- Year 2018
- NSF Noyce Award # 1557250
- First Name Karen
- Last Name Irving
- Discipline Other: STEM Urban Education
- Presenters
Justina Ogodo
, The Ohio State University
, email: ogodo.1@osu.edu
Need
Imagine being thrown into a pool but you cannot swim. That is the case for teachers who are inadequately prepared to teach in any school setting. Teachers are expected to be successful and to thrive in their craft, however, not all teachers have the tools and/or the skill-sets to do so. The high teacher turn-over rate especially in urban high-need schools could be attributed to inadequate teacher preparation for that setting.
America’s changing landscape calls for teachers who are well-prepared to meet the challenges and issues involved with the growing classroom diversity. This poster will discuss efforts made by the ENABLE STEM project in preparing our fellows to be effective STEM teacher leaders, who are well-informed and grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy.
Goals
The goal of the ENABLE STEM project is to equip our fellows to be effective STEM teacher leaders in their schools. The program infuses four major components including 1) the Urban Teaching Seminar, 2) informal teaching experience at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), 3) Science Methods with Scientists and Science Educators, and 4) an Induction and Mentoring program through the Ohio State University masters of education program.
Each component is geared to increase the STEM workforce by narrowing the gap for the underrepresented populations.
Approach
The Urban Teaching Seminar component is focused on preparing our fellows with culturally responsive pedagogy. The course main target is to use culturally relevant teaching, community mapping/community involvement, relationship building and effective classroom management techniques to provide our fellows with the tools needed to be effective in their craft. How they can use the knowledge to better serve the students and to reach them where they are in the learning process.
Outcomes
Data and self-reports from fellows’ interviews and self-reflections indicate that the urban teaching seminar course is imparting their knowledge on sociocultural issues, self-efficacy, and the different approaches to teaching and learning of STEM content. The urban teaching seminar complements the other three components of the project in enhancing the fellows? knowledge base as effective STEM teacher leaders, who are contributing members of the society in STEM education.
Broader Impacts
The goal of most training and teacher preparation program is to improve, equip, and add value to the learner by growing their knowledge base. The four component of the ENABLE STEM project is doing that but most importantly, the urban teaching seminar is uniquely providing targeted training for a specific audience, urban high-need schools.
Our fellows have been impacted by the program and in turn as they enter the teaching profession, they will make broader impacts with the students they serve. And, as teacher leaders, they will hopefully make a difference in their building and the community at large.
