Investigating the Influence of the CSU Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program on College Students\u27 Teaching Plans

The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (CRAFT-STEM) at Columbus State University offers academic and financial support for students pursuing secondary teaching certificates in STEM fields. In return, students commit to teaching in high-need K-12 school districts in Georgia. Here we provide preliminary results regarding influences on students’ reasoning as they select teaching as a career, STEM as a content focus, and high-needs schools as future employment. With the support of a literature review, we plan to offer a preliminary qualitative analysis of case studies representing three Noyce scholarship recipients with a range of experiences: (1) a former scholarship recipient who has graduated and is currently teaching, (2) a second-year recipient who is currently pursuing their certificate, and (3) a recipient who subsequently decided not to pursue a secondary teaching certificate. Our goal is to offer insight to University STEM Professors on strengthening recruitment and retention in their areas of interest