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1. The associations of social and motivational factors to science and mathematics teacher retention

   Ekmekci, A.; Aqazade, M.; Papakonstantinou, A.; Orcan, B.; Catanese, J.; Callard, C.; Cerosaletti, C.; Daley, M.; Rushton, G.; Reid, J.; et al (January 2022, Proceedings of the 2022 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference)

   Teacher turnover i science and mathematics is a significant and consistent challenge for K-12 education in the U.S. This paper provides: (a) an investigation of the relationship between teacher retention and several social and motivational factors; and (b) a comparison of Master Teaching Fellows (MTF) and non-MTF teachers in terms of their retention and social and motivational factors. Teachers are classified into three retention categories: (a) stayers, (b) shifters, and (c) leavers. Social and motivational factors included teaching self-efficacy, diversity dispositions, leadership skills, principal autonomy support, teachers-school fit (adapted from person-organization fit literature), and social networks related to teaching and education. Study 1 included about 250 science and math teachers from the gulf coast region of Texas. Study 2 included 167 science and math teachers across the country. Teachers completed a survey in the summer and fall of 2021. For study 1, multinomial logistics regression analyses indicate: (a) leavers have significantly higher levels of self-efficacy; and (b) shifters have significantly higher levels of leadership skills and lower levels of teacher-school fit. The second study findings indicate: (a) MTFs' teacher leadership network and teaching self-efficacy are significantly greater than that of non-MTFs'; and (b) MTFs significantly tend to shift to a leadership position than non-MTFs do. 

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2. The Impact of Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Engineering on Their Self-Efficacy with Teaching Engineering

   Chesnutt, Betsy; Mountain, Daniel; Faber, Courtney (July 2023, ASEE annual conference exposition)

   Although engineering is becoming increasingly important in K-12 education, previous research has demonstrated that, similar to the general population, K-12 teachers typically hold inaccurate perceptions of engineering, which affects their ability to provide students with relevant engineering experiences. Studies have shown that K-12 teachers often confuse the work of engineers with that of automotive mechanics or construction workers or assume that engineering is only for “super smart” students who are naturally gifted or who come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. This indicates that many teachers do not understand the nature of engineering work and have stereotypical attitudes about who is qualified to be an engineer. These inaccurate perceptions of engineering among K-12 teachers may influence the way that teachers introduce engineering practices to their students and make connections between engineering and the other STEM disciplines. In addition, teacher self-efficacy has been shown to not only influence teachers’ willingness to engage with a particular topic, but also to have a significant influence on the motivation and achievement of their students. Research also indicates that high-efficacy teachers typically exert more effort and utilize more effective instructional strategies than low-efficacy teachers. The goal of this study was to examine the perceptions that pre-service K-12 teachers hold about engineers and engineering, and to further explore how those perceptions influence their self-efficacy with teaching engineering and beliefs about what skills and resources are necessary to teach engineering in a K-12 classroom. We first developed a survey instrument that included questions taken from two previously published instruments: the Design, Engineering, and Technology survey and the Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale for K-12 Teachers. Forty-two students enrolled in an undergraduate program at {Name Redacted} in which students simultaneously pursue a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and K-12 teacher licensure completed the survey. Based on survey responses, six participants, representing a range of self-efficacy scores and majors, were selected to participate in interviews. In these interviews, participants were asked questions about their perceptions of engineers and were also asked to sort a list of characteristics based on whether they applied to engineers or not. Finally, interview participants were asked questions about their confidence in their ability to teach engineering and about what skills and/or resources they would require to be able to teach engineering in their future classrooms. The results of this study indicated that the participants’ perceptions of engineering and engineers did impact their self-efficacy with teaching engineering and their beliefs about how well engineering could be incorporated into other STEM subjects. A recurring theme among participants with low self-efficacy was a lack of exposure to engineering and inaccurate perceptions of the nature of engineering work. These pre-service teachers felt that they would not be able to teach engineering to K-12 students because they did not personally have much exposure to engineering or knowledge about engineering work. In future work, we will investigate how providing pre-service teachers with training in engineering education and exposure to engineers and engineering students impacts both their perceptions of engineering and self-efficacy with teaching engineering. 

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3. The associations of social and motivational factors to science and mathematics teacher retention.

   https://doi.org/https://learntechlib.org/pv/220830/  

   Ekmekci, A; Aqazade, M; Papakonstantinou, A; Orcan, B; Catanese, J; Callard, C; Cerosaletti, C; Daley, M; Rushton, G; Reid, J; et al (January 2022, Proceedings of 2022 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference)

   Langran, E (Ed.)

