The shortage of approximately 110,000 teachers during the 2017-2018 school year is expected to double by the year 2025 representing the need to increase the estimated teaching workforce of 3.3 million by six percent. Due to health concerns related to teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, a greater number of teachers retired than projected, thus appreciably increasing the estimated teacher shortage. Compounding the issue, the teacher shortage is not evenly distributed among subject areas with the greatest need being in secondary STEM subjects. Our Noyce project sought to find out what components, if any, attracted STEM majors to teaching in high-needs schools. STEM majors interested in teaching reported that observing and teaching in partnering Title One schools increased their interest in teaching in these schools as did the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) course. Additional program components leading to an interest in teaching underserved students includes a book club on trauma informed pedagogy and engaging students in authentic citizen science/mathematics projects.

NSF Awards: 1660615

Presented in: 2021 (see original presentation & discussion)