Capacity Building to Address Critical STEM Teacher Shortages in West Central Florida - Enhancing Teacher Preparedness and Certification in Biology and Math

圣利奥大学的罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划能力建设项目旨在解决佛罗里达州的STEM教师短缺问题。该项目团队与当地帕斯科和希尔斯伯勒县学区以及附近的州立大学合作，打算制定方案，以1）增加大学生物/数学专业和教育辅修学术课程的学生人数; 2）通过创新课程提高教师准备，解决具体的STEM教学策略和课堂管理经验; 3）帮助教师更及时、更成功地获得认证。项目活动旨在增加从圣利奥毕业的合格STEM教师的数量，并通过加强准备和支持来提高教师的保留率。该项目旨在为未来的诺伊斯教师奖学金和津贴（轨道1）提案奠定基础。项目团队将使用四管齐下的方法来实现他们的目标。首先，他们打算制定新的课程，包括针对希望攻读生物或数学专业和教育辅修专业的学生的两门新课程。这些新课程旨在解决生物学和数学教学中的具体挑战，其中一门课程将扩大创新软件的使用，该软件使用化身来模拟学生学习和模拟课堂中断。此外，该项目计划开发新的课程模块，预计将帮助学生准备全面的佛罗里达教育部教师认证考试，并将试行一项完全覆盖考试费用的计划。第二，项目团队希望与当地两年制州立大学制定新的衔接协议，以便STEM学生可以更容易地从这些大学转到圣利奥，并完成STEM专业/教育辅修课程。第三，项目组打算从当地高需求高中的现有和未来学生、指导顾问和工作人员那里收集数据。预计这些数据将通过通知计划营销，教师准备和支持的改善，并扩大大学的选区网络的影响招聘。最后，该项目旨在加强现有的合作伙伴关系，并与帕斯科县和希尔斯伯勒县的当地高需求学校建立新的合作伙伴关系，以满足他们对STEM教师的特殊需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Capacity Building project at Saint Leo University seeks to address a critical STEM teacher shortage in the state of Florida. Working with the local Pasco and Hillsborough County School Districts and nearby state colleges, the project team intends to develop programs to 1) increase the number of students enrolling in the university's biology/mathematics major and education minor academic programs; 2) improve teacher preparedness via innovative courses that address specific STEM teaching strategies and classroom management experiences; and 3) assist with more timely and successful teacher certification. Project activities are designed to increase the number of certified STEM teachers graduating from Saint Leo and may improve teacher retention via enhanced preparation and support. The project intends to lay the foundation for a future Noyce Teacher Scholarships and Stipends (Track 1) proposal.The project team will use a four-pronged approach to meet their goals. First, they intend to develop new curricula, including two new courses aimed at students who wish to pursue biology or mathematics major and education minor. These new courses are intended to address specific challenges in teaching biology and mathematics, and one of the courses will expand the use of innovative software that uses avatars to model student learning and to simulate classroom disruption. In addition, the project plans to develop new course modules that are expected to help students prepare for the comprehensive Florida Department of Education teacher certification exams, and a program to completely cover exam fees will be piloted. Second, the project team expects to develop new articulation agreements with local two-year state colleges so that STEM students can more easily transfer from these colleges to Saint Leo and complete the STEM major/education minor. Third, the project team intends to collect data from current and prospective students, guidance counselors, and staff within local high-needs high schools. These data are expected to influence recruitment by informing the improvement of program marketing, teacher preparation and support, and expanding the university's network of constituencies. Finally, the project seeks to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones with local high-need schools within Pasco and Hillsborough Counties to meet their specific needs for STEM teachers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.