Recruiting Diverse Groups of Teachers and Enhancing Capacity in Culturally Responsive Teaching in High-need Schools

The project aims to serve the national need of preparing high-quality teachers to meet two persistent problems: (1) STEM teacher shortages, and (2) lack of diversity in the STEM teaching field. STEM teacher shortages affect capacity to prepare students to succeed academically and pursue STEM careers. Increasing diversity in the STEM education workforce attends to the well-documented benefits for students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM when their teachers also are members of these groups.

Lenoir-Rhyne University (LR) will respond by establishing partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina to recruit and prepare STEM graduates to earn master’s degrees and teach in high-need classrooms. The proposed one-year Master of Arts in STEM Teaching (MAST) program includes a focus on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices so completers enter the STEM teaching field prepared to excel in culturally diverse schools.

Scholars will benefit from LR faculty mentors, teaching supervisors, and clinical experiences in high-need schools. LR will support completers through professional development and teaching methods. Expected outcomes include CRT preparation of diverse STEM educators prepared to meet the needs of high-need STEM classrooms.

This program has potential to improve student outcomes in communities in North Carolina and across the United States that are experiencing STEM teacher shortages and lack of diversity in the STEM teaching workforce.

This project at LR includes partnerships with high-need school districts Hickory City Schools, Asheville City Schools, and Newton-Conover City Schools, along with HBCUs Elizabeth City State University, Livingstone College, St. Augustine's University, and Johnson C. Smith University.

Project goals include the following: (1) 35 STEM degree recipients will enroll from HBCUs and LR over five years; (2) 90% (31) of these enrollees will complete the MAST degree; (3) each MAST recipient will be placed in a high-need school; and (4) each MAST recipient will serve at least two years as a culturally responsive STEM teacher. LR will recruit candidates with STEM degrees in any high-need content area as the MAST program will support content knowledge with pedagogical knowledge infused with culturally responsive teaching practices.

The project will employ a unique recruitment plan that spans North Carolina in partnership with HBCUs, an online format that facilitates the professional development, and the integration of CRT throughout pedagogical coursework. The proposed project aims to generate new knowledge by testing a recruitment pipeline consisting of students from groups underrepresented in STEM who are transitioning from HBCUs to LR's MAST program and into high-need classrooms.

The evaluation plan will guide project learning and test how mentorship interacts with an accelerated 12-month program to provide participants with retention support and STEM content. This Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends 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 school districts.

It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention 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.