Transforming Effective Educators of Math and Science (TEEMS)

Support for students interested in becoming STEM educators

Virginia Wesleyan University is recruiting for a new National Science Foundation-funded Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships Program, entitled Project TEEMS (Transforming Effective Educators of Math and Science). TEEMS will fund students who want to be secondary teachers in the fields of biology, earth and environmental science, chemistry and mathematics and who eventually get their M.A.Ed. The TEEMS program funds up to three years of school: junior, senior and graduate year. For every year funded, the TEEMS Scholar must agree to work for two years in a high-need school district.

Program Purposes:

• Develop a strong pipeline of STEM educators for local high-needs school districts.
• Increase high school students’ awareness of STEM teaching careers.
• Develop a cost effective, robust process for students to attain teaching certification, which includes obtaining a bachelor’s degree in a science or math major and a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) degree and licensure.
• Provide three years of support for new science and math teachers who have graduated from the TEEMS program.

The National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships Program provides funding for the TEEMS program to award scholarships, paid internships, and offers programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors to become K-12 teachers. The program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school districts.

Over the course of the TEEMS program, VWU will provide up to three years of support for 15 TEEMS Scholars. Scholars will be recruited from local high schools, existing STEM majors at Virginia Wesleyan, incoming transfer students, and applicants to VWU’s Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) program. All TEEMS Scholars will complete a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, or mathematics. In addition, all scholars will complete the one-year M.A.Ed. program to fulfill their education coursework requirements.

During the M.A.Ed., TEEMS Scholars will complete courses with embedded practicum experiences and student teaching field experiences in Portsmouth Public Schools and/or other local high-needs school districts. At the conclusion of the M.A.Ed. program, TEEMS Scholars will be eligible for secondary (grades 6-12) licensure by the Virginia Department of Education in biology, chemistry, earth science, or mathematics.

TEEMS eliminates the financial burden for students pursuing secondary STEM certification.

Support for TEEMS Scholars

TEEMS Scholars will be supported throughout their program through a suite of pre-service experiences such as paid internships, intensive advising from a content and education adviser, support for passing content area exams, and outreach and education field experiences led by scientists and educators for K-12 students.

TEEMS 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 pedagogies.

Program Requirements:

• GPA of 2.8 or higher.
• Comparable coursework or degree in STEM area as a sophomore, junior or senior to start the TEEMS program in the following year.
• Satisfactory test scores for all teacher licensure exams 1. VCLA, 2. Praxis Subject Test: Content Knowledge
• Commit to teaching science or mathematics in a high-needs school district for two years for every year of funding received.
• Commit to attending TEEMS’ support sessions in first three years as a teacher.
• U.S. citizen or legal resident.

Apply Now

Scholarship Application

Requirements:

• Completed application containing legal paperwork
• U.S. Citizen 2.5 minimum GPA
• VCLA Passing Scores Statement of why you want to teach STEM in a high-needs school district.
• Letter of recommendation from STEM faculty

Please turn in complete application containing legal paperwork, VCLA results, statement of teaching and recommendation letter to Dr. Clair Berube or Dr. William McConnell.

Internship Application

Requirements:

• Internship Application
• W-9 Form

VWU Project Administrators

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

Co-Principal Investigators:

Bill McConnell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Education and Director of Teacher Education
Lydia Kennedy, Ph.D., Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics
Dierdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Ph.D., Dean of VWU Global Campus and Professor of Biology
Maury Howard, Ph.D., Director of Nursing and Allied Health and 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.