NSF Award
0833291
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is recruiting and preparing 41 new science and mathematics teachers by offering scholarships to undergraduate STEM majors in initial teacher preparation programs, and scholarships and/or stipends for STEM career changers in graduate-level initial teacher preparation, with an emphasis on recruiting individuals from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The program also provides professional development support for all scholars from pre-service through their beginning years of teaching in partnership with four school districts (Gorham, Portland, Lewiston, and Sanford Public Schools). The project includes the use of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) to increase undergraduate student learning in chemistry and mathematics, improve retention of pre-service STEM teachers, and recruit new STEM students into teacher preparation programs. A Newcomer model is in place for recruiting permanent resident aliens with diverse linguistic, racial, and cultural backgrounds into teaching by building a program of academic and social supports to facilitate their transition to the U.S. educational system as they pursue their teacher preparation. A post-certification Master of Teaching and Learning degree completion program employs master teachers as clinical faculty and engages University faculty as content experts for a "virtual residency". A network of graduated Robert Noyce Teaching (RNT) Scholars provides peer support during the induction years. The project uses authentic K-16 partnerships to provide outreach to beginning STEM teachers in the 36 districts participating in USM's Southern Maine Partnership and to advertise the availability of USM's Professional Development Center's numerous offerings for in-service teachers on a wide range of topics, including content-based seminars and strategies of particular interest to STEM teachers in high-needs settings. Recruitment strategies include the use of advertisements on social networking internet sites, such as MySpace.com and facebook.com, to recruit traditional-aged students into teacher preparation programs. An educational technology lending library is available for RNT Scholars and other USM graduates to use in their K-12 STEM classrooms to enable them to become technically competent practitioners and leaders of field and laboratory instruction.
