Nancy Overley, MBA (Noyce Project Manager) Greg Rushton, Ph.D. (Noyce PI)

1. Towards a Comprehensive Recruitment Strategy of STEM Professionals into K12 Teaching: Analyzing Data from Five Years of Marketing through Noyce Projects at Kennesaw State University Nancy Overley, MBA (Noyce Project Manager) Greg Rushton, Ph.D. (Noyce PI)

2. Context of Study • Science teachers are in chronic, national demand • There are few studies on science teacher recruitment programs and models in the literature • Recruitment can be expensive, time-consuming (labor intensive), or both • Devoloping scalable, sustainable recruitment models can inform local and national policymaking decisions (e.g., Race to the Top)

3. A Scalable Replicable Model for Recruitment • Is needed to help stakeholders, including science education faculty, conceptualize and plan to address this issue • Should be robust to institutional and contextual challenges and opportunities • Should be considered as another component to a science teacher preparation program

4. Context of Study (cont.) • Most Noyce projects can attract some candidates • Scaling up programs, especially in the physical sciences, is challenging • Can we learn from recent local recruitment efforts at to inform the Noyce community’s understanding of how to approach recruitment in hopes of building a stronger pipeline into the profession?

5. Institutional Context • 3 Noyce projects since 2007, $4.6M in funding • 8 new (tenure-track) faculty lines in science education since 2004 (now 10 total, plus 15 in math ed) • Assoc. Dean of STEM Education since 2006 • 2 full-time staff lines (2011, 2012) devoted to teacher recruitment

6. KSU MAT-Science Candidates by Year 150 applicants since 2008; 115 accepted into MAT-Sci program

7. KSU’s Response to STEM Teacher Shortages in GAKSU INITIAL PREP PROGRAM PRODUCTION 2007-2011

8. Scaling is Possible 60-80 STEM grads per year (average) http://uteach-institute.org/publications (accessed May 21, 2012).

9. Distribution of Majors at UT Austin, SP12 http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ima/sites/default/files/MEM_Enrollment_FA11_Final.pdf(accessed May 21, 2012).

10. Distribution of STEM Majors in UTeach, SP12 http://uteach.utexas.edu/About/UTeach%20Program%20Data (accessed May 21, 2012).

11. Demographic Analysis I: Traditional vs. Career Changers

12. Demographic Analysis II: Gender Demographics by Science Discipline

13. BS Programs are viable too: UG BioEd vs. UG ChemEd Number of Students Graduating

14. Recruitment Conclusions I: Differentiate for Distinct Populations • Labor Market Theory as a guiding framework for recruitment • Professional identity differs across prospective teacher education candidates • Messaging should be tailored to address desires, goals, fears, concerns and questions of each population • Teacher preparation programs should be designed to optimize recruitment, preparation, and retention based on known characteristics of each population

15. Labor Market Theory • The basic principle driving the supply of teachers is the following: Individuals will become or remain teachers if teaching represents the most attractive activity to pursue among all activities available to them. • By attractive, we mean desirable in terms of ease of entry and overall compensation (salary, benefits, working conditions, and personal satisfaction). • These elements of attractiveness are the policy levers that can be used to bring supply in line with demand. Haggstrom, G., Darling-Hammond, L., & Grissmer, D. (1988). Assessing teacher supply and demand (R-3633-ED/CSTP). Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

16. Implications of STEM Teacher Shortage • To meet demand, employers/policymakers are forced to: • Lower standards to enter profession • Retain poorly-performing teachers in the profession • Recruit from populations outside of traditional programs • None of these policies are conducive to a stable, high-performing K12 workforce

18. Case Study: Career change professionals • Career Changers defined: STEM graduate with employment outside of K12 teaching after graduation • A primary focus of Noyce II TF/MTF project (2011-2017)

19. Nancy Slides Start HERE

20. Recruitment Efforts of 2nd Career into Noyce II (Needs updating to include Spring 2012 data) • Website was launched and recruitment campaign began September, 2011 • Currently have 18 interested Teaching Fellow candidates: • 8 males, 10 females • 7 currently employed in engineering fields • 3 currently unemployed from engineering fields • 8 currently working or volunteering as a tutor, part-time or sub. teacher in their field, or another education/academic type position • How they heard about the program: 9- organizational meeting, 2- KSU open house, 3- personal contact, 4- newspaper and online advertising

22. Career Changers and Chemistry/Physics Teachers- Age Comparison • - 34% of career changers started teaching between the ages of 33-42 and 29% of career changers started teaching at age 43 or over • -46% of all career changers are age 35-49 and 37% are 50+ • -47% of chemistry teachers are age 31-50 and 31% are 51+ • -49% of physics teachers are age 31-50 and 28% are 51+ Career Changers in the Classroom: A National Portrait,” Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., February 2010, Conducted on behalf of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation “Status of High School Chemistry Teaching,” December 2002 , Horizon Research, Inc., P. Sean Smith, Chapel Hill, N.C. “Status of High School Physics Teaching,” December 2002, Horizon Research, Inc., P. Sean Smith, Chapel Hill, N.C.

23. Career Changers: Importance of Job Qualities in Decision to Become a Teacher “Career Changers in the Classroom: A National Portrait,” Peter D Hart Research Associates, Inc., February 2010, conducted on behalf of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation

24. Messaging to Career Changers • Job and income stability- even in an economic downturn • Teaching provides enhanced work-like balance and a family-friendly work environment • Teachers have an opportunity to provide a service to the community • Teachers have the opportunity to positively impact an adolescent’s future.

25. I-IMPACT Inquiries

26. I-IMPACT Applicants

27. I-IMPACT Applicant demographics

28. I-IMPACT Partners (2011-2012)

29. Acknowledgements • Kennesaw State University College of Science and Mathematics • Kennesaw State University College of Education • Georgia Institute of Technology • NSF-DUE Award # 0733830 • NSF-DUE Award # 1035451 • American Chemical Society

30. STOP HERE • Ask for questions

31. Precollege Recruiting at KSU, GSU, GT • KSU: Target High School Students • Offer campus visits • Visit High Schools and Future Educator Clubs • Local Master and Collaborating Teachers recruit for us • GSU: Academy for Future Teachers (AFT) • Rising Juniors and Seniors from Local High Schools • Learn Science Content and Pedagogy

32. Early UG Science Majors Recruitment • KSU: • Freshmen Learning Communities • Student Groups (SAACS/NSTA) • Early Education Experiences - Summer Science Camps • Peer-led Team Learning (Chemistry) • GSU: • Freshmen Learning Communities • GT: • FEA club • Pre-teaching Listserv (550 students)

33. Late UG Science Majors Recruitment • KSU: • Recruit directly from upper-level major classes • CHEM 3400: Teaching and Learning Chemistry • NSF Noyce Scholarships • GSU: • FOCUS Course • “Major Matters” Sessions • NSF Noyce Scholarships • GT: • Principles of Learning & Teaching, parts I & II; Science Pedagogy; STEM Education Policy; Knowledge in K-12 Math • Pre-teaching Director

34. Early Career STEM Professionals Recruitment • KSU/GT: NSF Noyce Track II ($3M, 2011-2016) • Scalable, sustainable pipeline of 2nd career professionals into chemistry, physics teaching • Recruitment from: • KSU, GT alumni • Professional Societies (e.g. ACS, SWE, ASCE) • Large STEM employers • Employment/labor agencies