NSM is leading an exciting effort to address the national shortage of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) teachers through a project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.
Through the Noyce Track 1 project, UTeach Dallas provides scholarships, internships, and hands-on teaching experience to 54 STEM majors, helping them become skilled and passionate secondary school teachers. Another 40 internships support early recruitment efforts, giving college students a taste of teaching while still pursuing their degrees. All Noyce Scholars are undergraduate juniors and seniors and are concurrently pursuing their degree and a teaching certificate.
“We currently have the ability to support 10 to 11 Noyce Scholars each year, and because of increased recruitment, we have additional flexibility to offer more scholarships moving forward,” said Dr. Mary L. Urquhart, Associate Professor and Department Head of Science/Mathematics Education and Director of UTeach Dallas.
These future teachers receive training in effective, research-based teaching methods and are expected to positively impact the learning of up to 27,000 students across the Dallas-Fort Worth area in just their first five years of teaching.
“Our research focuses on how to recruit and retain UTeach students and ensure they remain in the teaching profession long term. Working with co-principal investigators and master teachers, Katie Donaldson and Dr. Kate York, we are building partnerships not just with local school districts, but also with UTD’s Johnsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and other departments in NSM to recruit majors in fields like mathematics, physics, chemistry, biochemistry and geosciences.
The program works in partnership with local school districts, including Garland ISD, Mesquite ISD, Richardson ISD, and Dallas ISD’s Science and Engineering Magnet High School, to provide real-world classroom experiences and strong support for new teachers.
“We’re especially excited about our growing collaboration with the Johnsson School to recruit computer science majors into teaching. We’re also helping current teachers – many of them UTeach Dallas and MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) graduates – retrain to teach computer science through the WeTeach_CS program. I serve as the project director for the UT Dallas hub, but it’s powered by our master teachers, Amin Lalani and Denise Gregory, with Emily Hennessy supporting efforts in elementary computer science education.”
NSM’s UTeach Dallas program plays a key role in preparing these scholars to lead classrooms with confidence and creativity.
“We are committed to continuous improvement, especially in practice-based teacher preparation. The Noyce Track 1 project is not only helping meet immediate teacher shortages but is also building a stronger pipeline of future educators ready to teach the next generation of innovators.”
UTeach Dallas Noyce Scholars may be awarded scholarships up to $30,000, and commit to become educators in low-income school districts. By combining funding, training, research, and strong community partnerships, NSM and UTeach Dallas are preparing STEM teachers who can truly make a difference.
The UTeach Dallas program allows students to complete a secondary teacher certification along with any NSM bachelor’s degree. The minor-based program requires no additional credit hours in most degree plans and enables graduates to teach STEM in K-12 classrooms.