Growing STEM Educators through Science Research on the South Plains of Texas

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The project aims to serve the national need of providing high-quality instruction to math and science students in rural high schools in the South Plains region of Texas. Prospective teachers will receive scholarship support during their final two years of college, including STEM transfers from a nearby community college. The project will develop a professional-learning community in the local area that will work together to support STEM educators in both high schools and colleges. Prospective teachers will participate in mentoring engagements with practicing secondary STEM teachers who are working in rural districts and will attend workshops to prepare them to teach in rural settings. Their education will be enhanced through participation in undergraduate research experiences. Graduates of the program will receive ongoing mentoring from college faculty during their first few years as practicing teachers and will have access to small grants to develop engaging classroom experiences for students in grades 7-12.This project at Wayland Baptist University (WBU) includes partnerships with Plainview High School and South Plains College, a rural community college. Project goals include developing effective processes and practices for recruiting and selecting 25 Noyce scholars from diverse backgrounds over the five-year funding period. Project goals also include graduating 25 WBU Noyce scholars and retaining them as STEM educators in high-need districts using a variety of interventions, including additional mentoring from undergraduate STEM faculty during the clinical teaching experience and induction years. The project has the potential to determine the impact of the newly formed professional learning community on the local STEM education ecosystem. The project also has the potential to determine the impact of the STEM undergraduate research experiences on STEM Education majors at a small liberal arts college in the rural South Plains region of Texas. The project's theoretical basis is the importance of professional learning communities and STEM undergraduate research experiences for pre- and in-service STEM teachers. The mixed-methods evaluation for this program will be conducted using the Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) methodology. Project results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed conferences and journals, as well as in the local community. This Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends 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 teachers 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.