Georgia Southern University’s College of Education (COE) and College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) have been awarded a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant with a total intended award amount of $1,199,206 to support dynamic preparation of secondary science and mathematics educators who will be teacher-leaders in high-needs schools.

The grant will focus on developing prospective secondary teachers, grades 6-12, who can integrate authentic, problem-based learning experiences into their science and mathematics classrooms using regional STEM contexts.

The state of Georgia continues to have a shortage of certified secondary mathematics and science teachers, with southeast Georgia reporting more than 200 high school mathematics and science openings over the past several academic years. Gregory Chamblee, Ph.D., principal investigator  (PI) and COE professor of secondary mathematics education, explained that this grant provides an avenue to meet the growing needs of the University’s service area schools and Georgia schools in general.

“To meet these content and demographic needs, prospective secondary mathematics and science teachers must learn how to integrate various instructional models and resources in their classrooms,” he said. “Simultaneously, they must be able to assess how these strategies impact their students’ learning and communicate their work to their colleagues. They must develop their students’ critical and creative thinking skills.”

To achieve this, Chamblee and the grant team, composed of COE faculty Amanda (Glaze) Townley, Ph.D., and COSM faculty Gwendolyn Carroll, Ph.D., and Tuyin An, Ph.D., will recruit science and mathematics majors at Georgia Southern, who may not have previously considered a career in teaching, to experience enriched secondary education preparation in sync with their content area.