| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 1, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 1, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1557378 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Bonnie Green
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,009,374.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,009,374.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1700 MOORE ST HUNTINGDON PA US 16652-2196 (814)641-3000 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1700 Moore Street Huntingdon PA US 16652-2119 |
| 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
With funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, the Juniata College Energizing STEM Teaching Across Rural Schools (E-STARS) program recruits undergraduate majors in biology, chemistry, geology, math and physics, to additionally earn their secondary teaching certification to teach science or mathematics in grades 7 to 12, focusing on underserved, and underperforming rural schools. The project is funding a minimum of 20 scholarships over five years. Juniata College is collaborating with Huntingdon Area School District, Juniata Valley School District, Mount Union Area School District, and Southern Huntingdon Area School District. The E-STARS Scholarship program will bring together Juniata science, mathematics, and education faculty, and Juniata's Science in Motion (SIM) educators in partnerships with neighboring rural school districts, to graduate more engaged educators who have experience in and are equipped with tools to negotiate the challenging rural teaching environment. Upon graduation, E-STARS Scholars will have developed a solid foundation in their respective STEM fields, have a plethora of high quality curricular resources, and will also have completed a training program that is enriched with hands-on, inquiry based teaching experiences highlighting the uniqueness of populations in underserved rural middle and high schools.
In addition to the scholarships in the junior and senior years, the project will fund summer opportunities for freshmen and sophomore STEM students to explore the educational field in a 5 week summer course which will include three college credits of course material over three weeks on the foundational structure of education systems and an additional credit for 70 field placement hours in schools including: 40 hours with an in-service teacher in his/her rural math or science classroom and 30 additional hours traveling and presenting science labs with the Juniata College SIM outreach program. E-STARS scholars will also fully participate each summer in STEM focused workshops for in-service teachers. In addition, each E-STARS scholar will receive a summer stipend for working on research or an internship that is STEM education focused. All scholars will participate in state and national professional organizations, attending and presenting at their respective conferences. The E-STARS Leadership Team will work with an external evaluator to understand the effectiveness of the program. The evaluation will be used to develop evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the training of rural STEM educators at other mid-sized liberal-arts institutions of higher education, which will be disseminated by the Leadership Team at state and national scientific and mathematical professional conferences.
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.
In March 2016, Juniata College was the proud receipient of an NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship Award to support Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) undergraduates wishing to earn their teaching certification in a STEM field. The project started in May 2016 and extended through September 30, 2022. In that time frame, 23 STEM undergraduate students completed their STEM major and earned secondary certification in their STEM field from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and are now teaching in middle and high school settings throughout the United States. Thirteen of those students also received NOYCE sholarship support and have or are completing their commitment to teach in high needs school districts, offering STEM education in both rural and urban settings. An additional ten juniors/seniors undergraduates are currently completing their STEM majors and education certification courses and will soon be entering the work force as STEM teachers. Of this additonal ten teacher candidates, seven received NOYCE scholarships and are committed to teach in high-needs school districts for a minimum of four years each. They will graduate in May 2023 and May 2024 respectively.
For the time frame of May 1, 2022 to Sept 30, 2022, two of the scholars were able to participate in summer research opportunities: one involving macro- invertebrate (insects) research and the other in working as a summer mentor in two impoverished areas teaching mathematics and serving as a positve role model. An additional student was able to start her semester aboard in Budapest, Hungary and study Math Education in Budapest. Four of the scholars and the PI also attended the 2022 Fall Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association Conference and presented their work on developing and executing a field trip for high school students around the theme, Alternative Energies.
COVID impacted the whole educational system and the scholars felt this, but were able to adjust their instruction during student teaching to still offer rich, hands-on (as much as was allowed) experiences for their students. A number of the graduates shared their experiences teaching and the impact it had on their teaching and learning. All who have graduated have started on Masters degrees to further their education as they continue to teach full-time fulfilling their Noyce scholarship commitment. One graduate even chose a position in a very rural part of Alaska where he serves as the only math and science teacher for his district's high school.
This was the first Noyce Project for Juniata College and we were pleased with the outcomes over the years. We learned a number of lessons and continue to focus our students on the needs of educating rural populations for STEM learning and understanding. Working in a rural setting offers its own challenges and our students have adapted well to the challenges and opportunities afforded them. They were ever so grateful for the financial support the scholarship offered, making it feasible for a number to study aboard and for most of them to have a STEM research or STEM ed focused summer experience.
Last Modified: 01/20/2023
Modified by: Kathleen M Jones
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