Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining STEM Teachers for Western Kansas

招聘、培养和留住堪萨斯州西部的STEM教师是海斯堡州立大学的Noyce Track 1奖学金和津贴项目。该项目旨在将新教师安置到堪萨斯州西部的农村高中，从而增加中等STEM教育的劳动力。为实现这一目标，该项目将向学生提供奖学金，并编写课程材料，使他们做好准备，成为高需求的成功教师、有较高比例学生有资格享受免费午餐的农村教室和减少午餐(一个贫困指标)。课程的一个关键要素将是通过一个区域服务中心与学区合作计划的农村实地体验，以及学年研讨会。该项目将使用一项针对本科生的指导计划和一项针对早期教师的专业发展计划，以支持未来的教师和实习教师。堪萨斯州的农村地区STEM教师严重短缺。通过支持来自社区学院的学生，通过教师认证，并将其安置到堪萨斯州西部高需求的农村地区，该项目将有助于STEM劳动力的发展。该项目旨在从5所当地社区学院(道奇城、花园城、巴顿县、科尔比和苏厄德社区学院)招收33名本科生到海斯堡州立大学，他们将在那里同时主修中学教育和STEM学科。该项目还将与西南平原地区服务中心合作，该中心为堪萨斯州西部的34个农村学区提供服务。该服务中心将为奖学金获得者提供早期在农村学校的经验，并帮助学生进行教学安置。该项目将为学生在本科和毕业后一年提供奖学金和支持活动，旨在使学生能够成为合格的STEM教师。该项目专注于研究问题，包括：什么是吸引STEM教师到FHSU最有效的招聘做法？哪些招聘策略吸引了更多的STEM教师？在高需求的农村地区，STEM教师一旦进入该行业，会有哪些因素导致他们留住？哪些因素对农村地区的留住有负面影响？对这些问题的回答对其他教师教育项目具有潜在的价值，特别是那些专注于为高需求的农村学校培养职前教师的项目。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining STEM Teachers for Western Kansas is a Noyce Track 1 Scholarships & Stipends project at Fort Hays State University. The project aims to place new teachers into rural high schools in Western Kansas, thus increasing the workforce for secondary STEM education. To accomplish this goal, the project will provide students with scholarships and develop curriculum materials to prepare them to be successful teachers in high needs, rural classrooms with high percentages of students eligible for free and reduced lunches (a poverty indicator). A key element of the curriculum will be a rural field experience planned in cooperation with the school districts through a regional service center, coupled with academic year seminars. The project will use a mentoring program for undergraduates and a professional development program for early teachers that will support both future and practicing teachers. Rural areas in Kansas have a critical shortage of STEM teachers. By supporting the pipeline of students from community college, through teacher certification, and placement into high-need rural areas of Western Kansas, this project will contribute to STEM workforce development.The project aims to recruit 33 undergraduates from five local community colleges (Dodge City, Garden City, Barton County, Colby, and Seward Community Colleges) to Fort Hays State University, where they will double major in secondary education and a STEM discipline. The project will also collaborate with the Southwest Plains Regional Service Center, which serves 34 rural school districts in Western Kansas. The service center will provide scholarship recipients with early experiences in rural schools and assist with student teaching placements. The project will provide scholarships and support activities to students through their undergraduate and post-baccalaureate year, intended to enable the students to become certified STEM teachers. The project focuses on research questions including: What recruiting practices for attracting STEM teachers to FHSU are most effective? What recruiting strategies attract more STEM teachers? What factors result in retaining STEM teachers once they enter the profession in a high needs rural area? What factors negatively impact retention in rural areas? Answers to these questions has potential value to other teacher education programs, particularly those focused on preparation of pre-service teachers for high-needs, rural schools.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.