Winthrop Initiative for STEM Educators

有充分的证据表明，需要有能力、自信、忠诚的STEM教师在高需求的学区服务。通过Noyce项目的第二阶段，Winthrop STEM教育工作者倡议（WISE）将提供奖学金，培养32名初中和高中水平的新教师，他们将获得在南卡罗来纳州教授数学、生物、化学和/或普通科学的执照。每位新教师都将通过所选STEM领域的学士学位，在内容领域打下坚实的基础。该项目将通过几个本科和研究生初始许可途径提供支持。WISE还将通过提供年度暑期实习项目（旨在鼓励学生将STEM教育作为一种职业），为大约48名成绩优异的STEM专业学生提供本科体验，该项目将包括在高需求学校学习和服务学习领域的真实研究。两年制的约克技术学院将与温斯洛普大学合作，招聘、指导和支持诺伊斯学者。这个由美国国家科学基金会（NSF） Robert Noyce教师奖学金项目资助的第二阶段项目还将进行一项纵向研究，以检查他们职前教师教育工作的几个方面。WISE为主修STEM领域的学生提供了三条成为教师的途径。第一种选择是为早期决定从事教师培训的数学和生物专业的本科生设计的。为STEM专业本科课程的最后两年提供奖学金支持，允许获得数学、生物和化学的认证，并可选择延长中级和普通科学的许可证。第二种选择是为STEM学士学位后的专业学生提供课程，以完成教学艺术硕士（MAT）课程，从而获得初步的教师认证。提供快速通道（三个学期的选择）和更灵活的项目，通常需要四个学期的课程。第三种选择旨在结合本科和研究生课程的各个方面。它允许学生从本科开始在学校工作，并在第五年完成研究生水平的认证。这种新模式为研究、选修课提供了灵活性，并提供了一种平衡的方法，允许随着时间的推移进行实地考察。在这个项目的过程中，调查小组将继续纵向数据收集，以确定招聘和留住合格STEM教育工作者的有效模式。需要审查的领域包括：征聘工作；2年制大学转校生的过渡经历；暑期研究经历；持久性;内容专家对性格和技能的影响，以及支持高需求学校新STEM教师的基础设施。最终，WISE不仅将为专业劳动力贡献32名高素质的STEM教师，而且有潜力为高需求学校的高素质STEM教师的招聘、发展和保留提供研究支持的最佳实践。

There is a well-documented need for competent, confident, and committed STEM teachers to serve in high-need school districts. Through this Phase 2 Noyce project, the Winthrop Initiative for STEM Educators, WISE, will provide scholarship funds to produce thirty-two new teachers at the middle and high school level who will be licensed to teach mathematics, biology, chemistry, and/or general science in the State of South Carolina. Each of these new teachers will have a solid foundation in the content area through a bachelor's degree in the chosen STEM field. The project will provide support through several undergraduate and graduate initial licensure pathways. WISE will also enhance the undergraduate experience for approximately forty-eight high-achieving STEM majors by providing an annual summer internship program (designed to encourage students to consider STEM education as a career) that will include authentic research in the area of study and service learning in high-need schools. York Technical College, a 2-year institution, will partner with Winthrop University in the recruitment, mentoring, and support of Noyce scholars. This Phase 2 project, funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program will also conduct a longitudinal study to examine several aspects of their pre-service teacher education work. WISE provides students who pursue majors in a STEM field three pathways for becoming a teacher. The first option is designed for undergraduate mathematics and biology majors who decide early to pursue teacher preparation. Scholarship support will be provided for the final two years of a STEM major's undergraduate program allowing for certification in mathematics, biology, and chemistry, with options to extend licensure for middle grades and general science. The second option is for post-baccalaureate STEM majors who take coursework to complete a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program leading to initial teacher certification. Both a fast track (3-term option) and a more flexible program that typically requires four semesters of coursework are offered. The third option is designed to combine aspects of the undergraduate and graduate program. It allows students to start working in schools as an undergraduate and complete certification at the graduate level in year five. This new model provides flexibility for research, electives, and a balanced approach that allows for fieldwork incorporated over time. During the course of this project the investigating team will continue longitudinal data collection in order to identify effective models related to recruitment and retention of qualified STEM educators. Areas to be examined include: recruitment efforts; transition experiences for 2-year college transfer students; summer research experiences; persistence; influence of content specialists on dispositions and skills, and the infrastructure to support new STEM teachers in high-need schools. Ultimately, not only will WISE contribute thirty-two well-qualified STEM teachers to the professional workforce, but WISE has the potential to contribute research-supported best practices for the recruitment, development, and retention of highly qualified STEM teachers for high-need schools.