Pre-service Teacher Research Experience in Biodiversity Studies

The project aims to serve the national need of preparing high-quality secondary science and mathematics teachers. Modern teaching standards and best practices call for teachers not simply to reiterate facts, but rather to engage students in scientific processes. However, prospective teachers often have limited opportunities to immerse themselves in the types of authentic research experiences that best prepare them to meet these standards.

This project addresses this limitation by providing a summer program at Loyola University of Chicago with authentic STEM research experiences for prospective science teachers who are pursuing a baccalaureate degree in biology, ecology, or environmental science. A research emphasis will be on biodiversity in an urban setting. Coupled with the research program will be a professional development summer program with a focus on introducing project participants to many ways in which research can be applied.

At the same time, the program will help them determine how research and other inquiry-based experiences can be integrated into their future classrooms. The project has an underlying aim to mentor 8 new pre-service teachers each year of a 5-year project for a total of 40 unique participants who will have an authentic STEM research experience. In turn, these future teachers will be prepared to facilitate research activities in the K-12 setting.

This project at Loyola University of Chicago (LUC) will focus on several goals. First, the investigators seek to increase the number and diversity of pre-service teachers in the Chicago area who are STEM majors with a genuine STEM research experience. A second goal is to augment the summer research experiences with professional development opportunities.

These opportunities will be aimed at enhancing STEM identities, increasing pedagogical and content knowledge, gaining experience with communication of science concepts and skills, and discussing teaching practices with special attention given to implementing research in the K-12 environment. A component of the professional development will be a workshop on employing data nuggets to empower the pre-service teachers to translate their research experience into their future careers as teachers.

Third is to add to the knowledge base for pre-service teacher preparation. To accomplish this, the project will collect and analyze data about the short and long-term implications of pre-service teacher research and other professional development experiences on pedagogical and content knowledge, science and science teacher identities, and instructional practices.

A final goal is to disseminate outcomes and findings on the LUC model, especially to other programs interested in using authentic STEM research experiences, coupled with teacher professional development, to enhance and improve pre-service science teacher preparation. Qualitative project evaluation of the stated program goals will rely on formative assessment, including mentor reflections, focus groups, and interviews.

Also, a summative study of the depth and rigor of the research and professional development experiences will be incorporated. Overall, evaluation is designed to contribute to understandings of how research experiences can be integrated into beginning science teachers’ early preparation. The project has the potential to serve as a model for improving pre-service teacher preparation for which intensive research experiences would represent an important program component.

This Noyce Research Experiences for Pre-service Teachers project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need districts.

It also supports research on the retention and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.

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.