- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1557290
- First Name David
- Last Name Sparks
- Institution University of Texas at Arlington
- Role/Position Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
- Workshop Category Track 4: Noyce Research
- Workshop Disciplines Audience Other: Science Education
- Target Audience Evaluators/Education Researchers, Higher Education Institution Administrators, Noyce Master Teachers, Noyce Teaching Fellows, Project PIs / Co-PIs / Other Faculty/Staff
- Topics Supporting Each and Every Student
- Session Length 30 minutes
- Additional Presenter(s)
Leah McAlister-Shields, teachHOUSTON, University of Houston lymcalis@central.uh.edu;
Paige Evans, teachHOUSTON, University of Houston pkevans@central.uh.edu
Goals
1. Brainstorm strategies for recruiting, retaining, and supporting African-American Noyce Scholars.
2. Develop a coalition of researchers committed to culturally relevant recruitment and retention practices, including research and best practices that support African-American Noyce Scholars.
3. Share best practices for the recruitment, retention, and support of African-American Noyce Scholars from participating institutions nationwide.
Evidence
Presenters will share research from a Noyce 4 Research grant project in Texas that included a collaboration between eight universities. They will also share the results of a similar panel discussion at the 2019 UTeach Conference in Austin that focused on increasing the percentage of African-American mathematics and science teachers in UTeach programs. Finally, they will share a bibliography of references related to research on the recruitment, retention, and support of African-American pre-service teachers and incorporate resources suggested by the workshop participants.
Proposal
Recruiting, retaining, and supporting African-American mathematics and science teachers is of great importance, but is an even more vital consideration when preparing teachers who will be working with diverse populations in their classrooms. Research has shown that students thrive under diverse teachers who match their specific demographics (Gershenson, Holt, & Papageorge, 2016). Studies have also considered the importance of African American male teachers (Milner, 2016), the identity development of African American female pre-service teachers (Sparks, 2018), and the formation of identity in African American STEM students (Sparks, Pole, & DenHartog, In Press). Emphasis must not only be placed on increasing the numbers of African American mathematics and science teachers, but also a concerted focus on the characteristics and qualities these students bring to the classroom (Mensah, 2009). A panel of professors from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Houston, representing successful Robert Noyce Scholarship Program collaborations, will discuss the needs of pre-service African American mathematics and science teachers, as well as how to support them as they transition into the classroom. After a brief introduction of the panel, each panelist will lead a brainstorming group focused on three areas: recruitment, retention, and support. The panelists will then share each group?s ideas and make recommendations for future research, ongoing discussions, and the formation of collaborative research groups devoted to recruiting, retaining, and supporting African-American Noyce scholars. Representatives from mathematics and science teacher preparation programs are encouraged to attend and share additional research and best practices.
