First-Year Urban Mathematics and Science Middle School Teachers: Classroom Challenges and Reflective Solutions

Summary

This study explored the challenges facing 1st-year alternatively certified teachers of mathematics and science in urban middle schools. Four teachers, participants in the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, were followed from preservice training through their 1st year of teaching, having taken part in innovative coursework, workshops, and internship training. Through focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations, data were collected to analyze their experiences in economically disadvantaged settings. The researchers explored key aspects of the scholars’ experiences, including their struggles with student performance and motivation, ways in which they developed strategies to strengthen their self-efficacy and resilience, and how novel strategies for assessing learning improved their teaching. By examining their perceptions of classroom situations and cultural contexts, and their emerging coping mechanisms, others can learn about how novice teachers may be better prepared to work in challenging environments, and develop recommendations for enabling teacher-training programs to meet the needs of their students.