By Lina Sorg
The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act categorizes K-12 “high-needs schools” as those that meet one of the following three qualifications:
- Fall within the top quartile of elementary and secondary schools in the state based on the number of unfulfilled, available teacher positions
- Are located in an area where at least 30 percent of students come from families with incomes that are below the poverty line
- Are located in an area with a high percentage of out-of-field teachers, high teacher turnover rate, or high percentage of teachers who are not certified or licensed.
During a minisymposium at the 2022 SIAM Conference on Applied Mathematics Education, which is currently taking place in Pittsburgh, Pa., in conjunction with the 2022 SIAM Annual Meeting, Jan DeWaters of Clarkson University (CU) spoke about the lack of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers in high-needs secondary schools. She addressed the factors that contribute to this dearth and discussed programs at Clarkson that encourage STEM students to pursue careers in education.
DeWaters began by identifying the question at the forefront of her presentation: Where are all of the STEM teachers? In a 2017 American Physical Society (APS) survey of over 600 STEM majors, more than half of them reported an interest in teaching. Yet despite this seemingly widespread interest, STEM fields like mathematics, physics, and chemistry all face a considerable shortage of teachers when compared with other disciplines (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Although surveys have shown that roughly half of all students who enter college in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) major consider a career in teaching, this graph indicates shortages in key STEM areas. Physics (P), chemistry (C), and mathematics (M)—highlighted in red—are among the top five highest shortage areas in the U.S. Data from the 2018 American Association of Employment in Education report: Educator Supply and Demand in the United States.
DeWaters attributes this shortage to several misconceptions about the teaching profession. One such fallacy is an inaccurately low perception of salary, even though math or science teachers in grades seven through 12 frequently have higher salaries than most university teaching faculty. DeWaters also referenced the existence of generous retirement benefits and student loan forgiveness programs for mathematics and science teachers. Furthermore, she noted that U.S. teachers rate their quality of life as higher than all other occupation groups except physicians. “This is something that we need to share with students who are even considering a career in teaching,” she said.
An even greater shortage of STEM teachers exists in high-needs schools that are located in urban and rural areas. Teachers in these regions frequently face lower salaries; fewer resources, including less budget revenue and limited federal funding; and a lack of access to the materials and programming that enrich learning experiences. Additionally, they must frequently teach one or more subjects outside of their teaching area due to a lack of specialty instructors.
High-needs school environments likewise present several unique demands for teachers. For instance, students often face social or economic difficulties in their households that negatively impact their focus in the classroom. A lack of home resources and limited parental involvement also impact students’ ability to study and complete homework assignments. Urban areas can face overcrowding issues and higher crime rates, while rural areas suffer from geographic isolation, loss of economic base, lower school district budget revenues, and a lack of political capital. “These kinds of school districts have a really hard time recruiting and retaining STEM teaching professions,” DeWaters said.
CU sponsors several initiatives to encourage more STEM undergraduate and graduate students to pursue teaching. The university has a special interest in this issue because it is located in New York’s St. Lawrence County: a rural region and the second poorest county in the state. Nearly 19 percent of the population lives below the poverty rate and over half of the students in the county’s 18 school districts qualify for free or reduced lunch programs. In response, the student achievement level is negatively affected. “It’s no surprise that student enrollment in upper level math and science class is pretty low, which of course means that they’re not adequately prepared to enter STEM majors in college,” DeWaters said.
Even though CU is technical institution without an undergraduate education department, 64 students are currently enrolled in its Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program: a one-year master's degree that culminates in New York certification in most high school disciplines. To accompany the MAT program and address the lack of secondary STEM teachers in St. Lawrence County and beyond, CU established a 16-credit, pre-teaching minor for undergraduate students in 2017. The minor readies students to enter the MAT program and attempts to channel more students into STEM teaching careers.
In addition to the minor and master’s program, DeWaters outlined several initiatives that involve targeted coursework, K-12 outreach, and competitions to encourage students towards careers in teaching.
STEM QuESTS Challenge
CU’s STEM QuESTS Challenge (Questions that Explore STEM for Teachers and Students) originated just last year. Participating undergraduate students form teams and create educational activities/lesson plans that are based on the topics that initially inspired them to pursue STEM. After creating their educational activities, groups pitch their plans to a panel of judges in a 90-second video. Four finalist teams then work with one-two mentors to ultimately produce standards-based, classroom-ready lessons for a final round of judging. The competition has seen 16 entries in the first two years on topics such as ice cream making, the mathematics of cancer, the mathematics of flight, and even aquaponics.
Teaching-specific Classes at CU
One CU class that is dedicated specifically to teaching is called ED440: Seminar in Cultural Competency and Teaching in the STEM Classroom. The class, which utilizes Paul Gorski’s Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty, introduces students to social justice issues. “Students engage in a deeper level of thought about the philosophies and details of culture in the context of teaching and learning,” DeWaters said. “They understand challenges associated with equity in education and how they impact what and how we teach, and reflect on self-perceptions and attitudes towards equity in the classroom.”
Another such course is ED300: Educational Field Experience. This course is required for all students in the pre-teaching minor, who must conduct 25 hours of observation in secondary high-needs classrooms and write corresponding papers about their experiences.
Teaching and Mentoring Programs
Figure 2. Clarkson University facilitates a number of outreach programs that rely on paid and volunteer undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students to serve as mentors and teachers in rural, high-needs school districts in St. Lawrence County, New York. Image courtesy of Jan DeWaters.
CU boasts several teaching and mentoring outreach programs for undergraduate and graduate students with various local schools (see Figure 2). One such example is
Horizons — a longstanding, tuition-funded residential summer program that provides outreach to underserved students with an emphasis on female scholars. More than 250 participants in grades six through 12 work with CU faculty, staff, and students during three individual week-long programs. “A tiered mentored system helps students build self-esteem toward STEM studies and careers; build confidence through hands-on cooperative problem-solving learning experiences; and promote self-awareness, leadership, and team-building skills,” DeWaters said. 50 percent of program assistants are CU students, and some are even Horizons alumni.
Another mentoring program is called IMPETUS (Integrated Math and Physics for Entry to Undergraduate STEM). This program—which is funded by the New York State Education Department’s Science Technology Entry Program—targets underrepresented minorities and economically marginalized students in grades seven through 12 in rural school districts. 200 pupils partake annually and interact with undergraduate and graduate students from CU, who go to the schools every week and work with them on research projects. The secondary students also visit CU on a monthly basis to engage in STEM enrichment activities. In the summer, they participate in a Roller Coaster Camp: a project-based learning project during which they explore the mathematical and physical principles of roller coaster design.
Undergraduate and graduate students who serve as mentors for these and other programs often experience a heightened interest in STEM teaching and end up pursing the pre-teaching minor. DeWaters also spoke of what she calls the programs’ “collateral benefit” — CU STEM student mentors consider careers in teaching, and secondary students benefit from additional attention and instruction in STEM fields. “The core mission is to provide STEM enrichment opportunities for K-12 students in our underserved area and inspire more students to study STEM,” she said.
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Lina Sorg is the managing editor of SIAM News. |