Collaborative Research: Four Corners Noyce Scholars Program

四角Noyce学者（FCNS）项目是一个Track 1 Noyce项目。这将是科罗拉多州杜兰戈的路易斯堡学院（FLC）和新墨西哥州法明顿的圣胡安学院（SJC）之间的跨州合作。它将为三个州重叠的农村服务地区输送高素质的STEM教师。该项目将为29名已经完成STEM学位并将通过FLC或SJC攻读学士学位后教师执照的学生提供为期一年的奖学金。另有15名本科生将获得多年奖学金支持，同时攻读数学、生物、化学、地球科学或物理学位。该项目将解决四角地区缺乏合格的STEM中学教师的问题。FCNS将通过招募和培训倾向于生活在农村社区的学生来增加这些教师的数量。然后，他们将通过学生教师分配和长期就业的方式将他们安置在高需求社区。FCNS的第一个目标是增加四角地区认证数学和科学教师的数量和多样性。其次，该计划将为入职教师提供辅导和专业发展。第三，该项目将评估项目招聘和支持策略的有效性。FCNS将开发一个招聘渠道，让有前途的STEM本科生获得教学经验。被选中的学生将获得一笔津贴，通过新墨西哥州、科罗拉多州或亚利桑那州的十个社区合作伙伴之一参加暑期实习。在获得奖学金支持之前，诺伊斯学者将参加一个暑期桥梁项目。该计划将建立同志情谊，创造网络经验，并解决文化流畅性，识字和计算能力。这些学者将获得必要的培训和入职支助，以便在拥有大量美洲原住民和西班牙裔人口的贫困、孤立的农村社区进行有效教学。FCNS和纳瓦霍民族数学圈（NNMC）计划之间的合作伙伴关系将为招募高素质的纳瓦霍学生进入教学创造令人兴奋的机会，并为FLC和SJC学生提供纳瓦霍民族和文化的接触。在五年内，44名教师将完成认证，并在13个高需求合作学区之一任教。从大一开始，FLC和SJC的本科生将在他们的大学校园里与中学生和高中生一起参加活动。这些活动将包括数学节、化学演示、科学博览会评审，以及指导参观动物实验室。二年级的学生将把他们的前期教学经验带进学校。他们将提供样板课，辅导教师，并参观学校。学校访问将包括通过NNMC进行的校内和课外活动。SJC（两年制大学）和FLC（四年制大学）之间将建立转学途径。这将允许SJC学生在FLC完成STEM学位时获得Noyce支持。项目成果的传播将包括由共同pi、FCNS学者在其家乡社区发表的会议报告，以及向适当的期刊和会议提交的教育研究成果。该项目将寻求评估招聘活动、合作安排和路径选择的有效性，为在四角地区和美国各地类似的环境中培养和留住有效的STEM教师制定循证战略。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 Four Corners Noyce Scholars (FCNS) program is a Track 1 Noyce project. It will be a cross-state collaboration between Fort Lewis College (FLC) in Durango, CO and San Juan College (SJC) in Farmington, NM. It will deliver highly-qualified STEM teachers to a rural service region that overlaps three states. This project will provide one-year scholarships to 29 students who have already completed a STEM degree and will pursue Post-Baccalaureate teacher licensure through FLC or SJC. An additional 15 undergraduate students will be awarded multi-year scholarship support while pursuing licensure in conjunction with a degree in Math, Biology, Chemistry, Geoscience or Physics. This project will address the lack of qualified secondary STEM teachers in the Four Corners area. FCNS will increase the number of these teachers by recruiting and training students who are predisposed to living in rural communities. Then they will place them in high-need communities via student teacher assignments and long-term employment. The first goal of FCNS will be to increase the number and diversity of certified Math and Science teachers in the Four Corners region. Secondly, the project will provide mentorship and professional development to induction year teachers. Thirdly, the project will assess the effectiveness of the program's recruitment and support strategies. FCNS will develop a recruitment funnel that will expose promising STEM undergraduate students to instructional experiences. Selected students will receive a stipend to take part in summer internships through one of ten community partners in NM, CO, or AZ. Prior to receiving scholarship support, Noyce Scholars will attend a summer bridge program. This program will build camaraderie, create networking experiences, and address cultural fluency, literacy, and numeracy. These scholars will receive the training and induction year support needed to teach effectively in impoverished, isolated, rural communities with large Native American and Hispanic populations. A partnership between FCNS and the Navajo Nation Math Circle (NNMC) program will create exciting opportunities to recruit highly-qualified Navajo students into teaching and to provide FLC and SJC students exposure to the Navajo Nation and culture.Over five years, 44 teachers will complete certification and teach in one of thirteen high-need partner school districts. Starting in their freshman year, undergraduate students at both FLC and SJC will work with middle- and high-school students through activities on their college campus. These activities will include math festivals, chemistry demonstrations, science fair judging, and guiding visits to animal labs. Sophomore-level students will take their pre-teaching experiences into the schools. They will give sample lessons, tutor, and visit schools. The school visits will include both in-school and after-school programs through NNMC. Transfer pathways will be developed between SJC (a 2-year institution) and FLC (a 4-year institution). This will allow SJC students to receive Noyce support while completing STEM degrees at FLC. Dissemination of project results will include conference presentations by co-PIs, FCNS Scholars speaking in their home communities, and educational research results being submitted to appropriate journals and conferences. The project will seek to evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment activities, collaborative arrangements, and pathway alternatives, to generate evidence-based strategies for the preparation and retention of effective STEM teachers in the Four Corners region and similar settings around the U.S.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.