Program Overview
Scholarships of $20,000 per year are available for 24 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) undergraduates to cover tuition. Undergraduate students will participate in the program for their junior and senior years. In return for two years of scholarship support, they will be required to teach in a high-need school for four years.
Stipends of $25,000 are available for 12 STEM graduates seeking to change careers. STEM graduates will participate for one year and will be required to teach in a high-need school for two years.
The Noyce Scholars Program is designed to:
- Increase the number of excellent secondary teachers in the science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields.
- Strengthen the academic performance of high-need students in STEM disciplines.
Program Highlights
Noyce scholars will also benefit from these program highlights.
The orientation for each new Noyce Scholar cohort will focus on the development of a learning community consisting of the Scholars and the STEM faculty Leadership Team, who will mentor and advise the Scholars throughout the program and into their early years of teaching. Activities will help Scholars begin to create a vision of successful teaching in classrooms of diverse students and prompt them to begin thinking about issues related to teaching in an urban environment.
Noyce Scholars will complete an intensive field experience in a partner middle or high school during their first year in the program, providing them with structured exposure to high-needs schools and students. During the field experience, Scholars will interview experienced urban teachers, complete a series of focused classroom observations, participate in instructional planning and debriefing with their master teacher, and interact with administrators and students in order to increase their understanding of academic, social, and pedagogical issues in the school environments where they are likely to be student teaching. Upon completion of the field experience, Scholars will submit a written summary and reflection, as well as make a presentation to their peer teacher education candidates. This assignment will fulfill the clinical experience requirement of the teacher education program (ED3410).
Noyce Scholars will be expected to serve as academic resources by ementoring urban students through the Make a Difference Youth Foundation (MDYF), an organization that has partnered with Michigan Tech on a number of initiatives for inner city youth. MDYF’s e-mentoring program links college students with students in the Chicago schools to provide them with academic support from role models and encourage them to pursue postsecondary education. This activity will satisfy the tutoring component of the required course on literacy in the content areas, HU4150.
Noyce Scholars will be placed in high-needs schools for their student teaching experience. Our urban partner schools (Saginaw and Grand Rapids) have committed to 4 identifying cooperating teachers and accepting these placements. The 12-week internships will include extended observations of Noyce Scholar interns by supervisors from the Division of Teacher Education and the university partners, along with regular communication with the Scholar’s cooperating teacher. A Noyce Leadership Team member will also keep in regular contact with each Noyce Scholar and his/her cooperating teacher.
Michigan Technological University is committed to supporting the Noyce Scholars after they have completed their studies and are employed by high-needs schools. Teacher educators at the university partner institutions will work with the school district to identify high-quality teacher-mentors who are committed to supporting a new teacher working in a high-needs school. Each new Noyce teacher will work with a Noyce Mentoring Committee, consisting of a STEM faculty from the Leadership Team, the mentor teacher in the school, and a teacher educator from MTU, SVSU or GVSU, under the direction of Co-PI Stockero. Four components make up the Michigan Tech Noyce Scholars In-Service Support system—mentor training, in-school mentoring, an online-synchronous course for Noyce teachers and their mentors, and University partner mentoring support.
In-School Mentoring
In-school mentoring will focus on supporting the beginning Noyce teachers in planning for and implementing inquiry-based pedagogy, developing an effective classroom learning community that is responsive to students’ needs, and addressing issues directly related to teaching in an urban environment. These issues will be addressed in the online course (see below), and in-school mentors will be supported in their work by MTU education faculty and teacher educators from university partners. Mentors will provide regular feedback to the Leadership Team on issues related to novice Noyce teachers’ practice and success.
Online Course
Scholars will enroll in a 2-credit graduate level course during their first year of teaching. Mentor teachers will also be encouraged to enroll to provide them with a professional learning opportunity that will help them improve their own teaching and support the Noyce mentees. The course will begin with a full-day face-to-face meeting at two locations near partner schools that will focus on developing a learning community and norms for professional learning, and will provide a forum to identify issues the new teachers are facing in their classrooms. Each participant will be trained on how to participate in subsequent course sessions in an online face-to-face (via web cameras) synchronous environment; this online structure will allow Michigan Tech to effectively support all Noyce Scholars.
The course content will be grounded in the work of teaching, using inquiry cycles and practice-based materials as the foundation of instruction. Because new teachers particularly struggle with diversity issues, working with special needs students, student discipline and communicating with parents (National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality & Public Agenda, 2007), these topics will also be addressed on an ongoing basis. In the ideal situation where Scholars and their mentors are both enrolled, these teams will be encouraged to participate in classroom-based inquiry cycles as a pair, providing a solid foundation for their work together.
University Partner Mentoring Support
In addition to the support provided by in-school mentor teachers, faculty from our university partners will provide in-class support for all beginning Noyce teachers. They will visit each Scholar four times during their first year of teaching, and twice during their second year. Assistance will focus on practical and pedagogical issues confronted by novice teachers, including implementation of differentiated instruction and reflective practice. These partners, as well as MTU faculty, will be available to the mentors for consultation.
Who can apply?
Undergraduate students who are majoring in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics field or students who have graduated with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field are eligible to apply. Scholars must follow the teacher education requirements in their individual departments.
In addition to the application form, official transcripts of all college work, and two letters of recommendation, the applicant is expected to include an essay (maximum three pages) describing:
- Why you want to become a science or math teacher;
- Why you think you will be a good science or math teacher;
- Why you are well-qualified to meet the nation’s need for math and science teachers, particularly in high need schools, and;
- How you will further your professional development once you become a teacher.
The application form has a complete list of requirements, general selection criteria, expectations of a Noyce Teaching Scholar, and an application checklist.
Mail your application to:
Division of Teacher Education
ATTN: Noyce Teacher Scholarship Committee
Meese Center 106
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931