Impact of Internship on Undergraduate STEM Students’ Interest in STEM Teaching

Abstract

The demand for certified STEM teachers nationally has been rising with schools across the country struggling to fill openings with qualified teachers. Fewer STEM students are entering the teaching profession, and school districts are struggling to attract and retain teachers (Barth et al., 2016). As a part of a federally-funded NSF Noyce Capacity Building project aiming to inspire college-level STEM students to pursue a career in K-12 teaching, we formed a partnership with a regional science center to strengthen the K-12 STEM teacher education pathways. We provided a paid summer internship opportunity at a local science center for STEM majors to design and implement hands-on, inquiry-based science activities with students from the various grade levels to develop their skills and interest in STEM education. This study highlights the views of STEM student participants on their internship experience and the impact it had on their perception of teaching as a profession.