Thanks to the U.S. National Science Foundation鈥檚 (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at 甜瓜视频, three Noyce Scholars recently were able to travel to St. Louis, Missouri for a special conference focused on 鈥淔ostering STEM Futures: Resiliency and Assessment Practices.鈥�
Scholarship recipients include McKenna Clark 鈥�26, Savannah LaMar 鈥�26, and Charity Perry 鈥�25, all of whom are pursuing degrees as secondary STEM teachers at 甜瓜视频.
Each attended the 2024 Midwest Annual Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Conference from Oct. 18-20. Clark and LaMar also did a poster presentation on their experiences attending the 2024 FIRE Week trip to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Townsend, Tennessee.
The conference featured keynote speakers, a poster session, a conference session, site visits, a trip to the City Museum, Midwest STEM Teacher Innovation Project (STIP) sessions, and networking. From building on the partnerships and networking from past Noyce Conference grants to developing evidence-based learning communities among Noyce teachers, the goal of the conference was to increase the personal and professional connections among Midwest Noyce project members and Noyce Scholars across the region while enhancing the scholarship of teaching and learning among Noyce participants and scholars.
Not only did they gain important conference and presentation experience, but all three students came home with new ideas for teaching in their future classrooms. Additionally, they gained practical strategies for inclusive classrooms and learned the importance of engaging students in meaningful experiences while prepping them for the future world.
鈥淚 really enjoyed attending the conference. I learned a lot of useful information that can apply to multiple disciplines and was able to expand my connections with other scholars,鈥� said Perry, from Garfield Heights, Ohio, who is a biology major pursuing a minor in education. She plans to teach AYA 7-12 Life Science and be a K-12 intervention specialist.
鈥淭he whole experience was absolutely worth it,鈥� she added. 鈥淭he session that impacted me the most was the 鈥榁oices and Visions: Through the Lens of Multilingual Learners.鈥� I enjoyed the practical strategies provided to create an inclusive environment and how to challenge the flaws of English-centric learning approaches. Looking back on my reflection notes, one thing that made me smile is how often I think about my students. I may not be a full-time educator yet; however, I am always thinking of ways to incorporate new ideas into my placements and future classrooms.鈥�
As part of their experience, the trio visited the City Museum, an architectural playground for all ages in downtown St. Louis. Featuring tunnels, caves, slides, rides, and all kinds of interactive displays, the City Museum has been an ever-evolving attraction for visitors.
鈥淭he experience at the City Museum was focused on the aspect of having a good time and enjoying yourself,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淭hroughout the conference, the topic of teacher burnout frequently occurred, and I believe the City Museum was an opportunity for us to embrace that. As an educator, it allowed me to realize that even 鈥榢id鈥� attractions can still allow anyone to have a good time. It's important to remember that even our older students are still kids, too.鈥�
Clark, from Springboro, Ohio, who is majoring in math with a minor in education at 甜瓜视频, felt that the conference in general was an amazing experience for her and that included visiting the City Museum.
鈥淕oing to the City Museum was an eye-opening experience because we all got to witness firsthand the blend of STEM and art,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淭hey have created something so interactive and unique while using incredibly impressive engineering to create something you can walk and climb through. It鈥檚 a perfect example of how powerful it can be when one uses higher order thinking to create something original with a scientific lens attached.鈥�
Clark was nervous at the start of the conference because she and LaMar had to present their poster not long after their arrival.
鈥淲hen we first got to the conference, I was a bit overwhelmed. We signed in and went to set up our poster in the presentation room, and looking around I felt out of place,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here were so many other Noyce Scholars there who all seemed so experienced and smarter. Their posters were chock-full of information, charts, statistics, etc., and I was worried that I couldn鈥檛 compare to them. However, it did not take long for me to feel welcomed and wanted, and I was able to meet so many people like me.
鈥淚 was encouraged to take advantage of so many different opportunities, and I did not feel like I was less deserving to be there just because I am so young and new to conferences,鈥� Clark continued. 鈥淚 was able to walk away feeling enriched, empowered, and motivated like never before to make a difference in STEM education. Much to my surprise, there were so many people engaging with our poster, who were genuinely interested in what we had to share. We got a large variety of questions, and after the first few conversations, the ice had been broken, and I began to feel very comfortable.鈥�
LaMar, from Springfield, Ohio, who is a math major pursuing a minor in education, also said she felt intimidated in the beginning during their poster presentation.
