- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1660785
- First Name Huseyin
- Last Name Colak
- Discipline Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics
- Co-PI(s)
Joel Olfelt, Matthew Graham, Sharda Gudehithlu,
Mahesh Gurung - Presenters
Joel Olfelt, NEIU, j-olfelt@neiu.edu; Hector Morales, NEIU, h-morales3@neiu.edu; Huseyin Colak, NEIu, h-colak@neiu.edu
Need
The preparedness and retention of STEM teachers are essential to sustain the need for STEM teachers in high need schools. We are analyzing the factors include perceptions of barriers to attracting and retaining teachers at high-need schools. The goal is to help the scholars to be ready emotionally and pedagogically to start serving as a STEM teacher. We are looking for the impact of the NOYCE Scholar program our scholars’ readiness and retention. The results may help the PIs or Co-PIs from other institutions about the initiatives and the impacts of them on preparing and tracking STEM teachers when they start teaching in high need schools.
Goals
What is the impact of the Noyce Scholar program on the preparedness and retention of STEM teachers to serve in high-need schools?
Approach
In the Noyce scholar program, the scholars are provided rigorous set fo activities until they graduate from the program. The scholars participate in summer activities like GEAR UP grant, which is giving curricular activities to the students of about 15 high schools in the Chicago area. The scholars also take a seminar class in which they discuss equity, culturally responsive pedagogy, and logic and reasoning. The scholars also plan action research when they do their clinical studies and present their proposal at NEIU symposium in April. The scholars are guided by one of the Co-PIs or by the PI when prepare, present, and implement the research plan during their clinical experience and student teaching. The scholars also placed in high need schools to provide them early experience with the environment in high-need schools. The research faculty, Dr. Morales, is collecting data from the scholars before and after each initiative that they experience.
Outcomes
Two scholars started working in high-need schools. One scholar has just graduated and will begin working in a high need school. Our next step is to schedule observations for the impact of their teaching on student learning and evaluate their collaborative skills with their colleagues in their schools. The external evaluator and research faculty are interviewing for the effectiveness of and the programmatic impact on their teaching.
Broader Impacts
The results will inform the Noyce program faculty to make necessary revisions depending on the strength and weakness of the program. It will also help us to develop extracurricular activities to prepare the scholars for the high need schools better and establish a meaningful community between the Noyce STEM teachers and NOYCE scholars to improve the retention. The biggest challenge is to attract individuals to become a STEM teacher and keep them in the field after they start teaching. We are looking for ways to promote recruitment and retention in our program, which can guide other teaching areas as well.
