Building Capacity to Develop STEM Teacher Leaders: NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
May 2023 -- The Science Math Resource Center has received a $75,000 grant from the
National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to study teacher shortages and support STEM teacher-leaders in rural and reservation
communities of Montana.
The grant will fund the project “Building Capacity to Develop STEM Teacher Leaders in Montana Rural and American Indian Schools,” led by Dr. Fenqjen Luo, associate director of the Science Math Resource Center. The interdisciplinary project team includes representatives from MSU's Departments of Education, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Physics.
Partners includeSchool Services of Montana, the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, and Montana GEAR UP.
The goals of this Capacity Building project are to:
- Conduct needs assessments to determine the areas of teacher shortages and interest among science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers in Montana;
- Strengthen partnerships with rural and American Indian school districts in Montana;
- Develop methods informed by evidence-based principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to recruit and select potential STEM teacher leaders in partner rural and American Indian school districts;
- Identify a teacher leadership development model that will support experienced and exemplary STEM teachers to become teacher leaders in partner rural and American Indian school districts.
For more information about this project, please contact Dr. Fenqjen Luo at [email protected]
School leaders: would you like to join our project?
During the planning phase, we can offer a small amount of support to teachers who fill out a needs assessment survey as well as potential travel funding to school leaders to meet with us in Bozeman this summer. Most importantly, you are positioning your school as an excellent partner for a full Noyce Teacher-Leaders proposal, which would provide extensive support and training for STEM teachers who teach in high-need districts.
If your school is rural or high-need (see NSF website for how high-need schools are defined) and would like to learn more about joining our project, please ask your superintendent to contact Dr. Fenqjen Luo at [email protected]