- Year 2018
- NSF Noyce Award # 1340042
- First Name Jessica
- Last Name Krim
- Discipline Other: Math and Science
- Co-PI(s)
Kelly Barry, SIUE, kbarry@siue.edu; Liza Cummings, SIUE, lcummin@siue.edu, Sharon Locke, SIUE, slocke@siue.edu; Sue Wiediger, SIUE, swiedig@siue.edu; Tammy Voepel, SIUE, tvoepel@siue.edu
- Presenters
Jessica S. Krim, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, jkrim@siue.edu
Need
The SIUE Noyce Scholarship program will 1) graduate candidates with a high self-efficacy for science teaching and strong STEM content background, and 2) connect new teachers with other STEM educators in order to strengthen the network of STEM teachers in the region. The project evaluation will examine the program’s ability to effectively attract, train, place, and retain STEM students in teaching careers in high-needs schools. Three novel elements of the program design are a self-efficacy framework, a focus on recruitment of pre-health professional students, and regional capacity building. The results of the evaluation will be presented at national conferences to inform other Noyce programs and teacher preparation programs about the effectiveness of the model.
Goals
The objectives of the project are to:
1) recruit highly qualified STEM students that demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, 2) provide these students with an enhanced experience in STEM education and research, 3) supply high-needs middle and high schools with exemplary science educators, 4) increase outreach in the communities of southwestern Illinois, and 5) disseminate project findings for use in other STEM education settings. The program will implement strategies for recruiting and nurturing cohorts of STEM teacher candidates during their college years and into their early teaching careers in high-needs schools.
Approach
Key components of the program are: 1) a self-efficacy framework that imparts confidence and skills to developing teachers, 2) a two-phased recruitment strategy that exposes underclassmen to the rewards and challenges of education and offers scholarships and research opportunities to upperclassmen, and 3) the development and support of a STEM teacher network in southwestern Illinois high-needs schools. Ten internships will be awarded each year to freshmen and sophomores with an intended or declared major in STEM disciplines who show promise to be strong teachers. Interns will teach in a variety of educational outreach programs at SIUE or with community partners for a total of 200 hours during the summer. They will receive training in science
pedagogy for informal learning, meet regularly with project staff to reflect on their experiences, and give a culminating presentation at the end of the summer.
Outcomes
Key outcomes include math-science seminar, acceptance and successful completion of STAR program, attendance at/in additional leadership and professional development settings, funded travel, increased time in the field and with research, increased coordination with community partners through internships, and website. What is coming next is for the PIs to search for federal institutional support/pathways that facilitate communication and research between PIs at institutions across the nation, to publish significant and meaningful connections between findings.
Broader Impacts
The scholars will teach in schools in depressed small cities on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, which have a large minority population, as well as in rural districts with high poverty rates and low high school graduation rates. Through outreach activities built into the program design, the Noyce interns and scholars will reach an additional 2500 middle and high school students, providing minds-on STEM activities designed to generate interest and enthusiasm in STEM and STEM careers.
