To remain globally competitive in the fields of science and technology, the US must develop modern and effective strategies for recruiting, training, and preparing young scientists for the future. The NSF-Noyce initiative at Rider University is grounded in the ideology that improved, equitable access to high quality science education will be invaluable to creating the substantial, diverse, and knowledgeable STEM workforce we need to maintain our status in the global technological market. As such, the STEM Scholars program aims to sustainably deliver significant quantities of highly qualified STEM educators, particularly to hard-to-staff school districts. Currently in its second year, STEM Scholars is primarily focused on recruitment and programming efforts. Our unique "grow-your-own" strategy relies principally on recruitment of STEM majors from local community colleges with high populations of first generation/economically disadvantaged/underrepresented students, who would be far more likely to remain in high-need school districts past the four-year period required by the NSF. Furthermore, the STEM/Education curriculum for STEM Scholars is deliberately infused with frequent opportunities for pre-service teachers to (a) prepare for teaching toward the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), (b) create and hone modules for teaching science and math via civic engagement (SENCER strategies), and (c) adopt culturally responsive classroom management techniques. Along with full-tuition scholarships, research stipends, and other financial and academic support, the elements of the STEM Scholars program will be continually evaluated to measure the overall impact of these educators on the pipeline of underrepresented learners in STEM disciplines and careers.

NSF-Noyce at a primarily undergraduate institution: Initiating institutional change towards improving the pipeline of pre-service seconary STEM teachers

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.