鈥淚 had never been to a professional conference before let alone present at one,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone else presenting had a poster with a lot of graphs and projections and seemed so confident. When the poster session began, I became slowly more comfortable. At the end, I was confidently answering questions, and we had a group of people surrounding us. One teacher was even interested in doing the same trip based on our presentation, which was such a rewarding feeling. I left that room feeling like a professional or at least a step closer to one.鈥�
Clark was most impacted by the keynote address titled 鈥楾ransforming My Students, My Classroom, and Myself,鈥� which was presented by a high school math teacher who spoke about the importance of engaging students in meaningful experiences.
鈥淪he talked about how our goal as an educator should be to transform students鈥� thought processes about themselves and the world around them and to encourage them to pursue their curiosities and interests,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淭his keynote changed my perspective on teaching, and I will implement so many of her points in my classroom.
鈥淲hen looking back through all my notes on the conference, I tend to smile upon one breakout session, which was focused on 鈥榤aking math meaningful.鈥� This session had several different games that used math and critical thinking skills, giving me many ideas for my future classroom and getting me even more excited to teach math,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 look back with a smile because I remember how much happiness I was filled with thinking about how I am now better equipped not just to change my future students鈥� math abilities, but how they approach and process things in the real world.鈥�
The 鈥楾ransforming My Students, My Classroom, Myself鈥� session also had a lasting impression on LaMar.
鈥淭his keynote gave me an entirely new perspective on student participation levels,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he goal is to transform myself first, but then to get students thinking and to look around their environment and be able to apply what they have learned in the classroom to their world unprompted. This was inspiring to hear about where the STEM field is heading. It is impactful to know that I will be a part of the change in the classrooms.鈥�
LaMar鈥檚 overall conference experience solidified how much she loves the field she has chosen to pursue.
鈥淎ttending my first conference was a unique and eye-opening experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 loved being in a room with educators from all over. At first, it made me nervous because I had no experience, but in the end, I felt comfortable. I realized that in a room of educators that I am now one of them. I was not seen as the student, but as a teacher. One of the most rewarding experiences was being able to talk to so many people. Some of them were in my shoes, and being able to see where I could also be in the years to come is very inspirational. They were so kind to offer advice and encouragement, which made me feel supported.
鈥淚 left the conference overall feeling excited; it gave me a whole new perspective,鈥� she added. 鈥淥ne thing that made me smile was how many ideas I have for my future classroom. Being in a teacher prep program, I sometimes get overwhelmed focusing on the things I don鈥檛 know. However, looking back at my notes I focused more on the positive light of the future of teaching STEM education. This conference made me realize that in a short few years, I am going to be a teacher, and I could not be more excited.鈥�
Led by Mike Daiga, associate professor of mathematics education, and Adam Parker, professor of mathematics, the $1.2 million ASCENT-STEM grant, the first part of which stands for Addressing Springfield Community鈥檚 STEM Education Needs Together,鈥� serves as an example of the out-of-the-box thinking that aligns with the NSF鈥檚 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. The effort includes partnerships with the Springfield City School District (SCSD), the Global Impact STEM Academy (GISA), and Clark State College (CSC).
The ASCENT-STEM program awards approximately $20,000 scholarships per year to junior and senior undergraduates who are working toward becoming secondary STEM teachers, demonstrating the importance of training highly qualified teachers. The program aims to incentivize undergraduate students to pursue STEM education in high-needs schools and develop support structures that ensure the long-term success of new teachers.
Students who are interested in learning more about 甜瓜视频鈥檚 Robert Noyce Scholarship Program or becoming a Noyce Scholar can click here.
About the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
According to its website, the National Science Foundation鈥檚 provides funding to institutions of higher education to provide scholarships, stipends, and programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 teachers. The program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school districts. NSF encourages partnerships between four-year institutions and two-year institutions, providing pathways leading to STEM teacher certification.
甜瓜视频鈥檚 ASCENT-STEM program is supported by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Grant No. 2344921. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Science Foundation.
