Empowering STEM Teachers with Earned Doctorates

Funded by the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowship

This NSF Noyce Track 3 project aims to serve the national interest by providing novel and important information regarding the impact of K-12 STEM teachers with a doctorate degree as instructional leaders in their schools and district. By applying research-informed and equitable policies, practices, and structures, the project intends to increase the capacity and expertise of K-8 mathematics teachers to serve as leaders in their schools and districts. The project has the potential to incentivize, build precedence for, and professionalize the value of mathematics teachers with doctoral degrees in K-12 school settings, where research and practice can be readily linked. The 15 participating teachers (known as the Noyce Fellows) will earn an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in K-8 Mathematics Education. They will also comprise the University of Central Florida-Orange County Public Schools Noyce Teacher Leader Academy.

This project aims to advance the impact of the Noyce Fellows by increasing their:

• ability, knowledge, and social justice mindset;
• mathematical content knowledge;
• pedagogical content knowledge, and;
• leadership capacity.

This project at the University of Central Florida includes partnerships with Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), and City Year Orlando. The project is a transformative endeavor that will, through the 15 Noyce Fellows’ dissertation studies, produce a broad collection needed studies to inform the practical implementation of the four key recommendations outlined in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Catalyzing Change framework. The project will serve as an innovative model for empowering STEM teachers with earned doctorates and increasing diversity of teachers in STEM fields. The UCF-OCPS Noyce Teacher Leader Academy aims to directly impact more than 200 additional K-8 mathematics teachers, more than 30 administrators, the estimated 9000 students in the schools where the Noyce Fellows teach, more than 200 City Year Orlando young adults, and 2000 students served by City Year Orlando.

The K-8 Mathematics Education Specialization within the Curriculum and Instruction EdD is designed for teachers, teacher leaders, coaches, and administrators with positions connected to elementary/middle school mathematics who desire to improve the quality of teaching and learning in grades K-8 mathematics. The specialization is structured as cohorts of graduate students who engage in synchronous learning in a virtual setting. The cohorts are guided by faculty who are nationally recognized experts in the fields of mathematics education and integrated STEM education.

The program is designed to be completed in three years and includes 57 credit hours of course work and dissertation hours. The specialization in K-8 Mathematics Education is built on the foundational belief that each and every student deserves an education that is equitable, just, and inclusive.