1. Kelly Costner
  2. http://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymcostner
  3. Associate Professor
  4. WISE--The Winthrop Initiative for STEM Educators
  5. https://www.winthrop.edu/wise/
  6. Winthrop University
  1. Cassandra Bell
  2. https://www.winthrop.edu/cas/faculty/bell-cassandra.aspx
  3. Instructor and Program Coordinator
  4. WISE--The Winthrop Initiative for STEM Educators
  5. https://www.winthrop.edu/wise/
  6. Winthrop University
  1. Beth Costner
  2. https://www.winthrop.edu/coe/faculty/costner-beth.aspx
  3. Professor and Interim Dean
  4. WISE--The Winthrop Initiative for STEM Educators
  5. https://www.winthrop.edu/wise/
  6. Winthrop University
Public Discussion

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  • Icon for: Kelly Costner

    Kelly Costner

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 9, 2022 | 06:54 p.m.

    Thanks for viewing our presentation! We're always excited to share about WISE, as we've now spent more than 10 years building the program and our community of STEM educators. We're currently "between" NSF funding periods (we hope!) while we shepherd our final group of scholars from the 2015-2020 grant toward degree completion and their first classrooms.

    The focus of the presentation is on the community that has developed organically out of our project components through the years. We'd love to share more through dialog with you about:

    • project components themselves (outlined in the video);
    • the increase in the number of STEM educators we graduate since our first year of funding (2010) (HINT: It's more than 100%.);
    • the addition of a program area;
    • how we influenced a shift in our institution's model for secondary teacher preparation to primarily graduate level degrees (pursued after the content-based undergraduate program); and
    • our astounding retention rate in STEM majors (both content-only and teacher preparation) among those who participate in our summer recruitment component...

    ...all of which we've come to attribute largely to the supportive relationships developed among those in the WISE community. So, please—ask questions about those topics or anything else of interest from the presentation. We look forward to interacting with you!

  • Icon for: K. Renae Pullen

    K. Renae Pullen

    Facilitator
    Science Specialist
    May 10, 2022 | 02:24 p.m.

    I absolutely LOVE how the teachers shared not only what they learned but how they developed professional relationships with other STEM teachers. That's essential because we can sometimes be an island.

    I interested in learning more about how you encouraged these professional relationships and maintained that sense of community throughout the years.

  • Icon for: Cassandra Bell

    Cassandra Bell

    Co-Presenter
    Instructor and Program Coordinator
    May 13, 2022 | 01:32 p.m.

    Thanks for your comments and questions! In our second phase of the Noyce grant we emphasized community building with current Scholars but we also always invited back alumni Scholars. Luckily, many of our alumni remain in the area so we can stay connected but with the addition of virtual meetings during the pandemic that increased our ability to stay in touch. We offered many professional development events (Project Learning Tree training, book talks etc. )and socials (bowling, attend basketball games etc.) over the years. We also invited alumni to attend state teacher conferences with current Scholars. Many alumni also gave back and became involved as host and mentor teachers over the years. We feel fortunate so many of them have stayed involved as they are  great resources to our current Scholars!

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    K. Renae Pullen
  • Icon for: Ann Cavallo

    Ann Cavallo

    Facilitator
    Assistant Vice Provost and Director
    May 11, 2022 | 12:43 p.m.

    Very nice presentation of your program! How do you evaluate your program/measure its impact? For example, how many Noyce Scholars have completed the program over the years and are most still teaching and in high-need districts? I am also interested in your "near-peer" mentorship - we have a program like this also, so I would love to know how you coordinate the mentorship program and the kinds of activities Scholars engage in as mentoring. Thanks!!

  • Icon for: Cassandra Bell

    Cassandra Bell

    Co-Presenter
    Instructor and Program Coordinator
    May 13, 2022 | 02:14 p.m.

    As of the end of this academic year, approximately 80% of our graduated Scholars are still teaching in a STEM public school setting (n=64) over both Phase I and II of our Noyce grants. Prior to the pandemic we had a retired STEM educator as a mentor that would visit the Scholars during their first year of teaching to offer support. We converted this mentoring to virtual "near-peer" mentoring for the first time this year. It is a work in progress and we hope to continue. We used all alumni Scholars as mentors and the grant faculty met with all the pairs in a full group once in the summer, once in the Fall semester and in a final Spring meeting, we just wrapped it up this past week. We had one meeting prior to Winter break with just the mentors so we could check in and offer help. Since they all had the original mentoring experience we asked them to use that to guide them in offering support. We had them log when they met with their mentee but other than that we left if up to them how they used their time together. We encouraged them to observe either a recording or a livestream of the mentee and/or mentor's classroom if possible. Since we hope to expand and formalize this program in the future, I would love to hear more about your program also! 

