- Year 2023
- NSF Noyce Award # 1950292, 1950284, 1950013, 1950152,1950209,1950270
- First Name Li
- Last Name Feng
- Institution Texas State University
- Role/Position PI
- Workshop Category Track 4: Noyce Research
- Workshop Disciplines Audience Chemistry, Computer Science, Geosciences, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physics
- Target Audience Co-PIs, Evaluators/Education Researchers, Other Faculty/Staff, Project PIs
- Topics Developing Teacher Leaders, Partnerships for Success (High-need schools/informal institutions/industry/community), Recruiting with Retention in Mind, Track 4 Research Results
- Session Length 75 minutes minutes
- Additional Presenter(s)
Mike Hansen, Brookings Institution, PI, mhansen@brookings.edu; David Kumar, Florida Atlantic University, PI, david@fau.edu; Ann Cavallo, University of Texas at Arlington, PI, cavallo@uta.edu; John Pecore, University of West Florida, PI, jpecore@uwf.edu; Maria Fernandez, Florida International University, PI, mfernan@fiu.edu; Eleanor Close, Texas State University, co-PI, hgclose@txstate.edu
Goals
In this session, participants will gain valuable insights into the impact of Noyce teacher scholarships on the STEM workforce in high-need school districts. Specifically, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the preliminary research findings of our team and how Noyce programs can effectively recruit, retain, and develop talented teachers for partnering school districts. Representatives from four collaborating Noyce programs, including the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas State University, University of West Florida, and Florida International University, will share their experience and approaches. By attending this session, participants will gain valuable knowledge about designing effective programs to solve local teacher shortages. This session is designed to be beneficial to all Noyce project PIs/co-PIs, as well as school and district administrators who are interested in tackling teacher shortages and improving STEM education in high-need areas.
Evidence
Our content is backed by our research findings, including analysis of several national datasets such as the Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS), the National Teachers and Principal Survey (NTPS), NSF award data, and geographic data on both public-school districts and postsecondary institutions. We have utilized difference-in-difference models to estimate an Intent-to-Treat (ITT) effect of the impact of the Noyce program on relevant STEM workforce outcomes. Our analysis indicates that Noyce scholarship has increased both the number and quality of STEM teachers in nearby high-needs schools, leading to a lower school vacancy rate and a lower likelihood of having trouble filling math, physics, and biology teacher positions.
In addition, we have provided accessible blog posts for policymakers and the general public to further understand the significance of our findings. These blog posts include “The Robert Noyce Scholarship and the STEM teacher pipeline” by Li Feng, Michael Hansen, and David Devraj Kumar (published on July 16, 2021), and “Rising to the challenge of providing all students with high-quality STEM education: Lessons from 100Kin10” by Talia Milgrom-Elcott (published on March 23, 2022). The supporting literature and theoretical framework we have used reinforce the importance of addressing STEM teacher shortages in high-need areas and the role that the Noyce program can play in doing so. Overall, our content is firmly grounded in empirical evidence and supporting literature.
Proposal
This project is a collaboration between three core research institutions, namely Texas State University, Florida Atlantic University, and The Brookings Institution, and four collaborating institutions with Noyce programs, namely Texas State University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of West Florida, and Florida International University. By utilizing local and national databases, the project team aims to present initial findings on the supply of STEM teachers in the school districts they serve, with a focus on high-need settings.
The project’s overarching goal is to generate evidence-based policy solutions and promote a better understanding of how Noyce projects influence the STEM teacher workforce via answering two research questions: (1) What is the estimated impact of the Noyce program on the STEM teacher workforce in high-need school districts? and (2) Do high-need school districts near Noyce institutions experience fewer STEM teacher vacancies and improve their chances of filling those vacancies in math and science?
Through its analysis of the effectiveness of scholarships provided by the Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program in alleviating STEM teacher shortages and creating partnerships between local school districts and higher education institutions, this project aims to contribute to the development of a robust STEM workforce. Overall, the project’s findings will be crucial in raising awareness of the challenges faced by STEM teachers in high-need settings and in identifying evidence-based policy solutions to promote a better STEM teacher workforce. This project represents an essential step towards building a reliable and diverse supply of STEM teachers for high-need school districts.
