sharing their teaching strategies and collaborate with colleagues to provide differentiated instruction in their classrooms.
Broader Impacts
School districts face a shortage of teachers in STEM fields, especially content experts who majored in these areas. In our university program, these teachers graduate with a bachelor’s degree in their classroom subject so that the students have knowledgeable, educated teachers. These teachers also effectively connect their content to the big picture so that the students understand the why of what they are learning.
Lastly, the students are the ones benefited by this project in the long run because they learn from teachers who have just finished school, so they learned the most cutting-edge pedagogy and recent literature in education. These are well-prepared teachers who are specifically trained to teach in high needs areas through years of fieldwork in various surrounding school districts.
To recruit future scholars, we have created a video to highlight the benefits of a Noyce scholar and motivate pre-service teachers to teach in areas with high-needs students. The video features No
