Transcript Slide 1

Towards a Comprehensive
Recruitment Strategy of STEM
Professionals into K12 Teaching:
Analyzing Data from Five Years of
Marketing through Noyce Projects at
Kennesaw State University
Nancy Overley, MBA (Noyce Project Manager)
Greg Rushton, Ph.D. (Noyce PI)
Context of Study
• Science teachers are in chronic, national demand
• There are few studies on science teacher recruitment
programs and models in the literature
• Recruitment can be expensive, time-consuming (labor
intensive), or both
• Devoloping scalable, sustainable recruitment models can
inform local and national policymaking decisions (e.g., Race to
the Top)
A Scalable Replicable Model for
Recruitment
• Is needed to help stakeholders, including science education
faculty, conceptualize and plan to address this issue
• Should be robust to institutional and contextual challenges
and opportunities
• Should be considered as another component to a science
teacher preparation program
Context of Study (cont.)
• Most Noyce projects can attract some candidates
• Scaling up programs, especially in the physical sciences, is
challenging
• Can we learn from recent local recruitment efforts at to
inform the Noyce community’s understanding of how to
approach recruitment in hopes of building a stronger pipeline
into the profession?
Institutional Context
• 3 Noyce projects since 2007, $4.6M in funding
• 8 new (tenure-track) faculty lines in science education since
2004 (now 10 total, plus 15 in math ed)
• Assoc. Dean of STEM Education since 2006
• 2 full-time staff lines (2011, 2012) devoted to teacher
recruitment
KSU MAT-Science Candidates by Year
20
150 applicants since
2008; 115 accepted
into MAT-Sci program
15
MATB
MATC
MATP
10
5
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
140
8
120
100
6
16
80
22
40
3
8
1
6
5
20
37
48
63
60
20
30
75
0
2007-8
2008-9
2009-10
2010-11*
(Proj)
Phys
Chem
Bio
Math
Scaling is Possible
60-80 STEM grads per year
(average)
http://uteach-institute.org/publications
(accessed May 21, 2012).
Distribution of Majors at UT Austin, SP12
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ima/sites/default/files/ME
M_Enrollment_FA11_Final.pdf(accessed May 21, 2012).
Distribution of STEM Majors in UTeach, SP12
Mathematics
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
188
146
37
22
http://uteach.utexas.edu/About/UTeach%20Program%20Data
(accessed May 21, 2012).
Demographic Analysis I:
Traditional vs. Career Changers
30
25
20
Trad
15
Career Change
10
5
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Demographic Analysis II:
Gender Demographics by Science Discipline
35
30
25
20
F
M
15
10
5
0
MATB
MATC
MATP
Number of Students Graduating
BS Programs are viable too:
UG BioEd vs. UG ChemEd
12
10
8
6
Biology
Chemistry
4
2
0
2007 2008
2009 2010
2011
Recruitment Conclusions I:
Differentiate for Distinct Populations
• Labor Market Theory as a guiding framework for recruitment
• Professional identity differs across prospective teacher
education candidates
• Messaging should be tailored to address desires, goals, fears,
concerns and questions of each population
• Teacher preparation programs should be designed to optimize
recruitment, preparation, and retention based on known
characteristics of each population
Labor Market Theory
• The basic principle driving the supply of teachers is the
following: Individuals will become or remain teachers if
teaching represents the most attractive activity to pursue
among all activities available to them.
• By attractive, we mean desirable in terms of ease of entry and
overall compensation (salary, benefits, working conditions,
and personal satisfaction).
• These elements of attractiveness are the policy levers that can
be used to bring supply in line with demand.
Haggstrom, G., Darling-Hammond, L., & Grissmer, D. (1988). Assessing
teacher supply and demand (R-3633-ED/CSTP). Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Implications of STEM Teacher Shortage
• To meet demand, employers/policymakers are forced to:
– Lower standards to enter profession
– Retain poorly-performing teachers in the profession
– Recruit from populations outside of traditional programs
• None of these policies are conducive to a stable, highperforming K12 workforce
Population Pipeline
PRE-COLLEGE STUDENTS
EARLY-UNDERGRADUATE
SCIENCE MAJORS
Situated Experiences
Anticipated Preservice
Program
local K12 middle and
high schools
FEA; Summer Science
Camps
Locate strong local
K12 science
Science B.S./B.A. with teacher education
education major or minor
departments; target
STEM academies and
magnet programs
introductory science
classes
Freshman learning
communities; UTeach
"Step I" type courses;
PLTL/LA experiences
Science B.S./B.A. with teacher
education major or minor
How to Meet Them
academic advisors;
LATE-COLLEGE
content faculty;
UNDERGRADUATE (AND
science major clubs;
GRADUATE) SCIENCE MAJORS career fairs; upperlevel science courses;
alumni associations;
social media;
professional
EARLY-CAREER SCIENCE
organizations;
GRADUATES
university career
services; recruitment
agencies; tutoring/test
preparation centers
MID- TO LATE-CAREER
SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS
alumni associations;
professional
organizations; print
media
upper-level elective college
courses about science
M.A.T./M.Ed. (or equivalent)
teaching and career
options
Comments
should count as
upper-level elective
towards graduation
requirements if
possible
Graduate Teaching
Assistantships; Outreach to
local K12 schools; K12
M.A.T./M.Ed. (or equivalent)
science clubs, olympiads,
bowls; science tutoring;
substitute teaching
must offer efficient
and flexible route to
none (usually) needed;
M.A.T./M.Ed./University-Based teaching or else
recruit directly into teacher
Alt. Cert. Program
alternative
preparation program
preparation becomes
preferred route
Case Study: Career change professionals
• Career Changers defined: STEM graduate with employment
outside of K12 teaching after graduation
• A primary focus of Noyce II TF/MTF project (2011-2017)
Nancy Slides Start HERE
Recruitment Efforts of 2nd Career into Noyce II
(Needs updating to include Spring 2012 data)
• Website was launched and recruitment campaign began
September, 2011
• Currently have 18 interested Teaching Fellow candidates:
–
–
–
–
8 males, 10 females
7 currently employed in engineering fields
3 currently unemployed from engineering fields
8 currently working or volunteering as a tutor, part-time or sub.
teacher in their field, or another education/academic type position
– How they heard about the program: 9- organizational meeting, 2- KSU
open house, 3- personal contact, 4- newspaper and online advertising

