- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 2223970
- First Name Gerard
- Last Name Dumancas
- Registration Faculty/Administrator/Other
- Discipline Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, STEM Education (general)
- Role Principal Investigator (PI)
- Presenters
Gerard Dumancas, Jennifer Kaschak, Jason Graham, and Nannette Hill, University of Scranton
Need
This project aims to serve the national need for highly effective STEM teachers in the state of Pennsylvania. The state of Pennsylvania is experiencing significant teacher shortages that have precipitated the use of emergency permits for teachers throughout the state [1]. The U.S. Department of Education has declared Pennsylvania a Teacher Shortage Area for the past decade in math, chemistry, and/or biology. Low- income and high-minority schools suffer disproportionately, and, in Pennsylvania, high-need schools employ uncertified teachers at a ratio of 10.7 uncertified teachers for every certified teacher, which is more than twice the national average [2]. Researchers say this shortage has the potential to drastically impact the nation’s capacity to advance technological innovation [2][3]. Pennsylvania has seen a 58% decrease in the number of teaching certificates issued since 2010 [4] and a decline of over 10,000 in just the past two years [2]. The number of new teachers graduating from college in Pennsylvania dropped 38% from 2000 to 2016. Between the 2012–13 and 2014–15 school years, Pennsylvania experienced a decrease of 62% in certificates issued to new college graduates [1]. While the number of STEM teachers entering the field is dramatically declining in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Education Association estimates that 20,000 teachers will retire over the next 10 years.References:[1] Keefe J. Pennsylvania’s Teachers Are Undercompensated–and New Pension Legislation Will Cut Their Compensation Even More: Undercompensation Is Likely a Factor in Pennsylvania’s Growing Teacher Shortage. Economic Policy Institute 2018.[2] Sutcher L, Darling-Hammond L, Carver-Thomas D. A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S. Learning Policy Institute; 2016.[3] McConnell JR. A model for understanding teachers’ intentions to remain in STEM education. International Journal of STEM Education 2017;4:1–21.[4] Stohr A, Fontana J, Lapp D. Patching the Leaky Pipeline: Recruiting and Retaining Teachers of Color in Pennsylvania. A PACER Policy Brief. Research for Action; 2018.
Research Questions
The primary goal of the work to be performed is to recruit 21 qualified and well-prepared Noyce scholars who will earn a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline who will be positioned to earn a secondary teacher certification in their respective STEM fields. Students who earned a baccalaureate STEM degree may also obtain a post baccalaureate degree (i.e., 11-month MS in Secondary Education program) and be qualified as Noyce Scholar. In addition to this primary goal, the project intends to retain these scholars by providing professional support for the long-term success of these STEM educators. The final goal is to place and retain a high percentage (90%) of these scholars in teaching positions in high-need school districts upon graduation as they complete their teaching service requirement of two years of teaching for each one year of scholarship support. The following are the research questions and/or practical inquiries guiding this work. How effective is the program in recruiting and attracting students to pursue STEM education? How effective is the University of Scranton Noyce Scholars Program in supplying STEM teachers in high-need schools? How effective is the program in preparing scholars as STEM teachers in high-need school? To what extent do the Noyce scholars remain in their teaching careers? To what extent has the program established and maintained partnerships with neighboring school districts?
