Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Track 1 Project: Building A Stronger STEM Teacher Pipeline in Texas

About This Grant

This Noyce Track 1 project at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas aims to serve the national need of preparing highly qualified STEM teachers in the state of Texas. This project will support 14 scholars seeking K-12 teacher certification in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and environmental science. The key components of this project, including place-based experiential learning opportunities focused on the San Antonio River, will enable high-achieving prospective K-12 teachers to become effective STEM educators with relevant content and pedagogy expertise. In addition, this project features a partnership with San Antonio Independent School District, a high-need school district in Texas. This project will be iteratively evaluated. First, the recruitment and retention of Noyce scholars will be evaluated. Second, the effectiveness of key project components, including the place-based experiential learning experiences, peer coaching, and job search supports will be evaluated for the ways in which they contributed to teacher preparation and retention. In addition, the job search supports will also be evaluated. The results of this project will be disseminated to help enhance the field. 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.