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Ann Cavallo
  • Icon for: Ann Cavallo

    Ann Cavallo

    Facilitator
    Assistant Vice Provost and Director
    May 15, 2022 | 11:53 a.m.

    Thank you Cassandra! Our program is very similar to yours - we keep in touch with all of our graduates, invite them to conferences and seminars, and have about the same, 80% still teaching, with another 17 who graduated this year to be teaching in the fall. We started a Near-Peer mentor program, and also have a retired math and science teacher (experienced teacher in both) who provides support for graduated Scholars in their first years of teaching. On the Near-Peer program, we invited one of our "star" graduates who is teaching to lead the program and he coordinates events and assigns mentors. Building this kind of network and community is so important to the success of our teachers! 

  • Icon for: Audrey Cohan

    Audrey Cohan

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2022 | 11:52 a.m.

    Wonderful video. The hands-on summer internship seems motivating and empowering. Are the alumni graduates of the Noyce program or are they also in-service teachers that have graduated from your education program? How do you involve your Noyce alumni and encourage them to continue to support your program? 

  • Icon for: Cassandra Bell

    Cassandra Bell

    Co-Presenter
    Instructor and Program Coordinator
    May 13, 2022 | 01:42 p.m.

    Thanks, Audrey! Yes, the  alumni are both graduates of the Noyce program and in-service teachers that graduated from our University. We have emphasized team building with current Noyce Scholars but always invite back our alumni and quite a few stay in touch this way. Many that live in the area give back to our Noyce program by coming to talk with the current Scholars and/or serving as host or mentor teachers to our Scholars during their student teaching experiences. We have also been able to reach some alumni virtually that no longer live in the area. Additionally, we have utilized some alumni to help us virtually mentor our First Year Teacher Scholars this year.

  • Icon for: Audrey Cohan

    Audrey Cohan

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2022 | 02:51 p.m.

    Thank you. A wonderful program!

  • Icon for: Beth Costner

    Beth Costner

    Co-Presenter
    Professor and Interim Dean
    May 13, 2022 | 04:43 p.m.

    Thank you it has been such a pleasure to watch the network grow, our graduates impact STEM education, and the natural mentoring that occurs in a variety of settings.

  • Icon for: John Kaup

    John Kaup

    Higher Ed Administrator
    May 14, 2022 | 03:18 p.m.

    Nice to see this successful NOYCE program.  I work quite a bit with HS teachers (more through in-service Research Experience for Teachers) opportunities but really want to find a way to impact STEM majors and help them see a path toward being a STEM teacher.  You have given me some great ideas to think about.  Thank you for what you are doing to help elevate the teaching profession! 

  • Icon for: Kelly Costner

    Kelly Costner

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 03:48 p.m.

    Thanks, John--so glad you see something here that could be of use in your setting. Sounds like you could have some natural connections through your Research Experience for Teachers project. We'd love to hear what comes of it!

  • Icon for: Brian Foley

    Brian Foley

    Facilitator
    Professor
    May 14, 2022 | 09:14 p.m.

    WISE seems like an example of what we want Noyce programs to be. By keeping the alumnae connected to the program you are providing an more friendly network to support new teachers. Really seems almost like a family. That seems like just what students need to get off to a successful teaching career.

  • Icon for: Kelly Costner

    Kelly Costner

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 03:54 p.m.

    Brian, we totally agree: WISE is a family overall, and we're starting to look at how we could better utilize the branch system of our family tree to ensure ongoing support and strengthen what we have. So far, we've been fortunate to watch this develop and evolve organically, and we're now convinced we should be more intentional about the relationships component.

  • Icon for: Paige Evans

    Paige Evans

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 15, 2022 | 11:15 a.m.

    This is a wonderful video!  I love the connections that the teachers made and how they all stay connected.  I would like to replicate something like this in the future.  Thank you for sharing! 

  • Icon for: Kelly Costner

    Kelly Costner

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 04:04 p.m.

    Paige, we're glad our experience might inform your future work. Please know that we first just focused on content-based and professional development experiences, and the relationships just happened. We were a bit surprised to find later just how connected our alums had become (and remained)! Since we learned of that, we've become more cognizant of how we design events and activities so that connections can be made, and we're looking toward becoming even more overtly focused on relationships in the future. We'd love to chat--stay in touch!

  • Icon for: Paul Adams

    Paul Adams

    Higher Ed Administrator
    May 17, 2022 | 04:43 p.m.

    Thanks for sharing this.  We have also found the relationships develop through interactions and projects.  Though we have taken a different approach, the outcome and sharing post-graduation is great to see.