Investigating Science Teacher, Research, Education, and Methods Used to Prepare Pre-Service Science Teachers

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This Track 1 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce) aims to serve the national need of increasing the number of highly qualified science teachers, especially science teachers who are racially and ethnically diverse. Currently, the lack of certified science teachers is a major cause of low achievement and expectations for high-risk pupils. This problem is intensified in both rural and urban areas where many science teachers are either teaching outside of their field of certification or do not have a STEM background. This project plans to address the problem by preparing and supporting highly qualified science majors who obtain their teaching certifications via a post-baccalaureate program. After recruiting and selecting qualified Scholars, this project will provide authentic experiences in science classrooms, starting with a 10-week pre-residency experience. In addition, the integration of local community science field-based experiences to engage Scholars in professional learning communities to further their conceptual understanding of science is planned. As a result, Scholars are expected to learn how to help their future K-12 students make real-world connections between the science content they are learning in the classroom and their local community. This project has the potential to provide Title I schools with high quality science teachers and as a result increase student achievement. This project at the University of South Alabama includes partnerships with the Mobile County Public School System, Bishop State Community College, the Alabama State Department of Education’s Alabama Science in Motion, and the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiatives. Project goals include supporting science post-baccalaureates and producing a total of 16 new science teachers over the five-year duration of the grant. Eligible candidates will hold a bachelor’s degree in science (i.e., physics, chemistry, biology, geology, or engineering). The recruitment strategy includes the STREAM pre-residency experience, direct contact with faculty in each science department, and advertisement on at least one episode of the University of South Alabama podcast, Sincerely South. This project utilizes best practices from previous Noyce awards and is expected to add to the body of knowledge regarding factors that attract science majors to pursue careers as science teachers. Two characteristics of intellectual merit comprise of the project’s capacity to continue producing high quality science teachers while measuring the effectiveness of past Scholars. Lastly, the evaluation of factors that influence Scholars serving beyond the three-year commitment can be used to better understand how to support and retain career science teachers. 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 effectiveness and retention 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.