| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 13, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | November 8, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1557357 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Mindy Capaldi
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,200,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,200,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2000 PENNINGTON RD EWING NJ US 08618-1104 (609)771-3255 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2000 Pennington Rd. Ewing NJ US 08628-0718 |
| 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
This project, which will produce thirty new physics teachers over five years, is addressing a major problem facing high schools in the United States, a crisis of availability of well-qualified high school physics teachers. For every three national openings, only one qualified teacher is trained each year. More than 60% of high school physics classes are now taught by teachers who do not have appropriate training in physics content, and this problem is even more acute at high-need schools. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program in Physics at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is designed to increase the number of outstanding physics students who are being recruited and certified to become new secondary physics teachers. The TCNJ School of Education and School of Science is collaborating with public secondary schools within the established 18-district TCNJ Professional Development School Network (PDSN), with concentrated training occurring within five local high-need school districts. The project will provide outstanding training and support to new physics teachers, while increasing the number and diversity of physics teacher graduates. The number of new physics teachers directly supported by this project will be regionally significant, and includes a commitment to service in high-need schools. Furthermore, the project will establish a model that is feasible to reproduce at other institutions across the nation.
The TCNJ project is motivated by a dire shortage of highly qualified physics teachers in New Jersey and nationally, and by a severe lack of diversity and lack of access to physics teacher expertise in high-need schools. In response to these needs, the major goals of the project are to: a) attract, retain, and sustain a minimum of six physics-certified graduates per year through the period of support and beyond; b) substantially improve science education in the region, especially by increasing teacher diversity and availability of expert physics teachers to high-need local schools; and c) contribute new knowledge to physics education research through faculty research, enabled by novel programming linked to systematic assessment of student outcomes. Benefits include the preparation of highly qualified physics majors that will become the thirty new physics teachers. With respect to propagating the outcomes broadly, this project will: a) provide a compelling model for growth, especially for primarily undergraduate institutions, which is where most physics majors train; b) disseminate gained knowledge in physics teacher education research through publications and presentations; and c) substantially increase physics expertise, diversity, and resources to high-need schools. Statistics on physics teacher demand and average physics teacher preparation are very worrying. This shortage is still growing because many new state standards are requiring greater numbers of high school students to take physics. Only ~40% of HS physics teachers have a physics degree (lowest of any HS subject). This project is tackling this challenge head-on by starting to recruit in high schools and every step along the academic curriculum. There will not only be the immediate benefit of the thirty new physics teachers, but other institutions may learn from the model being established at TCNJ.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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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.
The NSF Noyce Project "Preparing Highly Qualified Physics Teachers" at The College of New Jersey (2016-2022) was completed in Fall of 2022. The project has been highly successful in accomplishing its top-line goal: to substantially improve physics education in the region by increasing the number of expert physics teachers available to work in high-need local schools.
Through the course of this project, a total of 42.5 full-year, full-tuition Noyce scholarships have been provided to 24 individual TCNJ students. All of these Noyce Scholars and Fellows have graduated (or will soon) with dual majors in Physics (B.S.) and Secondary Education. Six of these students also completed a Master's of Arts in Teaching, including 5 with specialization in Urban Education. As of January 2022, 15 of the 24 supported students have graduated, completed State of New Jersey Physics Teacher certification requirements, and are presently working as a full-time physics teachers in a high-need school setting (as defined by the NSF Noyce program). The other 9 Noyce Scholars and Fellows are on track to graduate in 2023 (6) or 2024 (3).
Overall, the number of students in TCNJ’s dual degree Physics/Secondary Ed. program increased greatly over the period of the award (from 9 students in Fall 2016 to at least 3x that number for Fall 2019, 2020 and 2021, and 2.5x that number in 2022). Although the project did not quite reach the original goal of graduating 9 certified teachers per year, the project succeeded in recruiting more freshmen and transfer students into the Physics/SecondaryEd. program, enabling graduation of 6 - 7 students per year for the last two years of the award, and 9 projected graduates in the current 2022-2023 academic year. Despite unforeseen challenges to the regional and national environment for teacher education, the Noyce project helped the TCNJ Physics Teacher Education Program grow through the award period, providing essential support needed to achieve consistent recognition as one of the most productive and innovative in the nation (PhysTEC.org, 5+ awards in 2016, 2018, 2021,2022, and projected in 2023).
Despite pandemic disruptions to research, programming, and assessment activities during the middle-late award period, the TCNJ Noyce project has nonetheless contributed significantly to the national conversation about physics teacher education. Over the course of the award, the project's activities contributed entirely or in part to 4 peer-reviewed journal articles and a reviewed book chapter, as well as 36 conference presentations. TCNJ's Noyce Scholars were also coauthors and/or conference presenters on many of these papers and conferences, including 14 first authorships. The summative perspective on the project's motivation, context, and outcomes were also disseminated in the October AAAS ARISE web article feature, "Wherefore Art Thou, Physics Teacher", https://aaas-arise.org/2022/10/19/wherefore-art-thou-physics-teacher/
In addition to excellent student support and completion outcomes, and major contributions to physics education research, the Noyce project also helped to establish several innovative program activities that have been shared widely, and will be sustained at TCNJ beyond the end of the award: A) The New Jersey Physics Teacher Advisory Group (PTAG) was very successfully established through the Noyce award in 2017 as a mentoring-support, professional development, and networking model. These meetings of regional physics teachers have regularly attracted 20-40 attendees, bringing together current students, recently graduated novice teachers, seasoned expert teachers, and TCNJ program faculty. Under the leadership of Matt Holsten, a 2016 graduate from TCNJ’s Physics/Secondary Ed. program and one of PTAG’s most active and engaged participants since its inception, plans are in place for sustaining PTAG indefinitely. B) The TCNJ STEP-UP program (Summer Teaching Exploration Program for Undergraduate Physics) provided first and second year STEM majors with an opportunity to interact with students in local physical science and high school physics classes. Evaluation of this program demonstrated several valuable outcomes: 1) participants’ early classroom interactions with students helped several students decide to pursue physics teaching as a career who otherwise had not planned to do so; 2) other STEP-UP participants already planning to pursue teaching felt more secure in that career plan after completion of the program; 3) new connections with high school physics teachers and school administrators led to new training and job opportunities for program students, and ultimately help to strengthen high school physics instruction in local schools. Although the in-person component of the STEP-UP program was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the TCNJ physics department plans to prioritize renewal of this effective activity in upcoming years.
Through the successes of the Noyce Physics program at TCNJ, we have found that the growth of physics teacher education in our department has been a true source of strength for the entire department, redounding to benefit the stability, diversity, and culture of physics at TCNJ.
Last Modified: 04/26/2023
Modified by: Nathan Magee
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