Those Who Can Teach: Preparing STEM Graduates for Effective Teaching and Enhancing Student Learning in Science and Mathematics

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This Track 1 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship project aims to recruit and prepare 21 undergraduate physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics majors to become secondary science and mathematics teachers. Led by Alabama A&M University (AAMU), a historically Black College and University, the project is well-positioned to prepare students from under-represented groups to teach in high-need learning environments in northern Alabama. Achieving this goal will also help meet a national need to diversify the teaching workforce. The goals of the Those Who Can Teach project are to: (1) increase the pool of highly-qualified science and mathematics teachers working in high-need schools, including high-need rural schools in northern Alabama; (2) improve recruitment and retention efforts of STEM majors as secondary teachers; (3) implement a challenging curriculum to ensure Noyce Scholars are competent in content, pedagogy, and cultural diversity; and (4) support project participants to ensure their success during their pre-service and induction periods. Selected first- and second year students will participate in a week-long teaching-focused internship, with the goal of increasing their interest in teaching and in the Noyce Scholars program. Noyce Scholars will receive scholarship support in their junior and senior years, and induction support once they are teaching. Scholars will be required to teach for two years in high-needs school districts for each year of scholarship support. The Those Who Can Teach project will focus on placing Noyce Scholars in partnering school districts, to teach in schools where critical teacher shortages in science and mathematics have been identified.Three Alabama community college partners, Calhoun Community College, Lawson State Community College, and Drake State Community College will collaborate with AAMU to recruit and place 21 undergraduate STEM Scholars in secondary science and mathematics classrooms. Working closely with the Admissions Office, Freshman Academy, and the Registrar's Office at AAMU and the community college partners, the project will identify enrolled first-year, second-year, and transfer students who are majoring in STEM disciplines. Targeted robust recruitment strategies, including social media, will be used to attract STEM majors into teaching careers. The project intends to award 50% of the scholarships to community college transfer students. For Scholars who complete the teacher preparation program and certification requirements, the project will help them obtain employment in high-need schools in partnering school districts (Huntsville City, Madison County, and Limestone County). The Those Who Can Teach project expects that its program evaluation efforts will provide a deeper understanding of how STEM students can be placed on a path to teaching. By working with community college partners and school districts, the project may be able to establish a pathway for STEM majors to become secondary teachers and to learn how project supports contributed to the retention and success of the 21 certified teacher Scholars. After successful project implementation, other communities experiencing a shortage of science and mathematics teachers may benefit from the strategies and approaches used to recruit, prepare, place, and support STEM majors on the pathway to teaching in secondary science and mathematics classrooms in high-need school districts.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.