By: Layne Scherer, Program Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science
If you think of the Noyce program, the first name that likely comes to mind is Kathleen Bergin. As a program director, Dr. Bergin had been a steadfast champion of the program in her decades serving the National Science Foundation. For Bergin, “teaching is the noblest profession,” and her passion for supporting preservice and in-service teachers, as well as research on STEM teacher education, has no bounds. I had a chance to connect with Kathleen in the early months of her retirement to reflect on her time with the program. Our conversation, edited for clarity, follows below.
Layne Scherer: How did you see Noyce change from the time you started with the program until your retirement?
Kathleen Bergin: Over time, the expectations for deep engagement became more evident in the community. At the core, the Noyce program provided scholarships through universities and colleges, but engaging and bringing the research to the work became more enhanced and a hallmark of the work that the community is engaged with. Over time, it [the community] became something that people subscribed to and wanted to contribute to and benefit from.
Scherer: How did you see the community evolve?
Bergin: First, being a Noyce Scholar or Fellow became an identifiable thing that people knew about. Second, the annual meetings evolved to have a more deliberate focus on creating community between the Scholars and Fellows and across the themed tracks with connections for evaluators, STEM disciplinary faculty, and educators. Not to say people weren’t deliberate in how they showed up at the beginning, but over time the community became so deeply involved and robust in the education work. People really do connect.
Scherer: How have you seen the emphasis on diversity and inclusion develop?
Bergin: Again, not that there wasn’t that emphasis in the beginning. NSF has long had a clear focus on supporting those who have been underserved by the educational systems.
It first showed up in the systemic programs that focused on engaging communities underrepresented and underserved by academic communities (K12 included). Even though the language of DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) was not present, that was the nature of the work.
Early in the 2000s, MSP (Mathematics and Science Partnerships program) featured diversity prominently. Noyce was launched around the same time in 2002, and the intent was always there to reach participants from underserved areas. Since, it has been increasingly called out, and it’s a broad sense of diversity, such as preparing teachers who could serve students with disabilities and recruiting people with disabilities to teach as well.
Now the work around diversity is more deliberate, but it has always been a part of the work that I’ve known. It was so important and consistent with my own belief system. I would stand up in front of schools, even before NSF, and say if we don’t educate all of the children, particularly [those] who are different from who we are, where are teachers going to come from? What will happen if we ignore a large part of the population rather than building on assets? The notion of assets was not on the forefront of the work in the early years.
Scherer: What are some of the stickier issues that continue to persist?
Bergin: For several years, Noyce has limited the areas of research that the program would fund, and that’s been done with knowledge to build up enough research in certain areas, such as teacher effectiveness and retention. There was a deliberate decision that it should focus on particular subjects to get more robust research in those areas and build a research agenda moving forward.
We’re also looking for research on tools and strategies that can bring about success for the most challenged learners. Many students have learning challenges, there are learners that are neurodivergent, and students that have not been tapped into and have yet to feel excitement for learning. While project-based learning can help, so many students need to have basic and fundamental support to thrive, such as food and housing security and access to healthcare.
Scherer: What can we do for those young people while they’re in our classrooms so they can thrive?
Bergin: Between the Noyce program and the IUSE program’s teacher preparation work, I’m seeing enough feedback on the role that school leadership has in providing support or getting in the way of what teachers have learned to do in their classrooms. We need more research on developing robust leaders that can support teachers supporting students. This would not be focused on teacher leaders, they’re already a part of what Noyce does, but in terms of the leadership of school buildings. Some manage huge schools, some that eclipse the size of colleges, to rural places where it’s a building for all of K12. There is no one size fits all.
Scherer: Is there anything that you wish people knew about Noyce that people don’t necessarily know from the start?
Bergin: For one, I think that a recruitment strategy needs to be more than “you’ll pay for the education.” You might imagine this would work since there is a lot of debt out there, but it is not sufficient to attract STEM students to come into teaching.
It can help to connect with PIs who started projects in the last four years, since they are more likely to remember what some of the challenges were in the beginning. Another lesson is letting people know that if they intend to recruit 10 individuals, they could do that with all their heart, but they shouldn’t panic if they all don’t make it. It is important to focus on what works and learn and reflect on what didn’t. Spend less time on outcomes and more on process. Things won’t always work, but the goals will remain. It’s about being able to pivot. Just like a teacher in a classroom, what is working for one person that might not work for another. How you achieve your goals may transition over time.
Scherer: What makes you feel hopeful about K12 education?
Bergin: Every time I engage with Noyce teachers, such as Voices from the Field or other Noyce Scholars or Fellows on a panel, I feel like if all our teachers were like this, we’d be in a great place. Noyce is 22 years old, and it’s still creating a vibrant community. I can’t be anything other than hopeful because we’re investing in the work and the community. There are still places where we want to tap and reach more institutions who haven’t had a Noyce award or have lapsed. We hope they apply and become an engaged part of the community. There’s a sense of commitment, an energy, and a vibrance that the teachers bring to the work. Being part of the Noyce community brings hope.
Scherer: What are the biggest challenges?
Bergin: …there’s the broader context of teaching, it dissuades people from becoming teachers. It’s not about differing opinions, STEM embraces differences. It’s how we learn, the world is full of differences, learning embraces the differences. We need to embrace difference with civility. Many will say that they see what’s happening, and they don’t want to be embroiled in it. They will say they want to work in a profession where they are respected, or at the very least, supported.
Scherer: What might you tell teachers who are facing these challenges to continue to persist and hope for the future?
Bergin: What I used to tell teachers when they felt unsupported, although it may not be the same with the kind of climate we have now, I would say close the door and teach. Teach your learners well.
I also think that teachers might seek out or launch professional development on how to work together with those who have different perspectives and don’t necessarily agree with each other. We all need to work on how do we disagree agreeably and how do we move things forward. That is a place to look–how to help teachers work with others in terms of civil discourse. [This] hearkens back to questions on notions of a win-win. To get to a win-win we have to have a discussion. I think providing support for teachers in ways to bring together divergent views with respect will go a long way. It’s something they have to do in the classrooms as well.
Scherer: Are there any other perspectives that you’d like to share with the Noyce/ARISE community?
Bergin: This is hard work and keep on doing the hard work. We have a lot to do, we need everyone to commit. Find other humans who can be resources and help bring them energy. There are people that you meet in your workday who might sap you of energy, but then there are people who energize you and a certain person can light up the day. Seek those people out. Mr. Rogers said look for the helpers. I’ll say look for those that energize you. That’s what will keep you going. It’s not that you have chosen the easiest profession, you’ve chosen the noblest profession.
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Layne Scherer, Program Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science
lscherer@aaas.org
Layne Scherer is a Program Director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity and Diversity. Her portfolio of work includes managing three projects that provide technical support to the following National Science Foundation programs: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE), Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, and Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics Program (S-STEM). Prior to joining AAAS, Scherer worked at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine where she served as the study director for the reports on Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation; Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Wellbeing in Higher Education: Supporting the Whole Student; Changing Expectations for the K-12 Teacher Workforce: Policies, Preservice Education, Professional Development, and the Workplace; and Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century. Before her time at the National Academies, Scherer worked in the Directorate for STEM Education at the National Science Foundation.
