Introduction
Georgia school systems are faced with a severe shortage of mathematics and science teachers, particularly those who can teach high school physics or chemistry. Prospective teachers with undergraduate degrees in chemistry, physics or the chemistry and physics-based fields of engineering are in very high demand because their deep content knowledge enables them to become strong high school chemistry, physics and physical science teachers.The Robert Noyce Scholars Program in Physics and Chemistry provides Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech undergraduates with a $10,000 scholarship during their senior (or final) year of undergraduate studies to offset their educational expenses. Directly upon graduation, Noyce Scholars enroll in Kennesaw State’s 4-semester Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and are awarded a second $10,000 scholarship. This MAT program begins with the summer semester and continues through the following summer. Through the program, the future teachers gain the necessary skills in educational pedagogy and classroom management, and take science content courses that provide breadth and an analysis of how the content is taught at the high school level. Georgia residents are also eligible for the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan program.
Upon graduation from the MAT program, Noyce Scholars are expected to teach in a high needs district within Georgia for two years for each year of scholarship, and to participate in an ongoing Teacher Professional Learning Community with other Noyce Scholars. Most school systems in Georgia meet this high needs criterion. However six school systems, Atlanta, DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton, Marietta, and Paulding, have specifically pledged to support the goals and requirements of the program and are particularly eager to hire Noyce Scholars into their systems.