- 34% of career changers started teaching between the ages of 33-42 and 29% of
career changers started teaching at age 43 or over

-46% of all career changers are age 35-49 and 37% are 50+

-47% of chemistry teachers are age 31-50 and 31% are 51+

-49% of physics teachers are age 31-50 and 28% are 51+
1.
Career Changers in the Classroom: A National Portrait,” Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., February 2010, Conducted on behalf of
the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
2.
“Status of High School Chemistry Teaching,” December 2002 , Horizon Research, Inc., P. Sean Smith, Chapel Hill, N.C.
3.
“Status of High School Physics Teaching,” December 2002, Horizon Research, Inc., P. Sean Smith, Chapel Hill, N.C.
“Career Changers in the Classroom: A National Portrait,” Peter D Hart Research Associates, Inc., February 2010,
conducted on behalf of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Messaging to Career Changers
 Job and income stability- even in an economic downturn
 Teaching provides enhanced work-like balance and a familyfriendly work environment
 Teachers have an opportunity to provide a service to the
community
 Teachers have the opportunity to positively impact an
adolescent’s future.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ACS Chemistry for Life
SWE Society of Women Engineers
MDJ Marietta Daily Journal
Sylvan Learning
GACE
The University of
Georgia
EMORY
atlantaParent
TEllus Science Museum
LinkedIn
facebook
Acknowledgements
• Kennesaw State University College of Science and
Mathematics
• Kennesaw State University College of Education
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• NSF-DUE Award # 0733830
• NSF-DUE Award # 1035451
• American Chemical Society
STOP HERE
• Ask for questions
Precollege Recruiting at KSU, GSU, GT
• KSU: Target High School Students
– Offer campus visits
– Visit High Schools and Future Educator Clubs
– Local Master and Collaborating Teachers recruit for us
• GSU: Academy for Future Teachers (AFT)
– Rising Juniors and Seniors from Local High Schools
– Learn Science Content and Pedagogy
Early UG Science Majors Recruitment
• KSU:
– Freshmen Learning Communities
– Student Groups (SAACS/NSTA)
– Early Education Experiences - Summer Science Camps
– Peer-led Team Learning (Chemistry)
• GSU:
– Freshmen Learning Communities
• GT:
– FEA club
– Pre-teaching Listserv (550 students)
Late UG Science Majors Recruitment
• KSU:
– Recruit directly from upper-level major classes
– CHEM 3400: Teaching and Learning Chemistry
– NSF Noyce Scholarships
• GSU:
– FOCUS Course
– “Major Matters” Sessions
– NSF Noyce Scholarships
• GT:
– Principles of Learning & Teaching, parts I & II; Science Pedagogy;
STEM Education Policy; Knowledge in K-12 Math
– Pre-teaching Director
Early Career STEM Professionals Recruitment
• KSU/GT: NSF Noyce Track II ($3M, 2011-2016)
– Scalable, sustainable pipeline of 2nd career
professionals into chemistry, physics teaching
• Recruitment from:
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–
–
–
KSU, GT alumni
Professional Societies (e.g. ACS, SWE, ASCE)
Large STEM employers
Employment/labor agencies