Mathematics and Science Teams Engaging in Research to Inspire Teaching

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The project aims to serve the national need of developing highly effective mathematics and science teachers. School districts are resorting to employing stop-gap measures, such as emergency certification of teachers without deep mathematics and science knowledge. Another approach has been to certify teachers who have content knowledge but do not have deep pedagogical knowledge or instruction supporting the cultural competence necessary to serve all students. These approaches address an immediate need for teachers but result in a high turn-over rate. This project will address the problem by preparing students in two-person, math-science teams who will undertake applied scientific research experiences requiring both mathematics and science skills. The project will support prospective teachers’ translational thinking and communications skills to draw on research in ways that inspire teaching. The project will be infused with elements vital to teaching in high-need schools by leveraging the educator preparation program UOTeach which emphasizes social justice and culturally supportive pedagogy.This project at the University of Oregon includes partnerships with the Springfield Public Schools. The project will systematically grow sophomore and junior mathematics and science majors' interest in teaching as a career, resulting in at least 25 certified science or mathematics teachers over five years. The project will also create a professional learning community for rising undergraduate interns, graduate UOTeach Scholars, and practicing teachers. The activities and strategic scholarship support are designed to develop (a) identities as science researchers, mathematicians, and science and/or mathematics teachers, (b) cultural competence, and (c) research-supported instructional strategies that support the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NRC, 2013) and the Common Core Math Standards. Due to the project's focus on applied science and mathematics research to inspire teaching, and the deep equity focus of the UOTeach program, practicing teachers will enter high-need school districts with the cultural competence as well as pedagogical and content knowledge to effectively teach in a high-need school district for four or more years. This project builds on prior work that highlights the importance of engaging in knowledge production, communicating that knowledge to others, and realizing that the doing of science requires trial and error as vital components of the teacher preparation process (Baxter, et al., 2014, Baldwin & Darner, 2021). The project will require extant materials to be refined to incorporate mathematics into existing mentorship and instructional support for prospective teachers engaged in research (Baxter & Ruzicka, 2017). Through interviews and surveys, the project team will monitor the efficacy of research inspired teaching and teaming of mathematics and science majors for the development of mathematical understandings and pedagogical strategies that benefit their future students. 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.