Hi Everyone, I'm Seema Rivera, the PI for Clarkson University's first Noyce Program!  We are just finishing up our second year of a 5-year program.  Our program covers senior year and the Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) year.  We are investigating how to prepare science and math preservice teachers to be culturally competent to teach in both rural and urban schools.  We certify in secondary math, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, technology, and computer science.

I look forward to your comments and questions!

Great work! (I'm always touched by Noyce Scholars programs since they are named after my father.) I'm intrigued by what the young scholars have to say about teaching remotely, how to keep kids active and engaged. I recommend the book Ten Big Bets by my friend Gil Noam as a thought-provoking guide to rethinking school after COVID. Also, based on my own interests, a question: do you give any thought to including literature in science class? Or writing? And to what extent do the scholars try include personal and societal concerns and decision-making with the young people they are teaching?

Great video, Seema! For me, I think that leaning on culturally relevant pedagogies will help novice teachers to meet the needs of their learners, regardless of the context.

Nice job Clarkson University! - The transition to digital online teaching was challenging for experienced teachers and I am sure the preservice teachers in your program as well.  It sounds as if there were many different adaptations that were made ranging from the type of digital tools used to the structure of the class period that was offered.  How had technology and the use of these digital tools been incorporated into coursework pre-pandemic?  Have any decisions related to future coursework or focus been discussed yet to include tools such as these if they weren't previously part of the program?

Christine

Thanks, so much, for the great introduction to your program! The video left me with several wonderings. I loved that one of the participants described the needed approach to thinking/rethinking instruction during the pandemic as "approaching it like a science project." Great and positive reframe! Building on Christine's question, what have you learned throughout this year that you see as critical to success that has changed the ways in which you think about successful teaching and learning? 

I also wonder, in a different aspect of the program, how you arrive at the action research areas of focus. Are these collaboratively identified or predetermined based on instructional goals? Finally, I'd love to know more about the characteristics and process you use to identify "highly qualified" mentor teachers. 

Appreciate your work!

cathy

This video highlights one of the important ways this pandemic crisis offered an opportunity:  It opened teachers up to trying new practices and offering more choices, especially ones that expanded differentiation through technology.  Next, we should be thinking about how teachers are coaching students to be skillful choice-makers, so that each choice helps them to become effective as independent learners. 

Great work! Thank you for sharing this video and offering examples as to best practices. It was good to hear that your teacher candidates were hired despite the pandemic. How do you recruit your Noyce scholars from under-represented populations? 

You have a very similar Noyce focus to ours; we are also targeting rural students who want to return to their home communities to teach.  This past year has been a very challenging year for teachers; your scholars have shown amazing flexibility, creativity, and adaptability.  If they can get through this year, they can do anything!  

We agree that a "grow your own teacher" approach is a wonderful idea as  candidates return to their home communities. Thanks for sharing and keeping the conversation going! 

Yes! Flexibility, creativity, and culturally responsive engagement are critical factors for our STEM teachers and students, especially this past year. Thank you for pointing out that all the students struggled with extended screen time and engagement during the Pandemic. You and your fellows have undoubtedly done great work! Thanks for sharing.

We have a newly-developed MAT but no scholarships offered. Our students typically come from our biology department, but we have not had any luck recruiting them through typical means (large group presentations, town halls, etc). The majority of our candidates come from our iBEARS program where they served as mentors to 4-8th grade students. That is not a very large pool!  Any ideas of how to expand this group without offering scholarships? 

Thank you for sharing this video. I really enjoyed hearing from your student scholars. I'm so glad to hear that your teacher candidates were hired despite the pandemic, our Noyce scholars were too. I liked that your student scholars talked about using the physical aspects (whiteboards and the like) to help maintain engagement to adapt during the online drift that seems to happen. That was great that you were able to keep action research still in your study this year despite COVID.