Michael Wavering
October 2, 2007
The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Arkansas a three-year, $749,856 grant to fund scholarships for students preparing to become teachers in mathematics or science.
At least 36 future teachers will receive scholarships in a Phase I grant through the NSF’s Robert Noyce Scholarship Program. These students will complete the nationally recognized Master of Arts in Teaching program at the university, making them eligible to teach mathematics or science in Arkansas’ secondary schools.
Gay Stewart, associate professor of physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is principal investigator of the grant. Michael Wavering, associate professor of secondary education, is one of the co-principal investigators.
Wavering coordinates the secondary education Master of Arts in Teaching program in the College of Education and Health Professions. The scholarships are important in several ways, he said.
“Once these students complete the MAT program, they can have an impact on schools that might not otherwise have science and math teachers as well-trained as these,” Wavering said. “These folks are making a two-year commitment to work in schools that serve high minority populations or schools with a high percentage of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch.”
The scholarships will be available to three types of students: those who have completed an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and would like to teach but do not have the financial means to pursue teacher preparation; professionals seeking a career change; and students near the end of their junior year who demonstrate an aptitude for teaching and are considering it as a career. The program would support such students during their senior and master’s years.
Physical science and mathematics students funded under Noyce Scholarships will be required to participate in projects in which they build low-cost experiments that could be used in a classroom and are relevant to today’s applied science and mathematics.
Arkansas public schools are in dire need of a greater number of qualified teachers because students are not performing at proficient levels in mathematics and science. According to the National Office for Research, Measurement and Evaluation Systems, which is based in the College of Education and Health Professions, the percentage of Arkansas students at each particular level scoring proficient or above on the 2004 mathematics benchmark exam was grade four, 65 percent; grade six, 41 percent; grade eight, 32 percent; algebra I, 53 percent; and geometry, 47 percent. On the 2005 National Assessment for Education Progress, only 24 percent of Arkansas fourth- and eighth-graders scored proficient or above. Weaker performance is also predicted on the science benchmark exams to be given this year.
“After they complete all program requirements, scholarship recipients will take positions in high need schools, where they will be assisted in their initial years of teaching,” Stewart said.
Wavering explained that high need schools are those with at least 50 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, have 34 percent or more of their teachers teaching out of the field in which they are certified or have a 15 percent or higher attrition rate for teachers within the last three years.
The College of Education and Health Professions maintains communication with MAT graduates in an informal way now, Wavering said, but the scholarship program includes a more formal structure to continue that. The project will provide a discussion board to allow graduates to share ideas, ask questions and reflect on their experiences
“Especially in some of the small districts where resources are tight, we may be able to provide continued assistance, resources and supervision for these new teachers,” he said.
In addition, ongoing research will focus on the issues graduates encounter with mastering pedagogical content knowledge, which has been shown to be highly correlated with student success.
“We hope to empower many more of Arkansas’ youth to achieve careers in these disciplines by providing high quality science and mathematics instruction in Arkansas’ secondary schools,” Stewart said.
The university has been working for the past six years to improve the numbers of physics and physical science teachers through the Physics Teacher Education Coalition program funded by the National Science Foundation. This program has supported the existing collaboration among faculty in Fulbright College and the College of Education and Health Professions who are working together on initiatives to prepare students for careers teaching in the sciences.
Co-principal investigators of the Noyce scholarship grant are Dennis Brewer, associate vice provost for research; Po-Hao Huang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; and Deborah Korth, director of the Mathematics Resources Tutoring Center.
Several education faculty members will have a role in the scholarship program, including Tom Smith, professor of special education, who will conduct a program evaluation.
“We’re very excited to have these resources to go out and recruit students, and we will try to reach underrepresented groups,” Wavering said. “A number of students in the past have chosen other pathways to become math and science teachers because of the expense of the MAT program with its fifth year requirement. This grant allows us to offer those students with financial concerns an opportunity they might not have had before.”
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Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
(479) 575-3138, stambuck@uark.edu
