Planning Virtual Strategies to Prepare Science and Mathematics Teachers in Mississippi

This project aims to serve the national need for skilled secondary science and mathematics teachers in high-need school districts. To do so, the project seeks to lay the foundation for secondary-education certification programs adapted to the novel demands of pre- and post-COVID teaching/learning environments. Conceived initially as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project aims to use technology and virtual approaches to deliver remote learning opportunities for future teachers. As such, the project will enable Jackson State University to explore the feasibility of a large-scale effort to increase use of evidence-based, distance-learning strategies in teacher education. Examples of strategies include virtual simulations, digital credentialing, and online social and emotional learning. The work will be situated in the urban setting of the Mississippi State capital.

This project at Jackson State University includes partnerships with Hinds Community College and Jackson Public Schools, a high-need school district. The long-term goal of this collaborative effort is plan how to recruit, support, and graduate teachers who will help meet the shortage of science and mathematics teachers at high-need schools often staffed by rotating long- and short-term substitute teachers. The project builds on the conceptual framework of Jackson State's College of Education and Human Development vision of the "responsive educator" who provides and embodies: 1) a Committed Response; 2) a Knowledgeable Response; 3) a Skillful Response; and 4) a Professional Response. Additionally, the project builds on the current infrastructure of the University's Physics and Mathematics Education curriculum. The goals of this Capacity Building project are to: 1) develop evidence-based innovative models and strategies for recruiting, preparing, and supporting teachers; 2) create plans for collecting data to determine need, interest, and capacity for increasing STEM teacher development; and 3) establish the infrastructure for preparing a Track 1: Scholarship & Stipend proposal in the future. This Capacity Building 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 persistence, retention, and effectiveness 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.