Loralyn Cozy
Illinois Wesleyan University, IL·Education Research
Many schools struggle to hire and keep strong math and science teachers, especially in high-need districts. This project asks whether a teacher preparation program that pairs rigorous STEM coursework with research experience and early classroom practice can produce secondary STEM teachers who are skilled at active learning, a teaching style in which students work through problems rather than only listening, and who stay in the profession.
- Fields
Education Research
- Topics
STEM teacher preparation
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
Noyce Scholars
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jan 2027
What they work on
- Recruit and retain at least 11 high-achieving undergraduates as Noyce Scholars preparing to become secondary STEM teachers over a six-year period.
- Prepare Scholars through rigorous STEM coursework, undergraduate research, hands-on learning, and early and advanced field placements in classrooms in District 87 and Unit 5 in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.
- Support Scholars in finding jobs in high-need districts and mentor them as early-career teachers, then evaluate how well the program prepared them to deliver high-quality STEM instruction.
More about the research
This Noyce Track 1 project at Illinois Wesleyan University plans to recruit and support at least 11 high-achieving undergraduates over six years as they become STEM teachers. Noyce Scholars will receive scholarships and take rigorous STEM coursework. They will also do undergraduate research and complete early and advanced field placements in STEM classrooms in two partner school districts in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois: District 87 and Unit 5. After graduation, the project will mentor them as early-career teachers. The program will be evaluated as it runs, guided by two questions. First, how well does it recruit and retain these students into teaching? Second, how well does it prepare them to find positions in high-need districts and teach high-quality STEM there? The team plans to share the results nationally.
Why it matters
Students in high-need school districts could gain better-prepared math and science teachers who use active learning methods. The evaluation results may also help other teacher preparation programs design scholarships, research experiences and classroom placements that lead strong STEM majors into teaching and keep them there.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Paige Evans
University of Houston, TX·Education Research
Analyze how STEM teacher preparation programs across a multi-university network affect teacher placement and retention in high-need school districts, using quantitative trend analysis.
Jan Yow
University of South Carolina-Columbia, SC·Education Research
Develop 16 STEM teacher leaders from five South Carolina school districts through a three-year Ed.D. STEM program and a two-year Action Research Implementation program.
Jeanna Wieselmann
Southern Methodist University, TX·Education Research
Develop two practice formats for preservice science teachers, AI-driven virtual reality avatar simulations and scaffolded peer teaching, to build skill in leading discussions of real-world scientific problems.
The school
Illinois Wesleyan University: 1 labs on PI Pages.
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