VolsTeach for Appalachia: Strengthening the STEM Teacher Pathway from Community College to East Tennessee High-need School Districts

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This project, referred to as VolsTeach for Appalachia (VFA), is a Robert Noyce Track 1 project at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The project aims to help meet the national need for new STEM teachers who can serve in diverse rural school settings. To accomplish this goal, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will collaborate with Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC) will and five East Tennessee school districts (Anderson County, Campbell County, Claiborne County, Lenoir Count, and Sevier County). The goal of VFA is to grow and diversify the STEM teacher workforce by supporting community college students to become STEM teachers. Located in the heart of Appalachia, the East Tennessee region is experiencing a persistent shortage in mathematics and science teachers that is increasingly compounded by many retiring teachers. VFA will support 32 high-potential Noyce Appalachian Scholars, recruited from PSCC, as they become STEM teachers. Scholars will devote at least their first four years of teaching to high-need school districts. VFA aims to accomplish this goal by recruiting students and providing them with summer internships, enhanced coursework, academic supports, and out-of-classroom experiences. The research results and lessons learned from this project will be shared nationally to help address the need for highly prepared STEM teachers who will teach and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals and problem solvers. By effectively connecting University of Tennessee with PSCC faculty, VFA aims to select community college students as Noyce Appalachian Scholars, and support them to complete a bachelor's degree in a STEM major with a minor in education and receive a teaching certification. Scholars will complete the program under the guidance of master teachers, STEM faculty, and STEM education faculty. VFA's recruitment plan will include delivery of a STEM Teaching and Learning course at PSCC, along with a four-week summer internship that aims to inspire first-year students' love of STEM teaching. VFA's program development will include refocusing coursework to support learning about Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Additional program supports for Scholars will include academic coaches, supplemental instruction, transfer coaches, content area advisors, education advisors, and out-of-classroom experiences. Scholars will receive scholarship support for two years, along with community learning and building and tailored supports. VFA aims to contribute to the knowledge base about teacher preparation, recruitment, and retention, especially in high-need school districts. The project's research components will focus on: (1) identity in relation to culturally responsive teaching; and (2) the study of the VFA model of STEM teacher preparation. Such research has the potential to inform coursework design and resources that support preservice teachers' learning of and identification with culturally relevant pedagogy. Project outcomes and research results will be disseminated statewide and nationally in publications, conference presentations, and other communications.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.