Integrative Middle School STEM Teacher Preparation: A Collaborative Capacity Building Project at Duke University

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There is a long-standing shortage of qualified and highly-qualified middle grades math and science teachers in high-need school districts. This shortage forces many schools, a disproportionately large number in high-minority and high-poverty communities, to lower hiring standards to fill teaching vacancies, in turn leading to high levels of underqualified mathematics and science teachers and lower student achievement in STEM subjects. Through this Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Capacity Building grant, Duke University's Program in Education will expand its long-standing partnership with Durham Public Schools and Duke STEM departments to design and institutionalize an innovative, middle grades (6-8) Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) STEM teacher preparation program to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse STEM graduates and professionals to be highly qualified middle school math and science teachers of culturally, linguistically, and cognitively diverse students in high-need school districts. This project will use research findings from a previous Noyce Scholarship project and data gathered during a national needs assessment to establish the infrastructure for a Phase I Noyce Scholarship grant by designing and institutionalizing an integrative MAT teacher licensure program that includes a teaching internship in a high-need middle school. Investigators will use a backwards-design approach to create a rigorous set of program outcomes aligned with state standards for STEM teacher preparation. Despite the enduring shortage of qualified or highly-qualified middle school math and science teachers, there is surprisingly limited empirical research on middle school math and science teacher recruitment among highly-successful STEM graduates. This project will lay the groundwork for a Phase I grant proposal that will further research in the recruitment, preparation, and support of diverse groups of STEM graduates and professionals to become highly-effective middle school math and science teachers in high-need school districts. Key documents, such as the Conceptual Framework, Course of Study, Clinical Experiences Plan, Syllabi, and Degree Requirements, will be reviewed by an external evaluator to determine how and to what degree program objectives are being met. A High-Needs Rubric will be created to determine the extent to which the Duke Middle Grades MAT program design meets the needs of STEM education in high-need middle schools.