   Teacher turnover in science and mathematics is a significant and consistent challenge for K-12 education in the U.S. This paper provides: (a) an investigation of the relationship between teacher retention and several social and motivational factors; and (b) a comparison of Master Teaching Fellows (MTF) and non-MTF teachers in terms of their retention and social and motivational factors. Teachers are classified into three retention categories: (a) stayers, (b) shifters, and (c) leavers. Social and motivational factors included teaching self-efficacy, diversity dispositions, leadership skills, principal autonomy support, teacher-school fit (adapted from person-organization fit literature), and social networks related to teaching and education. Study 1 included about 250 science and math teachers from the gulf coast region of Texas. Study 2 included 167 science and math teachers across the country. Teachers completed a survey in the summer and fall of 2021. For study 1, multinomial logistics regression analyses indicate: (a) leavers have significantly higher levels of self-efficacy; and (b) shifters have significantly higher levels of leadership skills and lower levels of teacher-school fit. The second study findings indicate: (a) MTFs’ teacher leadership network and teaching self-efficacy are significantly greater than that of non-MTFs’; and (b) MTFs significantly tend to shift to a leadership position than non-MTFs do. 

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4. The associations of social and motivational factors to science and mathematics teacher retention

   Ekmekci, A. and (April 2022, Proceedings of 2022 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference)

   Teacher turnover in science and mathematics is a significant and consistent challenge for K-12 education in the U.S. This paper provides: (a) an investigation of the relationship between teacher retention and several social and motivational factors; and (b) a comparison of Master Teaching Fellows (MTF) and non-MTF teachers in terms of their retention and social and motivational factors. Teachers are classified into three retention categories: (a) stayers, (b) shifters, and (c) leavers. Social and motivational factors included teaching self-efficacy, diversity dispositions, leadership skills, principal autonomy support, teacher-school fit (adapted from person-organization fit literature), and social networks related to teaching and education. Study 1 included about 250 science and math teachers from the gulf coast region of Texas. Study 2 included 167 science and math teachers across the country. Teachers completed a survey in the summer and fall of 2021. For study 1, multinomial logistics regression analyses indicate: (a) leavers have significantly higher levels of self-efficacy; and (b) shifters have significantly higher levels of leadership skills and lower levels of teacher-school fit. The second study findings indicate: (a) MTFs’ teacher leadership network and teaching self-efficacy are significantly greater than that of non-MTFs’; and (b) MTFs significantly tend to shift to a leadership position than non-MTFs do. 

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5. Long-Term Outcomes of RET Programs on Female and Minority Student High School Graduation Rates and Undergraduate STEM Major Rates (Fundamental)

   Nichol, C.; Crawford, C. A.; Barr, C.; Cerda, I. (January 2021, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   null (Ed.)

   Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs are National Science Foundation (NSF) funded programs designed to provide K- 12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers with immersive, hands-on research experiences at Universities around the country. The NSF RET in nanotechnology encourages teachers to translate cutting-edge research into culturally relevant Project-Based Learning (PjBL) and engineering curriculum. Traditionally, the evaluation of RET programs focuses on the growth and development of teacher self-efficacy, engineering content knowledge gains, or classroom implementation of developed curriculum materials. However, reported methods for evaluating the impact of RETs on their female, minority student populations' high school graduation and undergraduate STEM major rates are limited. This study's objective was to compare RET high school student graduation rates and undergraduate STEM major rates across gender, race, and ethnicity to a comparison sample to determine the RET program's long-term impact on students' likelihood of pursuing STEM careers. The approach of collecting and analyzing the Texas Education Research Center Database (EdRC) data is a novel methodology for assessing RET programs' effectiveness on students. The EdRC is a repository of K-12 student data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Higher Education data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). This joint database contains demographic, course registration, graduation, standardized testing, and college major, among others, for all students that attended a K-12 public school in Texas and any college in Texas, public or private. The RET program participants at Rice University (2010 – 2018) taught numerous students, a sample size of 11,240 students. A propensity score matching generated the student comparison group within the database. Students' school campus, gender, race/ethnic status, and English proficiency status were applied to produce a graduation comparison sample size of 11,240 students of Non-RET participants. Linking the TEA database to the THECB database resulted in college STEM participants and comparison sample sizes of 4,029 students. The project team conducted a logistic regression using RET status to predict high school graduation rates as a whole and by individual variables: gender, Asian American, Black, Caucasian, and Latinx students. All models were significant at p less than 0.05, with models in favor of students RET teachers. The project team conducted a logistic regression using RET status to predict student STEM undergraduate major rates as a whole and by individual variables: Gender, Asian American, Black, Caucasian, and Latinx students. African American and Caucasian models were significant at p less than 0.05; Gender, Asian American, and Latinx models were marginally significant (0.05 less than p greater than 0.1), where RET students had higher STEM major rates than matched controls. The findings demonstrate that RET programs have a long-term positive impact on the students' high school graduation rates and undergraduate STEM major rates. As teachers who participate in the RET programs are more likely to conduct courses using PjBL strategies and incorporate real-world engineering practices, female and minority students are more likely to benefit from these practices and seek careers utilizing these skills. 

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