Approach
In order to accomplish the aforementioned goals, the University of Scranton (UofS) will recruit undergraduate STEM majors to complete STEM degrees (i.e., either as an undergraduate double major in STEM and secondary education, or those who graduated with a STEM undergraduate degree and consequently obtain an 11-month MS in Secondary Education) and obtain a secondary teacher certification. As mentioned earlier, These STEM undergraduates will receive scholarships and a wide array of support system to enrich their STEM knowledge, as well as their teaching skills and knowledge especially in high need schools. Several activities will need to be performed including participating in a chemometrics course (i.e., statistics and computer applications in analytical chemistry), monthly photovoice and grit mentorship, and collaborative mentor-scholar projects. The chemometrics course is intended to deepen the understanding of the scholars in computational thinking with potential applications in their respective classes in high need schools. Monthly photovoice and grit faculty mentorship will be provided to the potential Noyce scholars by PI Dumancas who will train faculty and scholars in this novel mentoring approach. Collaborative-mentor scholar areas. This can be a project that the scholar can embed in an existing teaching course to fulfill scholarship requirements. In addition to the abovementioned work that needs to be accomplished, monthly workshops which include topics related to introducing interpersonal skill development, maintaining diversity in the classroom, grit, and cultural and linguistic competence will be provided to the potential scholars. Pre- and post- semester meeting lunches with the PI will also be provided as well as innovative early residency teaching experience. Such innovative early residency teaching experience will be part of the scholars’ coursework when they practice and hone their skills and knowledge alongside an effective teacher-mentor in a high-need classroom. Further, enrichment preparation and support for Praxis exams should also be available to the scholars. The task of such preparation includes preparing freely available online resources via a learning management software (LMS) to ensure that the scholars have the necessary support for their Praxis tests. It should be noted that PI Dumancas has already prepared Praxis materials for the scholars that can easily be uploaded in a new LMS system. Recruitment of K-12 students is another part of the program that needs to be performed. Such recruitment will include activities such as a science camp that will spark the interest of students in pursuing a STEM degree. Further, recruitment activities will be in coordination with the admissions team of the PI institution (UofS). Besides the K-12 students’ involvement, participation of college students coming from both the PI institution and neighboring community college (Luzerne County Community College) will also be pursued. Such participation of these college students will include activities related to a 6-hr observational experience assisting STEM teachers in high-need schools as well as a 2-day summer virtual computational workshop by Shodor and the National Computational Science Institute. Evaluation, data collection, and analysis will be performed by an external evaluator so as constant monitoring of the scholars’ progress by the project investigators. Project meetings, dissemination, and advisory board meetings among investigators, faculty mentors, and advisory board members will be performed either via face to face or Zoom. PI Dumancas has concrete plans and evidence to successfully carry out the work that needs to be accomplished.
Outcomes
At the end of the Year 2 of the Project, the following conclusions and key findings can be drawn: ØA strong UofS Leadership team is in place and works collaboratively to ensure project goals are being addressed. ØAn enhanced effort was addressed to recruit more students who are interested in being a STEM teacher using varied social media platforms and dissemination to partner school districts and a community college. ØThe UofS has increased the number of Noyce scholars from 1 scholar to 5 scholars representing varied STEM disciplines. The project has so far recruited 6 Noyce Scholars since its inception. ØPI and Co-PIs join to lead the Leadership Team members to support the professional growth of the Noyce scholars through activities like photovoice and monthly workshops. ØField School Placements for student teachers were confirmed for Noyce scholars to work in high-need school districts. ØFour out of the five Noyce Scholars have successfully passed the Praxis exams. The one Noyce Scholar is scheduled to retake the test. ØMonthly progress meetings are held for accountability on meeting goals. ØInterviews with Noyce scholars reflect a positive tone of their eagerness to become a STEM teacher through the Noyce Program and are supported by each other in the program. ØNoyce Scholars feel that the faculty support and professional training has prepared them to work in a high-need school district through cultural competency training. ØNoyce scholars are trained and engaged in reflective practices using photovoice which will enhance their grit and perseverance in working with students in high-need schools. ØProfessional development opportunities enhance scholars’ pedagogical skills and content knowledge with the chemometrics course.
Broader Impacts
This project will increase the number of STEM secondary teachers serving high-need schools in Pennsylvania and in the US, thereby impacting the quality of K-12 STEM education in the nation. The project will strengthen UofS’s partnerships with neighboring school districts in identifying strategies to supply the critical need of well-qualified STEM secondary educators in the region. Further, various aforementioned activities related to retention and career development will strengthen the interest and learning experiences of students to pursue STEM majors and teach in high-need schools.
