- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1239991
- First Name Paul
- Last Name Adams
- Institution Fort Hays State University
- Role/Position Dean, COE; Professor of Physics
- Workshop Category Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends
- Workshop Disciplines Audience Biological
- Target Audience Evaluators/Education Researchers, Higher Education Institution Administrators, Project PIs / Co-PIs / Other Faculty/Staff
- Topics Preparing Teachers for High-Need School Districts
- Session Length 30 minutes
- Additional Presenter(s)
Janet K. Stramel, jkstramel@fhsu.edu, Fort Hays State University, Associate Professor
Goals
As a result of the workshop:
a) Design long duration field experiences in rural settings
b) Identify effective strategies to prepare teachers for high-needs rural areas
Evidence
Evidence:
1. Qualitative analysis of focus group interviews at the end of the experience
2. Qualitative analysis of focus group interviews at the end of an academic year
3. Survey results from project evaluation
The analysis used a phenomenological approach.
Proposal
Fort Hays State University has focused its efforts on increasing the recruitment and retention of science and mathematics teachers for underserved rural communities. The challenge we face was two-fold: preservice teachers were not aware of what it means to live and work in rural schools or those who come from rural communities have not looked at rural schools through the eyes of an educator. The premise for adding a week-long intensive and community-based rural-field experience, coupled with on-campus seminars about rural schools, was to assist with recruiting Noyce Scholars to rural communities and subsequently retaining them in these communities. Based on interviews and anecdotal records we have found that the experience is a high point of our program and still retains impact even three years after the experience. We will share our successes and lessons learned, how we developed partnerships with the schools involved, and the greater impact it is having on our institution. Time will be allotted for a general discussion with other grantees to share their stories of the use of field experiences as a critical element of their programs.
