Optimizing the STEM Teacher Recruitment, Development and Retention Pathway: Aligning STEM and Teaching Identities

该项目旨在满足国家在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）领域招聘，准备和保留高质量教师的需求。STEM教师的短缺是一个全国性的问题。随着对以STEM为重点的专业劳动力的需求不断增长，高质量的STEM教师可以为学生的STEM职业做好准备，扩大STEM教育的机会，并创造更具包容性和公平的劳动力。为了帮助解决STEM教师短缺的问题，该项目将鼓励合格的数学和科学本科生和毕业生在高需求学区的高中和中学从事教学工作。该项目将通过奖学金、早期教学经验、指导和教师准备来支持30名未来的教师。一旦他们获得教学证书并作为新手教师开始教学，该项目将继续在他们的头两年教学中提供专业发展机会。在此期间，STEM和教育教授和经验丰富的教师将指导这些新教师，帮助他们提高教学技能，并留在教师队伍中。加州州立大学圣马科斯分校的项目包括与三所社区学院（米拉科斯塔、帕洛玛和圣地亚哥梅萨）和两个高需求学区（埃斯孔迪多联合高中学区和圣马科斯联合学区）的合作。项目目标是：（1）在五年内招募并留住30名高质量的STEM专业和专业人员从事教学工作;（2）招募至少50%的STEM少数民族和妇女;（3）扩大和维持从新生到教师入职的招募和保留机制;（4）扩大和维持该地区的STEM教育社区。本文的理论框架是基于Wenger（1998）的实践共同体中的社会参与和身份认同理论。 该项目的一个关键特征是支持参与者发展他们的身份，包括科学家和STEM教师的特征。该项目的智力价值包括一个改进的模型，用于提高跨学科和跨学院教师招聘和培养高质量STEM教师的能力，以及更深入地了解学生如何在STEM和教学身份之间找到平衡。该项目的广泛影响将有助于解决教师短缺问题，并为加州多样化的K-12学生树立榜样。教师团队合作以及与社区学院和学区合作以支持STEM教师招聘和保留的模式可以在结果传播时为其他机构提供见解。这个轨道1：奖学金和津贴项目是通过罗伯特诺伊斯教师奖学金计划（诺伊斯）的支持。诺伊斯计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为有效的K-12 STEM教师和经验丰富的模范K-12教师，成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project aims to serve the national need of recruiting, preparing, and retaining high-quality teachers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. The shortage of STEM teachers is a national concern. With a growing need for a specialized STEM-focused workforce, high-quality STEM teachers can prepare students for STEM careers, expand access to STEM education, and create a more inclusive and equitable workforce. To help address the shortfall of STEM teachers, the project will encourage qualified mathematics and science undergraduate students and graduates to pursue teaching careers at high schools and middle schools in high-need school districts. The project will support 30 prospective teachers through scholarships, early teaching experiences, mentoring, and teacher preparation. Once they have obtained a teaching credential and start teaching as novice teachers, the project continues to provide professional development opportunities in their first two years of teaching. During this time, STEM and Education professors and experienced teachers will mentor these new teachers and help them refine teaching skills and stay in the teaching profession. The project at California State University San Marcos includes partnerships with three community colleges (MiraCosta, Palomar, and San Diego Mesa) and two high-need school districts (Escondido Union High School District and San Marcos Unified School District). Project goals are to (1) recruit and retain 30 high-quality STEM majors and professionals to teaching careers over five years; (2) recruit at least 50% underrepresented racial minorities and women in STEM; (3) expand and sustain recruitment and retention mechanisms from freshman to teacher induction; and (4) expand and sustain the STEM education community in the region. The theoretical framework is based on Wenger’s (1998) theory of social participation and identity in a community of practice. A key feature of the project is to support participants as they develop their identities to include characteristics of both scientists and STEM teachers. The project’s intellectual merit includes a refined model for enhancing cross-disciplinary and cross-college faculty’s ability to recruit and produce high-quality STEM teachers and a deeper understanding of how students find balance between their STEM and teaching identities. The broader impacts of this project will aid the teacher shortage and increase role models for California’s diverse K-12 students. The models for faculty teamwork and collaboration with community colleges and school districts to support STEM teacher recruitment and retention can provide insights for other institutions as results are disseminated. 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.