Recruiting Impassioned STEM Educators (RISE)

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With funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, the University of West Florida (UWF) Recruiting Impassioned STEM Educators (RISE) capacity building project will develop a multidimensional program for recruiting and retaining highly-qualified middle and secondary Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers in the Northwest Florida region. RISE educational partners will include UWF, Northwest Florida State College, Pensacola State College, STEM Master Teachers, STEM learning centers, and three area school districts that have the combined challenge of serving both urban and rural low-economic high need schools. The RISE educational partners will work together to recruit highly qualified STEM majors to become secondary teachers. These teacher candidates will impact students in grades 6-12 by working in local school districts and science learning centers. A recruitment course, Exploring Inquiry Teaching, will serve as a model for other undergraduate colleges to recruit math and science students to become teachers.Within the one-year grant project, RISE will achieve the following major outcomes: 1. Design a Professional Teaching Certification Program for STEM majors; 2. Increase recruitment to STEM teaching by developing a new course to attract STEM majors to the field of education; 3. Build a learning community for future STEM middle and secondary teachers; 4.Target recruitment of dual-enrolled high school students to a career in STEM teaching; 5. Formalize internship sites at STEM learning centers; 6. Create social media sites for STEM students, Master Mentors, and faculty; 7. Increase retention of STEM teachers by training STEM Master Mentors; and 8. Engage high-needs schools that serve both urban and rural low-economic students. In addition, RISE will formalize cooperative activities in the STEM disciplines, connect higher education institutions with local schools and teachers, and expand the STEM learning community in Northwest Florida. To broaden the distribution of results, RISE team members will disseminate reports and resources developed through the project with grant partners as well as at regional and national conferences and through publications in peer reviewed journals.