Extending and Enhancing the STEM Teacher Pipeline through a Community of Learners and Virtual Lesson Study

California State University Northridge (CSUN) is partnering with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to provide support and guidance for the next generation of math and science teachers with a new Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships and Stipends Project. This new CSUNoyce Program titled Extending the Pipeline: supporting STEM teachers earlier and longer, will recruit undergraduate STEM and credential students who have potential to be great teachers. We will recruit and develop teachers with the dispositions to support students in high need schools in a way that reduces the educational gaps in the current system. Noyce scholars will gain experience as part of a community of learners engaged in developing equitable educational practices.

Intellectual Merit: This project builds lessons learned in two previous Noyce projects to enhance and extend the pipeline for new teachers. The CSUNoyce teacher pipeline is enhanced by regular seminars with expert teachers in residence, mentorship for undergraduate Noyce scholars, participation in local and national conferences and local STEM outreach projects. The pipeline is extended by bringing in students earlier as pre-Noyce interns, who participate prior to committing to teaching. We also extend support to Noyce alumnae first year teachers helping insure that their teaching career gets off to a good start. Noyce scholars in the credential program can participate in Lesson Study groups with expert teachers. We will take advantage of the new communications options that we have learned because of the COVID pandemic to enable virtual participation with teachers across the city.

Broader Impacts: The impact of an effective STEM teacher is significant. A teacher with a 20 year career will impact the lives of 3000 students. In many high need schools students may learn from a series of long term substitutes instead of a fully prepared STEM teacher. Ensuring that we get outstanding teachers working in the most challenged schools is the focus of CSUNoyce. This project will cultivate STEM students with the potential to be outstanding teachers. We expect to work with 35-45 new teachers throughout the life of this project; potentially impacting 120,000 students. This project also impacts Noyce alumnae and other expert teachers as well as the STEM education community on campus and even the larger Los Angeles community. The Noyce Community will have an open and inviting culture that is supportive toward teachers at all stages of their careers. Our experience in Noyce and other programs has shown us how to leverage resources and build a robust support program that we are confident will produce the outcomes we are looking for.