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Preparing NOYCE Scholars in the Rocky Mountain West to

Teach Mathematics & Science

Jacqueline LeonardSaman Aryana

Joy JohnsonMonica Mitchell

University of Wyoming

Grant # 1439546

❧❧ 9th Largest State by land area

❧ Lowest Population in US (584,153 residents)

❧ 48 School Districts (365 schools)❧ 7,349 Teacher Workforce

predominantly white & female

❧ 91,533 Students (81% White, 12% Latin@, 3% Native American, 3% Asian, & 1% Black)

❧ Enrollment expected increase❧ 31,578 (6.3%) in 2003 to

38,455 (6.6%) in 2013

Rocky Mountain Region: Wyoming Schools Context

Data Source:Wyoming QuickFacts

National Center for Education Statistics

❧❧ Mission

❧ Recruit & retain diverse STEM teachers to increase number of highly qualified teachers in science and math who are committed to serving high-need students in rural towns in Wyoming and beyond

❧ A Robert NOYCE Scholarship Program❧ Targets STEM undergraduates, graduates, &

professionals interested in K-12 Teaching Certificate❧ WITS targets future K-6 teachers

http://www.witsnoyce.com/

Wyoming Intern to Teacher Scholars (WITS)

❧❧ Early recruitment activities

in regional high schools

❧ Training and summer STEM education research internships during sophomore year

❧ Mathematics tutoring and mentoring

❧Partner institutions for sustained professional learning communities

WITS Four Components

❧❧ What are the barriers to success and mitigating

factors for underrepresented minority STEM majors in WITS program?

❧ What types of academic support are most effective in alleviating stereotype threat?

❧ How did the summer research internship influence WITS participants’ teacher efficacy and retention in STEM?

❧ How did the tutoring/mentoring activities provided throughout the WITS program impact Noyce Scholars’ teacher efficacy and retention?

WITS Study:Research Questions

❧Theoretical Framework

❧ Self Efficacy Beliefs (Bandura, 1977; 1997)

❧ Science Teachers (Riggs & Enochs, 1990)

❧ Mathematics Teachers (Enochs, Smith & Huinker, 2000)

❧Culturally relevant pedagogy (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 2009; Leonard 2008)

❧ Place-Based Education (hooks, 2009)

❧ Science Education (Aikenhead, Barton & Chinn, 2006)

❧ Mathematics Education (Long, 2009)

❧Stereotype threat (Steele, 1997; 2010)

❧ Mitigation through mentoring (Ek et al., 2010)

❧Methods

Qualitative❧ Participant

reflections❧ Focus groups

(formal)❧ Near-peer mentoring

(informal)❧ On-campus

mentoring (hybrid)

Quantitative❧ Internship program

evaluation survey❧ STEBI-B (pre-service

science teachers)❧ MTEBI (pre-service

mathematics teachers)

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Preliminary Data:STEBI-B & MTEBI

Overall Means:❧ STEBI-B ~ 4.17

(n = 5)

❧ MTEBI ~ 4.25 (n = 4)

Teaching Self-Efficacy

❧ Science ~ 4.5❧ Math ~ 4.5Teaching Outcome Expectancy

❧ Science ~ 3.8❧ Math ~ 4.0

❧Year 1 Focus

❧ Established RECRUITMENT protocols❧ Denver are high school

and community college students

❧ Established relationships with UW admissions offices

❧ Established SUMMER INTERNSHIPS❧ Developed a model❧ Recruited 2 White females

and 2 African-American Males

❧Year 2 Focus

❧ Established MENTORING opportunities❧ Formal with STEM

Education professionals

❧ Informal with near-peer education advocates

❧ Hybrid with STEM/STEM Education research team

❧ Hybrid community outreach

❧WITS Mentorship

❧ Safe & supportive environments

❧ A learning process❧ Mitigate systematic

disadvantages❧ Boost self-efficacy❧ Alleviate

discrimination and prejudice

❧❧ Develop a model for replication in Rocky Mountain

West

❧ Address recruitment & retention of STEM professionals (specifically of color)

❧ Change educational landscape by preparing diverse teachers of color in STEM fields

❧ Improve learning opportunities in high-need classrooms

Significance of Study

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WITS Noyce Research Team of the University of Wyoming

Jacqueline Leonard, Principal Investigatorjleona12@uwyo.edu