Blog

With good reason, there has been a great deal of attention over the past two decades on the structures and strategies of STEM teacher education, particularly in regard to the preparation of teacher candidates for high-need schools and diverse student populations through well-designed coursework and fieldwork components of teacher education programs (Anderson & Stillman, 2013; […]

Teachers’ beliefs in what they can do are powerful. Decades of research illustrates interconnections between teaching self-efficacy, teacher effectiveness, (Wolters & Daugherty, 2007; Woolfolk et al., 1990) and student achievement (Anderson et al., 1988; Caprara et al., 2006). Teaching self-efficacy, defined as teachers’ beliefs in their ability to effectively handle the tasks, obligations, and challenges […]

Rural schools can be amazing places for STEM teachers to work. Rural schools may be a new teacher’s first choice because of a location near family or friends, or because they are seeking outdoor recreational opportunities—skiing, fishing, boating, or natural beauty—that can be found in rural places. Rural schools offer opportunities for leadership that may […]

As education professionals (for S.T.E.M. education, humanities, and the arts) who have taught in diverse K-20 settings and have facilitated faculty and staff development programs, we noticed a need for a systemic approach to promote inclusion, attend to equity, reflect on the implications of bias and systems of oppression, and to collectively move forward to […]

This year we will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program! This milestone has me celebrating two decades of success and evolution while also asking: What must the next 20 years of Noyce look like to cultivate a national cadre of K-12  STEM teachers and teacher leaders equipped to support America’s richly diverse […]