Projects
Noyce Master Teaching Fellowships
Noyce Master teaching fellowship program at USF
The NSF Noyce project, Mechatronics Integrated into STEM Teaching for Transformative Inclusive Communities (MISTTIC) is recruiting now for the 2025 cohort.
With funding from the National Science Foundation, USF partners with Hillsborough County Public Schools, the Florida High Tech Corridor, Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Center (AMRoC), and other private and non-profit educational entities across the county to support STEM teachers and increase STEM pathways for students in grades 6-12.
The project aims to develop and retain highly effective Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs) who have foundational knowledge about mechatronics, and the practical knowledge and hands-on experience of the design and engineering process, to effectively engage students with an integrative and inclusive approach to STEM.
Dr. Sears and students program rovers.
The project provides an opportunity for 20 Hillsborough County STEM teachers to obtain their M.Ed. degree during the first year of their participation in the program. Each Fellow will receive a guaranteed, annual salary supplement of $15,550 ($77,750 over five years), in exchange for an additional four years of teaching in the district.
A teacher awarded a Master Teaching Fellowship will be expected to:
- Obtain their M.Ed. at the University of South Florida while teaching STEM in the high-need school environment.
- Attend monthly workshops to earn a STEM Teacher Leader Certificate and Micro-credentialing in Mechatronics.
- Serve as Teacher Leaders of STEM trainings in their respective schools.
- Continue to develop as Teacher Leaders of Mechatronics.
- Attend at least one Education Conference to present lessons created and taught.
- Collect data related to the Noyce Project and meet with the Project Team at regular intervals.
A teacher awarded a Master Teaching Fellowship must agree to:
1. Serve as a full-time STEM teacher in a high-need district for a total of five years. In year one the Fellow will complete the USF M.Ed and agrees to continue teaching STEM for four more years in the district.
2. Take on a leadership role within the school or high-need district in which the MTF is employed, in addition to regular classroom activities. Examples of leadership activities include serving as a mentor, participating in curriculum development, assisting in the planning and implementation of professional development experiences, and participating in preservice teacher support.
Eligibility
- Experienced and exemplary secondary STEM teacher in the Hillsborough County School District
- Possess a bachelor’s degree in education or a STEM discipline
- Must work full-time in the high-need school environment
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Interest in and ability to teach mechatronics in an in-school or after school learning environment
- Enroll in the USF College of Education Master of Education degree (M.Ed.) in Curriculum
& Instruction
- Choose a concentration in Mathematics or Science Education
- At USF the M.Ed. requires that students have two years of relevant experience, as judged by the program faculty, and requires a minimum of 33 Credit Hours.
Application
Interested teachers should contact Dr. Stephanie Arthur for application details and to schedule a brief, informal, virtual meeting or telephone call to answer any questions.
The next step is to apply to the M.Ed. at USF selecting a Mathematics or Science concentration. Then email the following application package to Dr. Arthur, copying Dr. Sears and Kelley Schuler. Your application must be received no later than January 31, 2025.
- the date you submitted your application to the M.Ed and concentration selected
- academic transcript(s)
- curriculum vitae
- two reference letters
- writing sample
Project Contacts
- Dr. Ruthmae Sears, Professor of Mathematics Education and Principal Investigator (PI)
- Dr. Stephanie Arthur, Assistant Professor for Science Education and MISTTIC Project Recruitment
- Kelley Schuler, Assistant Director, Coalition for Science Literacy and Project Manager
The 2024-25 MISTTIC Saturday workshops are held the first Saturday of the month* from 9AM - 3PM at AMRoC Fab Lab on Fowler Avenue, near the USF Tampa campus.
9/7/24 Awards ceremony, Overview and introduction of Mechatronics
10/5/24 Exploring mechatronics systems with robotics (deep learning, machine learning, AI), Robotics/Roboticon
11/2/24 Sensors and microcontrollers microbits
12/7/24 Autonomous and influence of AI on mechatronics systems
1/11/25 Applications of CAD, Engineering Design , 3D printing, laser cutting etc.
2/1/25 Coding and programming (python)
3/1/25 Power management -movement control
4/4/25 Sustainable technology through innovative and meeting industry needs
5/3/25 Presentations of efforts to enact mechatronics within practice
* the second Saturday of January
Certificates of Participation
MTFs may submit a State University System of Florida Certificate of Participation for intern supervision to cover a portion of tuition. Visit the USF Student Accounting Services webpage for complete details.
The project addresses a national interest by providing advanced education and authentic, action-oriented, training to support the development of STEM Master Teaching Fellows. The project's objective is to develop grades 6-12 STEM teachers' knowledge, confidence, and leadership skills to provide mechatronics-based lessons that include a wide range of experiential education activities to appeal to a diverse student population in their classrooms and after-school programs; thereby broadening participation in STEM.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2344964. 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.