Project Summary
Similar to Pathway to Science, Pathways to Mathematics (PTM) is a collaborative program between
the University of South Alabama Colleges of Education, Arts & Sciences, and Engineering, the Alabama
State Department of Education through its Alabama Math Science and Technology Initiative, and the
Mobile County Public Schools System. PTM will address the desperate need to increase the number of
mathematics teachers in the MCPSS through enabling recent mathematics and engineering bachelor’s
degree graduates to complete secondary mathematics certification in an intensive four-semester program
that culminates with certification and an earned master’s degree. To ensure that the investment in these
newly certified teachers (Noyce Scholars) is successful, they will participate in a two-year mentoring
program designed to provide classroom support after graduation.
Goals
1. PTM will prepare (over the five-year period) a total of up to 25 mathematics teachers who will be
certified to teach mathematics at the secondary level. PTM seeks to create a steady stream of
future alternative master’s degree mathematics education majors, which in turn will increase the
number of mathematics teachers available for entering the local and neighboring school systems.
2. PTM will enhance middle and high school student achievement by providing certified
mathematics teachers in high needs schools that currently have a lack of certified math teachers.
3. PTM will create a replicable model to provide ongoing mentoring and professional development
for novice mathematics teachers that will increase the likelihood that they will be retained and
become career teachers.
4. PTM will create a mathematics pipeline beginning at the community college level and culminating
in an earned master’s degree and certification for students to teach mathematics.
The University of South Alabama has the capacity to deliver a high quality Noyce scholarship program.
The University has a strong history of collaboration with the Mobile County Public Schools, the largest
school district in Alabama with approximately 65,000 students.
Broader Impacts
The aim of PTM is to increase the supply of qualified mathematics teachers for the Mobile County
Public School System and other partner school districts in rural southwest Alabama. PTM will attract
racially and ethnically diverse mathematics majors (who are traditionally underrepresented among
mathematics teachers and who would likely take other career paths) into the teaching field by an
extensive recruitment campaign that targets senior and recent graduates in the STEM disciplines.
Currently the lack of certified mathematics teachers is a major cause of poor achievement and low
expectations for high-risk students. This problem is greatly exacerbated in both rural and urban areas
because schools in these locales are most likely to serve disadvantaged children and have teachers who
are teaching out of field. PTM will have an immediate impact on the academic achievement of students in
these target schools. Through the Noyce scholarship program, a redesigned alternative certification
program that culminates with an earned master’s degree will significantly increase clinical field
experiences for participants while shortening their time to complete certification, thus putting more
qualified mathematics teachers into classrooms sooner.
Intellectual Merit
The PTM program will add to the body of knowledge identifying factors that attract mathematics
majors to careers as secondary school teachers. Beyond providing incentives to commit to the program,
PTM will engage recent mathematics and STEM graduates in a replicable curriculum that is designed to
provide a wide spectrum of teaching experiences that will be beneficial to all students, especially socioeconomic disadvantage students attending high needs schools schools.
Perhaps the most critical characteristic of intellectual merit for PTM is the mentoring of these newly
minted mathematics teachers to ensure that they will provide effective instruction in their own classrooms
and are set on a pathway to becoming career teachers. A mentoring program that has been created for
the Noyce Pathway to Science program will also provide professional development for ongoing support of
the participants of the PTM program while matriculating through the master’s curriculum and upon their
graduation as new mathematics teachers.