Building CAU Capacity to Prepare STEM Teachers for High Need K-12 School Districts

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Clark Atlanta University's (CAU's) Robert Noyce Capacity Building project is supporting CAU's effort to build a K-12 science educator preparation program based on partnerships between CAU STEM departments, the School of Education, and the Atlanta and Clayton County Public Schools. New curriculum is being developed for undergraduate STEM majors and STEM graduates wishing to earn certification for high school teaching with a particular emphasis on developing highly qualified, culturally competent science educators for high need school districts. The curriculum under development is responsive to state, district, and national professional associations science education standards. This teacher certification program is based on a strong STEM subject matter curriculum, leading to a B.S. degree in a STEM field, such that the developing educators are fully prepared to teach the subject matter without trepidation and to keep up with advances in their chosen science field. The new curriculum provides opportunities to test hypotheses about science achievement in urban 7-12 classrooms and translate these findings into a district specific set of "best practices" for teaching and learning science. Broader impacts of this project include enhanced STEM teaching at the secondary level where STEM majors and non-majors alike benefit from STEM classes taught by faculty with knowledge, skills, and cultural competence.