Authentic STEM Laboratory Research Experiences for Prospective Science Teachers

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The project aims to serve the national need for highly effective science teachers by supporting the academic preparation and professional development of prospective teachers who will convey understanding and excitement of conducting basic scientific research to their students. STEM research provides the foundation for many of the advances that are adopted by society. As there is a continuing and increasing need for a well-prepared STEM work force, students who learn the fundamental aspects of experimental design and problem solving while in high school science classes are more likely to consider careers in STEM fields. The project will engage and mentor prospective science teachers who will gain first-hand experience utilizing research methods through their work as members of STEM research laboratory teams. Prospective teachers who have such authentic research experiences will be better equipped to create lessons that enhance their students’ appreciation for the value of basic research and will encourage their students to view employment in a STEM field as a viable career choice. Complementing the research, prospective teachers will participate in professional development activities to gain pedagogical content knowledge and to learn best practices for engaging secondary school students in authentic research experiences. This project at Stony Brook University (SBU) includes partnerships with STEM research faculty at both SBU and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and with several school districts on Long Island, especially those that already house STEM research programs for their students. The three-year project will provide twenty-four (24) future secondary STEM teachers, 8 per year, with summer science laboratory research experiences at SBU and BNL. The project has four underlying goals. The first goal is for each of these future teachers to be engaged in an authentic research experience as a member of a STEM research laboratory team. Second is to incorporate a professional development program designed to furnish these perspective STEM teachers with the knowledge base to incorporate research experiences for students in their future classrooms. A corollary to this goal is to build cohorts of science teachers who will bring knowledge of authentic research into their secondary schools. Third is to evaluate the impact of project components on the project participants' maturating and preparation for conducting authentic research and bringing experiences to the classroom. Fourth is to disseminate project outcomes to other faculty, departments, and institutions with an interest in and passion for improving and enhancing STEM pre-service teacher preparation, especially via research experiences. Project evaluation is designed to provide useful insights into how the skills, knowledge, and cohort interactions that prospective science teachers gain through the project's research and professional development activities will influence their self-efficacy as well as their teaching. Findings will be disseminated through presentations at local, regional, and national meetings with the goal of informing science teacher educators about the value of including authentic STEM research experiences in science teacher preparation programs. This Noyce Research Experiences for Pre-Service Teachers project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teacher to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the retention and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers 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.