Project TEEMS: Become a STEM Educator

NSF Noyce Scholarship Program • Grant No. 2151006

Project TEEMS
Training Effective Educators
of Math & Science

Support for STEM majors who want to become secondary teachers in biology, chemistry, earth & environmental science, and mathematics.

TEEMS eliminates the financial burden of pursuing secondary STEM certification. The program funds up to three years of school — junior year, senior year, and the graduate M.A.Ed. year. For every year funded, TEEMS Scholars commit to two years of teaching in a high-need school district.

15

TEEMS Scholars funded over the five-year project

3

Years of financial support — junior, senior, and M.A.Ed. year

4

STEM endorsement areas: biology, chemistry, earth science, mathematics

About the Program

TEEMS Scholars working in a lab setting

Batten University is recruiting students for Project TEEMS, funded by the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships Program. TEEMS funds students who want to become secondary teachers (grades 6–12) in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, or mathematics — and who will complete their M.A.Ed. degree at Batten University.

Scholars are recruited from local high schools, existing STEM majors at Batten University, incoming transfer students, and applicants to the M.A.Ed. program. All TEEMS Scholars complete a Bachelor of Science degree in their content area, then complete the one-year M.A.Ed. program for their education coursework.

During the M.A.Ed., Scholars complete courses with embedded practicum experiences and student teaching in Portsmouth Public Schools and other high-need local school districts. Upon completing the M.A.Ed., TEEMS Scholars are eligible for secondary (grades 6–12) Virginia teaching licensure in their content area.

Program Purposes

  • Develop a strong pipeline of STEM educators for local high-need school districts
  • Increase high school students’ awareness of STEM teaching careers
  • Provide a cost-effective, robust pathway to teaching certification — bachelor’s degree in a STEM major plus the M.A.Ed. and Virginia licensure
  • Provide three years of support for new science and math teachers who have graduated from the TEEMS program

Scholar Support

TEEMS Scholars in the classroom

TEEMS Scholars receive a comprehensive suite of pre-service support throughout the program:

  • Paid internships in STEM education settings
  • Intensive advising from both a content-area adviser and an education adviser
  • Support for passing content-area Praxis licensure exams
  • Outreach and field experiences led by scientists and educators for K–12 students

Project Objectives:

  • Graduate 15 TEEMS Scholars within the five-year project period
  • Increase the diversity of STEM education graduates
  • 100% participation of TEEMS Scholars in training on cultural competence and culturally responsive pedagogy
TEEMS eliminates the financial burden for students pursuing secondary STEM certification.

Eligibility Requirements

  • GPA of 2.8 or higher
  • Comparable coursework or a degree in a STEM area as a sophomore, junior, or senior to begin TEEMS the following year
  • Satisfactory scores on all teacher licensure exams (Praxis Subject Test: Content Knowledge)
  • Commitment to teach science or mathematics in a high-need school district for two years per year of funding received
  • Commitment to attend TEEMS support sessions in the first three years of teaching
  • U.S. citizen or legal resident

How to Apply

Scholarship Application

Requirements:

  • Completed application with all required legal paperwork
  • U.S. Citizen with a minimum 2.5 GPA
  • Letter of recommendation from a STEM faculty member

Submit the complete application — including legal paperwork, statement of teaching, and recommendation letter — to Dr. Clair Berube or Dr. William McConnell.

Internship Application

Required documents:

Project Administrators

Principal Investigator: Clair Berube, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Education

Co-Principal Investigators:

Bill McConnell, Ph.D. — Batten Professor of Education and Dean of the D. Henry Watts School of Professional Studies
Lydia Kennedy, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Mathematics
Dierdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Ph.D. — Provost and Vice President, Professor of Biology
Maury Howard, Ph.D. — Professor of Chemistry

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 2151006. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.