2012 Noyce Conference Program - The Robert Noyce Scholarship ...

WORKSHOP ABSTRACTSof the grant. The selection committee then selects the Noycescholars. Once candidates are selected, they matriculatethrough the graduate program with at least three sets of fieldsexperiences at the high school and middle school levels. Theseexperiences will be discussed from the perspectives of theNoyce Scholars in this presentation.3.2 Speed Networking: Who is Here? What Do TheyKnow? Who Do They Know? Can We Work Together?Length of Session: 60 minutesRichard Weibl, AAASTarget Audience: Undergraduate and/or Graduate Noyce Scholars,Noyce Teaching Fellows, Noyce Master Teachers, Project PIs,Co‐PIs, Other Faculty/Staff, School and District Administrators,Higher Education Institution Administrators, Non‐Profit OrganizationPersonnel, Evaluators/Education ResearchersTopic: Resources for TeachesThe first few hours of any professional conference or meetingare filled with anxiety as we look for people we know and seekout affirmation we are in the right place for what we need tolearn and share. This highly interactive session will replicate the'Speed Dating' model wherein participants will have a few momentsto greet and meet one another, exchange essential information,and hopefully identify at least a couple of potential collaboratorsor like minded persons.3.3 This session includes two 30‐minute presentations.3.3A Stimulating STEM Teacher Growth throughaggieTEACH: A Model for the Recruitment and Retentionof Pre‐service Mathematics and Science TeachersLength of Session: 30 minutesTimothy P. Scott, Texas A&M UniversityTarget Audience: Project PIs, Co‐PIs, Other Faculty/Staff,School and District Administrators, Higher Education InstitutionAdministrators, Evaluators/Education ResearchersTopic: Innovative Noyce Program Practices and TeacherPreparation ModelsThe shortage of certified teachers in mathematics and sciencein Texas classrooms is a major concern and mirrors nationaltrends. The Business‐Higher Education Forum estimates anational shortage of 283,000 secondary math and scienceteachers by 2015 (BHEF 2006). Dramatic increases in shortagesof teachers have stimulated the design of new certificationprograms, including alternative certification and postbaccalaureateprograms that recruit and place teachers inclassrooms as quickly as possible (TCER, 1999). Texas A&MUniversity (TAMU) has learned that when it comes to teacherpreparation, one size does not fit all, so they currently havefour routes to STEM teacher certification. While all TAMUSTEM teacher preparation routes to certification will be discussedin this workshop, we will spend most of the time showcasingaggieTEACH, the highest producer of secondary mathematicsand science certified teachers at Texas A&M. aggieTEACHstreamlines the certification process, offers financialsupport, provides quality mentoring, and focuses on field experiences.The Robert Noyce Scholarships serve as the crownjewels of the aggieTEACH program and provide the most lucrativescholarships of any offered in the College of Science.TAMU has used the scholarship program to create a LearningCommunity for participants to provide opportunities to jointechnology academies, work with at‐risk students in localschools, as well as participate in professional development.Lessons learned are being applied to the teacher preparationprograms in general.3.3B Working with High School Students in an IntenseScience Research EnvironmentLength of Session: 30 minutesAlice Yang, NYUTarget Audience: Undergraduate and/or Graduate NoyceScholars, Project PIs, Co‐PIs, Other Faculty/StaffTopic: Resources for TeachersIn my first summer as a Noyce Fellow, I interned at BrookhavenNational Laboratory (BNL). I worked with two BNL Researchersand two high school students studying statisticalpattern recognition (SPR). In this presentation, I will discussthe science underlying the study and the research process andconclusions as well as my observations about working withhigh school students in an intense scientific endeavor. I willshare questionnaires completed by the high school studentsand generalize about how to engage students in science. Ourgoal was to apply SPR to scientific research at the NationalSynchrotron Light Source (NSLS) and A Toroidal Large HadronCollider Apparatus (ATLAS). We started with smile and frownfaces to understand how SPR based on the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov (KS) works. The KS test compares a parameter froman unknown sample to the same parameter from severalknown samples. We applied SPR to align an x‐ray beam at theNSLS and simulated particle showers. This program will helpresearchers at the NSLS adjust the beam to focus at the sample,saving time and increasing accuracy of x‐ray crystallography.Different types of particles create unique scattering pat‐2012 NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Conference27