- Year 2023
- NSF Noyce Award # 2050641
- First Name Hector
- Last Name Morales
- Discipline STEM Education (general)
- Presenters
Hector Morales, Sussan Oladipo
Need
Substantial demand exists for a qualified and diverse pool of STEM teachers in both the Chicago area and the State of Illinois. Due to the shortage of certified STEM teachers, many middle and secondary teachers in the fields have not received certification to teach in their subject area. In the State of Illinois, 60% of school districts reported they were unable to fill all of their teacher positions, and 76 % suggested there was a lack of qualified candidates (IARSS Report 2015). Approximately, 16 % of district officials report having to cancel classes due to being unable to find qualified teachers. The problem especially arises in the STEM fields, math and science. The goal of the NOYCE program is to recruit more STEM majors into the teaching profession and prepare them to be highly qualified STEM teachers who have strong content and pedagogy as well as a sense of public needs and leadership in their communities as the STEM teachers.
Research Questions
In what ways has NEIU’s Noyce teacher preparation program facilitated the transition into teaching in a high-needs school district? Which program features contributed to the development and aided Noyce graduates to teach in a high-needs school?
Approach
Our methodology was grounded on survey administration (pre and post surveys) under the premise that we could infer the effect of your program on changes in reported attitudes, knowledge, and disposition to teach in high-needs schools. Pre and post-interviews also allowed us to examine more deeply which particular features of NEIU’s program had impacted their teaching in high-needs schools.The responses were coded using common themes.
Outcomes
Describe outcomes and any key findings or deliverables anticipated or achieved. Findings show that Noyce scholars perceived that they received a quality preparation. We will outline those particular programmatic features that Scholars perceived to be most helpful in terms of preparation to teach in high need schools. Many Alumni reported they benefited from connecting with professors, scholars, and veteran STEM teachers during monthly meet-up events, benefited for learning about Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Nature of Science, and metacognition from a cultural relevance perspective during seminar courses and benefited from engaging in team building activities and restorative justice practices during advisory sessions.
Broader Impacts
A better understanding of specific programmatic features may shed some light on how best to support STEM teachers to teach in high-needs schools.
