Noyce Recipient Interview Protocol for Recipients who Completed Teacher Certification Program

DRAFT: Interview Protocol for Noyce Recipients Who have Completed Their Teacher
Certification Program (target time = 45 minutes)
Objective: To better understand when recipient decided to go into teaching; whether they would have
considered teaching if it weren’t for Noyce; how they found out about Noyce; aspects of Noyce program
recipients find most/least valuable during teacher certification; why interviewees decided to (dis)continue
their professional educational and/or obtain additional credentials; which program components recipients
perceive to be most helpful in dealing with challenges found in teaching in high-need schools; and what
additional aspects of the induction were most influential in recipients’ decision to stay or leave teaching
and take on leadership roles.

Section I: Background Information about Recipient
1. [Recap information from Recipient’s survey and asks Recipient to verify that it is accurate]
a) Background information (school, major(s), certification area, degree);
b) Scholarship info (length/amount);
c) Noyce “Repayment status” (within commitment, finished commitment, other)
d) Current employment status (currently teaching, finished teaching requirement and still
teaching, etc);
e) Location/type of teaching position [if applicable]

Section II: Noyce Program’s Influence During Teacher Certification Program
The Noyce Program
2. How did you hear about the Noyce program and its scholarship?
3. Tell me about your experience with the Noyce scholarship application process. Did you find the
content and time required to complete the application appropriate? Why or why not?
4. [recap Noyce program components recipient listed on survey]. Ask participant to briefly describe
each program component.
5. What were the most positive and helpful aspects of your Noyce Scholarship and its programs?
6. What aspects of your Noyce Scholarship and its programs do you think could have been improved?
7. How did being a Noyce scholar influence your experience in your teacher certification program?
a) Course load/time management;
b) Research/internships experience;
c) Learning about working with high-need populations and/or different cultures;
d) Student teaching experiences;
e) Access to mentors;
f) Access to Education faculty (probe: In general, how involved were Education Dept professors
in your teacher certification program? In Noyce?);
g) Access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) faculty
(probe: In general, how involved were Education Dept professors in your teacher certification
program? In Noyce?);
h) Career placement;
i) Quality of your overall student experience?
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Interview Protocol for Noyce Recipients--Completed

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Your Teacher Certification Program
8.

a) What were the most positive and helpful aspects of your teacher certification program in
general?
b) What aspects of your teacher certification program in general do you think could have been
improved? [if not mentioned, probe for: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics) content-knowledge; teaching pedagogy; classroom management]

9. What else do you think your teacher certification program and/or the Noyce Scholarship could have
done to better prepare you for dealing with the challenges of teaching in a high-need school?

Section III: Choosing a Teaching Career
10. When did you decide to become a teacher?
11. What drove your decision to become a teacher? (Probes: finances, rewards associated with teaching,
mentors, etc.)
12. What drove your decision to pursue a career teaching in a high-need school?
13. Have your reasons for pursuing a teaching career changed since the time when you first decided to
become a teacher? If so, tell me about this change and when it occurred.
14. Would you have chosen to teach if you had not received a Noyce scholarship? Why or why not?
15. In general, how involved was your teacher certification program and the Noyce program in helping
you job search for your first teaching position after completing your certification?
16. In general, how involved has your teacher certification program been in your teaching career (probe
for: mentoring, general communication level, and overall connectedness?)

Section IV: Dealing with Challenges of Teaching in a High-Need School (if applicable)
17. Are you currently, or have you ever while a “Noyce scholar” taught in a high-need school? (Yes/No)
If “Yes”, Skip to item 18
If “No”
Why did you decide not to teach in a high-need school? How did this
decision impact your Noyce scholarship commitment/repayment? Skip to item 21
18. Tell me about your experiences teaching in a high-need school.
a) What have been the most challenging aspects?
b) What have been the most rewarding aspects?
19. How did your teacher certification program and the Noyce program prepare you for the challenges
of teaching in a high-need school? [confirm basic information from survey and ask about

anything else not mentioned in survey]
a)
b)
c)
d)

What were the most helpful components?
What were the least helpful components?
How are these programs influencing your current career?
Is this level of support sufficient?

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Interview Protocol for Noyce Recipients--Completed

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20. Is your teacher certification program and/or the Noyce program currently supporting you in any way
in meeting the challenges of teaching in a high-need school (providing mentorship, meetings,
communication, etc.)? (Yes/No)
If “No”, Skip to ITEM 21
If “Yes”
How is your teacher certification program and/or the Noyce
program supporting you in meeting the challenges of teaching in a high-need school?
a) What have been the most helpful aspects?
b) How is their support influencing your current career?
c) Is this level of support sufficient?
21. What else could your teacher certification program and/or the Noyce Scholarship have done or
currently do to better prepare you for dealing with the challenges of a teaching in a high-need school?

Section V: Taking on Leadership Roles as a Teacher and Advancing your Career
[Recap involvement in leadership role with Respondent based on survey responses. Select Appropriate
Path (A or B)]
Path A. Recipient is “not involved in any leadership roles”:
22. Are you interested in taking on a leadership role as a teacher at your school? Why or why not?
Skip to SECTION VI
Path B. Recipient is “involved in ANY leadership activity”
23. Ask for a description of what the role(s) entails.
24. Why did you decide to take on the above mentioned leadership role(s)?
25. How has the leadership role(s) influenced your experience as a teacher?
26. How did your teacher certification program/Noyce prepare you for the leadership role(s)?

Section VI: Noyce and Your Career Choices/Decisions about Future Education
[Review recipient’s career/education history (positions held, years spent in each position, education postNoyce scholarship). Go to appropriate next Section]:
Path A
Teachers who are currently within their Noyce Teaching Commitment
Path B
Teachers who have completed their Noyce Teaching Commitment
Path C
Respondent is NOT currently teaching
Path A. Teachers who are currently within their Noyce Teaching Commitment:
27. What are your future plans for your career once you’ve completed your Noyce Teaching
commitment? Select One: Stay in a teaching position, Continue working in a K-12 school in a nonteaching position; change careers; and/or pursuing further education
a) Do you envision yourself teaching in a high needs school in the future? Why or why not?
b) What factors have influenced your future career plans?
c) How, if at all, did your teacher certification program/Noyce influence this decision?
28. Are you considering obtaining any additional education-related degrees and/or certifications?
a) If yes, which degree/certification?
b) If yes, when would you pursue this degree/certification?
c) If yes, why did you decide to pursue an additional degree/certification?

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Interview Protocol for Noyce Recipients--Completed

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Path B. Teachers who have already completed their Noyce Teaching Commitment:
29. Tell me about the school where you are currently teaching? (location; student demographics, size)
30. What are your future plans for your career now that you’ve completed your Noyce teaching
commitment? Select One: Stay in a teaching position, Continue working in a K-12 school in a nonteaching position; change careers; and/or pursuing further education
a) What factors have influenced these plans?
31. Are you considering obtaining any additional education-related degrees and/or certifications?
a) If yes, which degree/certification?
b) If yes, when would you pursue this degree/certification?
c) If yes, why did you decide to pursue an additional degree/certification?

Path C: Respondent is NOT currently teaching
32. Tell me about your current career.
33. What factors influenced your decisions regarding your career change?
34. Was there anything your teacher certification program and/or the Noyce Scholarship program could
have done differently to support you continuing in a teaching career?
Anything else?
35. Is there anything else we haven’t talked about during this interview that you think would be important
for me to know about the Noyce Program, your teacher certification program, your teaching career or
your future plans?

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Interview Protocol for Noyce Recipients--Completed

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