Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining STEM Teachers for Western Kansas

为西部堪萨斯州招募、准备和留住STEM教师是海斯堡州立大学的诺伊斯第一轨道奖学金津贴项目。该项目旨在将新教师安置到堪萨斯西部的农村高中，从而增加中等STEM教育的劳动力。为实现这一目标，该项目将为学生提供奖学金，并编写课程材料，使他们做好准备，成为高需求、农村教室的成功教师，这些教室有很高比例的学生有资格获得免费和减少的午餐（贫困指标）。课程的一个关键要素将是通过一个区域服务中心与学区合作计划的农村实地经验，再加上学年研讨会。该项目将使用一个本科生辅导计划和一个早期教师专业发展计划，将支持未来和实践教师。堪萨斯的农村地区严重缺乏STEM教师。通过支持社区大学的学生管道、教师认证以及安置到堪萨斯西部高需求农村地区，该项目将有助于STEM劳动力发展。该项目旨在从当地五所社区大学招募33名本科生（道奇城、花园城市、巴顿县、科尔比和苏厄德社区学院）到海斯堡州立大学，在那里，他们将在中学教育和STEM学科双主修。 该项目还将与西南平原地区服务中心合作，该中心为堪萨斯西部的34个农村学区提供服务。该服务中心将为奖学金获得者提供农村学校的早期经验，并协助学生教学安置。 该项目将在本科和学士后一年为学生提供奖学金和支持活动，旨在使学生成为合格的STEM教师。 该项目侧重于研究问题，包括：吸引STEM教师到FHSU的招聘做法是最有效的？什么样的招聘策略能吸引更多的STEM教师？什么因素导致保留STEM教师，一旦他们进入一个高需求的农村地区的职业？哪些因素对农村地区的保留率产生负面影响？ 这些问题的答案对其他教师教育项目有潜在的价值，特别是那些专注于为高需求的农村学校培养职前教师的项目。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining STEM Teachers for Western Kansas is a Noyce Track 1 Scholarships & Stipends project at Fort Hays State University. The project aims to place new teachers into rural high schools in Western Kansas, thus increasing the workforce for secondary STEM education. To accomplish this goal, the project will provide students with scholarships and develop curriculum materials to prepare them to be successful teachers in high needs, rural classrooms with high percentages of students eligible for free and reduced lunches (a poverty indicator). A key element of the curriculum will be a rural field experience planned in cooperation with the school districts through a regional service center, coupled with academic year seminars. The project will use a mentoring program for undergraduates and a professional development program for early teachers that will support both future and practicing teachers. Rural areas in Kansas have a critical shortage of STEM teachers. By supporting the pipeline of students from community college, through teacher certification, and placement into high-need rural areas of Western Kansas, this project will contribute to STEM workforce development.The project aims to recruit 33 undergraduates from five local community colleges (Dodge City, Garden City, Barton County, Colby, and Seward Community Colleges) to Fort Hays State University, where they will double major in secondary education and a STEM discipline. The project will also collaborate with the Southwest Plains Regional Service Center, which serves 34 rural school districts in Western Kansas. The service center will provide scholarship recipients with early experiences in rural schools and assist with student teaching placements. The project will provide scholarships and support activities to students through their undergraduate and post-baccalaureate year, intended to enable the students to become certified STEM teachers. The project focuses on research questions including: What recruiting practices for attracting STEM teachers to FHSU are most effective? What recruiting strategies attract more STEM teachers? What factors result in retaining STEM teachers once they enter the profession in a high needs rural area? What factors negatively impact retention in rural areas? Answers to these questions has potential value to other teacher education programs, particularly those focused on preparation of pre-service teachers for high-needs, rural schools.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.