| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 15, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | November 7, 2023 |
| Award Number: | 1340042 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Leah McAlister-Shields
lmcalist@nsf.gov (703)292-8712 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,214,304.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,214,304.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
#5 HAIRPIN DRIVE EDWARDSVILLE IL US 62026-0001 (618)650-3010 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
6 Hairpin Drive Edwardsville IL US 62025-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Robert Noyce Scholarship Pgm |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The NSF Noyce Scholarship Program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is graduating and certifying 36 secondary science teachers serving in high-need rural and urban communities in the southwestern Illinois region. The project is a partnership of the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, SIUE STEM Center, master teachers, community-based organizations, and the cooperating school districts. The objectives of the project are to: 1) recruit highly qualified STEM students that demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, 2) provide students with an enhanced experience in STEM education and research, 3) supply high-need middle and high schools with exemplary science educators, 4) increase outreach in the communities of southwestern Illinois, and 5) disseminate project findings for use in other STEM education settings. The project is implementing strategies for recruiting and nurturing cohorts of STEM teacher candidates during their college years and into their early teaching careers in high-need schools. Key components of the project are: 1) a self-efficacy framework that imparts confidence and skills to developing teachers, 2) a two-phased recruitment strategy that exposes underclassmen to the rewards and challenges of education and offers scholarships and research opportunities to upperclassmen, and 3) the development and support of a STEM teacher network in southwestern Illinois high-need school districts. Ten internships are awarded each year to freshmen and sophomores with an intended or declared major in STEM disciplines who show promise to be strong teachers. Interns teach in a variety of educational outreach programs at SIUE or with community partners for 200 hours during the summer. They receive training in science pedagogy for informal learning, meet regularly with project staff to reflect on their experiences, and give a culminating presentation at the end of the summer. Competitive Noyce Scholarships are awarded to juniors and seniors with a STEM major who are committed to pursuing STEM education careers. Noyce Scholars conduct outreach with disadvantaged middle and high school students, observe master teachers in high-needs schools, and take on the challenges of formal research in their content area or STEM education. They are participating in professional organizations and monthly meetings as they build a professional learning community. The activities are sequenced in order to build scholars' self-efficacy for teaching in a high-need school. After graduation, new teacher support includes a summer face-to-face workshop, online mentoring and support, and professional development events to maintain a collaborative network of peers and supportive master teachers in southwestern Illinois. The new teachers have access to and support from the SIUE STEM Center, which provides numerous services to educators including a lending library and professional development opportunities.
The SIUE Noyce Scholarship program is graduating candidates with a high self-efficacy for science teaching and strong STEM content background, connecting new teachers with other STEM educators in order to strengthen the network of STEM teachers in the region. The evaluation is examining the project's ability to effectively attract, train, place, and retain STEM students in teaching careers in high-need schools. Three novel elements of the project design are a self-efficacy framework, a focus on recruitment of pre-health professional students, and regional capacity building. The results of the evaluation are presented at national conferences to inform other Noyce programs and teacher preparation programs about the effectiveness of the model.
The project addresses a need for high quality teachers in underperforming urban and rural districts in southwestern Illinois. The scholars are teaching in schools in depressed small cities on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, which have a large minority population, as well as in rural districts with high poverty rates and low high school graduation rates. Through outreach activities built into the project design, the Noyce interns and scholars reach an additional 2,500 middle and high school students, providing minds-on STEM activities designed to generate interest and enthusiasm in STEM and STEM careers.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
SIUE Noyce Scholarship Program: Preparing Future Science Teachers for Southwestern Illinois established a robust program to recruit and prepare secondary science teachers to serve in high-needs communities. The leadership team included faculty from science departments and education departments. Internships provided to first and second year undergraduates exposed STEM majors to pedagogy concepts and skills during summer internships at outreach locations such as summer science camps and museums. Additional internships allowed students to engage with outreach during the school year and also with evaluation of outreach programs. Students in the final two years of programs as teacher candidates (Scholars) participated in a range of activities to improve their self-efficacy and effectiveness, including but not limited to: additional observation placements in high-needs settings; research and outreach experiences; attendance at conferences; and participation in monthly seminars with master teachers. Alumni were supported by the project team in a range of ways, with the highlights being workshops every summer and continued participation in the monthly seminars. The modality of the workshops and seminars changed during the Covid pandemic, with a mix of hybrid and remote being added to in-person experiences. Workshops and support from the project team will continue until all alumni have completed their teaching obligation.
Intellectual Merit: A self-efficacy framework was used to structure and evaluate the program during its early years; the external evaluator found consistently positive responses from all stakeholders and also provided feedback that was used to adjust and improve the program. All interns gave presentations of their projects; an ancillary research project studied the changes in intern perspectives that resulted from the pedagogy seminars and experiences during the internships. Many Scholars gave presentations of their research or teaching experiences at local, regional, or national conferences. The project team disseminated findings through presentations at national conferences and a book chapter as well as through presentations to the Noyce community at Noyce conferences.
Broader Impacts: Interns supported through this program assisted with outreach across a wide range of venues and served hundreds of youth as well as families and the general public. Over the course of the program, more than 36 undergraduates participated in some component of the Noyce Scholar program. For some of these students, the early exposure to teaching settings led to a decision to pursue a different career path. Twenty-nine students graduated and moved into teaching in high needs settings. Overall, the program at SIUE provided valuable support to STEM students pursuing educational experiences and teacher licensure, and built a community of teachers that has persisted well past graduation.
Last Modified: 11/30/2023
Modified by: Susan D Wiediger
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