Principal Investigator Interview Protocol

DRAFT: Interview Protocol for Principal Investigators
(target time = 45 minutes)
Objective: To better understand the activities provided in their programs, and allow us to explore more
generally patterns observed in survey responses. For example, to ask why Principal Investigators (PIs)
have made decisions about programming, recruitment, placement, and ongoing relationships with other
faculties and with K-12 schools and districts.
Section I: Information about PI
1. [Interviewer recaps PI’s background information from survey; asks PI to verify that it is accurate.]

Section II: Recruiting and Recipient Selection
2. How do you involve STEM departments in your Noyce program?
a. What roles do STEM faculty and staff take on?
3. To what extent were STEM departments involved in teacher preparation prior to the Noyce grant?
4. How do you recruit Noyce scholars, post-baccalaureates, and STEM professionals?
a. Where do you recruit from, and why do you recruit from those places?
5. Tell me about the selection process of Noyce recipients.
a. Is there a formal application process?
b. Is there a formal/informal review process? If so, who is involved? Are all participants’
views equally weighted?
c. What criteria do you consider when making selections (e.g. GPA, major, prior experience,
interviews, interest in teaching, interest in working with high-need populations)?
d. [For those who are not new grantees]: Have these factors changed over time? If so, how and
why?
6. How did you determine the level of funding to provide to each recipient in the 2009-2010 academic
year?
a. Did this level of funding vary by recipient, or recipient type?
b. If so, how did you determine how much funding each recipient would receive?

Section III: Required Program Activities
7. What are the primary objectives of the Noyce program at your institution? [Or: What do you hope to
achieve by operating a Noyce program at your institution?]
8. On the survey, you indicated that Noyce recipients were required to participate in certain educational
activities during 2009-2010. For each of these required activities, please describe:
a. How Noyce recipients engage in these activities, and if applicable, to what extent their
participation is the same or different than their non-Noyce peers.
b. Who is responsible for organizing and running the activity, i.e.: faculty and staff from your
institution’s teacher preparation program, faculty and staff from your institution’s STEM
departments, administrators and staff from partner high-need districts.
c. Whether or not the activity is supported solely through Noyce funds, or whether it is
supplemented by other funding sources.
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Interview Protocol for Principal Investigators

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[Interviewer insert list of activities from survey. Read each one, and prompt with questions above if
needed. Repeat for each activity that PI listed as required on the survey.]
9. Now I would like you to answer the same question for the activities that are required for Noyce
recipients during the first two years of teaching.
[Interviewer insert list of activities from survey. Read each one, and prompt with questions above if
needed. Repeat for each activity that PI listed as required on the survey.]
10. Are there additional requirements for Noyce recipients outside of the program activities you just
described?
a. Do you believe these requirements influence decisions to apply for a Noyce grant?
b. Do you believe these and/or other requirements influence decisions to accept funding once
they are selected?
11. [If applicable]: Have the required activities changed over the years since your institution first
received a Noyce grant? If so, how and why?
12. How do you decide which activities will also be open to non-Noyce recipients?
13. Are there any other faculty members, staff, or organizations involved in Noyce program
activities that you haven’t already mentioned?
[For example, partnerships with other institutes of higher education.]

Section IV: Relationships with High-need Districts
14. Please describe any relationships that you have established with local or other high-need districts.
a. [If needed, prompt with]: Are these relationships informal, or do they include formal signed
agreements between the district and the Noyce program?
b. Why have you chosen to partner with these districts and not others?
15. If you have more than one relationship with high-need districts, do the interactions differ across
districts, and if so, how?
16. [If not a new grantee]: How, if at all, have these relationships evolved over the years in which your
institution has been operating a Noyce program?
17. The relationship between a high-need district and the Noyce program could take a variety of forms.
To what extent is each of the following a part of your institution’s relationship with a high-need
district?
a. Noyce recipients do their student teaching in the district.
b. The district guarantees teaching positions for Noyce recipients or gives preference to Noyce
recipients when hiring.
c. Your institution provides support to the district.
d. Representatives from the district are involved in regular Noyce program meetings.
e. Others?

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Interview Protocol for Principal Investigators

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Section V: Perceptions of Noyce Program
18. How does each of the following program components that you’ve described help you to achieve your
goals for the Noyce program?
a. Required program activities
b. Involvement of STEM faculty
c. Relationships with high-need districts
19. How do Noyce recipients compare with their non-Noyce peers with respect to qualifications and
teaching abilities?
20. What do you consider the most beneficial aspects of the Noyce program, and why?
21. What do you consider the most burdensome aspects of the Noyce program, and why?

Section VI: Final Reflections
22. What does the teacher certification program do to encourage and build relationships with STEM
departments at your institution?
23. Do you feel as though having a Noyce program at your institution has changed STEM departments’
involvement in teacher preparation more broadly, outside of the specifics of the Noyce activities?
24. What mechanisms does your teacher certification program use to support post-graduate recipients to
continue teaching at all, as well as in high-need districts, once they have met their service obligation?
25. Do you have any mechanisms in place to encourage Noyce recipients to continue teaching in highneed districts after they have fulfilled their required commitment?
26. Which parts of the Noyce program do you think are working best at your institution, and which parts
would you like to see improved?
27. How will you sustain the program at your institution after your Noyce grant ends?
28. Is there anything else you would like to add that I did not get a chance to ask you about?

Abt Associates Inc.

Interview Protocol for Principal Investigators

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