STEM Faculty Interview Protocol

DRAFT: Interview Protocol for STEM Faculty
(target time = 30 minutes)
Objective: To better understand how the STEM departments are changing their practices to take
additional responsibility for training teacher candidates.
Section I: Information about faculty member

1. [Interviewer recaps faculty member’s background information from survey; asks respondent
to verify that it is accurate.]
Section II: Characteristics of STEM department
2. Tell me about your department, and where STEM majors generally go with degrees from your
department
3. In your experience, how common is it for students in your department to pursue teaching?
4. How are faculty members in your department—including you—involved in teacher preparation?
(e.g., through referrals, teaching courses, other)
5. How, if at all, do you think that Noyce funding has influenced any recent changes in structure or
collaboration?
a) Existing STEM courses offered to teacher preparation students/STEM majors?

b) New courses being developed for teacher candidates/for STEM majors?
c) Courses that you teach to teacher candidates/STEM majors?
d) Participation of STEM faculty in other teacher preparation activities, other than
formal courses?
e) Participation of STEM faculty interactions with K-12 schools/districts?
Section III: Your involvement with Noyce
6. With approximately how many Noyce recipients have you worked?
7. Please describe how you participate/engage with the teacher preparation program (e.g.
recruitment/selection, teaching, in-service, other)?

Section IV: Institutional change
9. How, if at all, has your institution changed because of the Noyce program, in terms of teacher
preparation, your department, and in the STEM departments more broadly?
10. How (if at all) has Noyce influenced:
a) STEM students’ interest in teaching?
b) Diversity of STEM teacher candidates?
c) Quality of STEM teacher candidates?

Abt Associates Inc.

Interview Protocol for STEM Faculty

1

Section V: Perceptions of Noyce program
11. As of June 2010, how do the most recent STEM teacher graduates compare to their STEM major
peers with regard to content knowledge?
12. What do you consider the most beneficial aspects of the Noyce program, and why?
13. What do you consider the most burdensome aspects of the Noyce program, and why?
14. How effective do you think the Noyce program has been—and will be—in achieving its goals?

Section VI: Final reflections
15. Which parts of the Noyce program do you think are working best at your institution, and which parts
would you like to see improved?
16. Do you know of plans to sustain the program at your institution after your Noyce grant ends? If so,
what will it take to make this successful?
17. 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 STEM Faculty

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