From Classroom Dreams to Real-World Teaching: LSU’s GeauxTeach STEM Program is Empowering Future Educators

For students passionate about STEM and curious about the impact they can make beyond the lab or lecture hall, LSU’s GeauxTeach STEM program offers a rare opportunity: the chance to step into real classrooms and start teaching from the very beginning of their college journey. Through immersive experiences, mentorship, and financial support like the prestigious Noyce Scholarship, GeauxTeach is shaping the next generation of high-quality STEM educators.

One of the most attractive features of the GeauxTeach STEM program at LSU is that undergraduates pursuing math or science degrees have the opportunity to engage in teaching as early as the introductory class, SCI 2010. Students in the program say that this chance to engage with local schools is a key reason they decide to enroll in SCI 2010. As students progress in the GeauxTeach STEM program and become teacher candidates, they enroll in a course called Classroom Interactions, taught by Associate Professor in Science Education Dr. Joshua Ellis. For a major assignment, candidates partner up to create and deliver science and math lessons in a local high school.

Mathematics major Tailenn Fungcharoen-McCray is one of those students. Currently enrolled in Classroom Interactions (EDCI 3550) this Spring 2025 semester, she says her experiences in local classrooms have helped her grow both personally and professionally.“Being able, in my junior year, to get that exposure to high schoolers is a big plus of the program,” Tailenn says. “I experience offering compassion and empathy to meet students where they are and help them to be successful in their math class, which is ultimately going to set them up for success later in life.”  

Tailenn’s path to LSU wasn’t straightforward. She transferred universities twice, switched majors, and worked multiple jobs to manage the cost of tuition and living. These challenges made the financial support of the GeauxTeach STEM program all the more meaningful. She is a  recipient of GeauxTeach’s newest scholarship, the Noyce Scholarship. The NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program recruits STEM majors to a scholarship and mentorship program addressing the national shortage of qualified STEM teachers in Louisiana and nationally. The program awards scholarships of $20,000 per year to each recipient, with a commitment to teaching in a high-needs secondary school for two years for each year of support.

“I was just in so much debt because I had transferred schools and majors,” Tailenn explains. “I’ve constantly had to work two jobs throughout my college experience to pay for school and rent and other expenses.” Becoming a Noyce scholar makes it an easier decision for her to continue in a high quality, university-based teacher preparation program like GeauxTeach STEM.

More than just the financial support, it’s the hands-on experience in real classrooms that Tailenn values most. Tailenn says that she has learned a lot about herself as a person and as a future educator through her student teaching experiences. One that she found important was that the things she thought might work in a classroom don’t always go according to plan. Because of this, she is thankful for the multiple field experience opportunities that allow her to try various teaching strategies in a real classroom environment. She feels that this program has prepared her to meet her future commitment to teach in high needs schools. 

“Going into [our next lesson], I want another activity to occur that allows students to interact with each other outside from their seats,” she said after her first lesson at Madison Prep Academy this spring. “The first lesson was a bit hectic, but the students really enjoyed themselves.”

“Going into, I want another activity to occur that allows students to interact with each other outside from their seats.” The first lesson was a bit hectic, but the students really enjoyed themselves.”

-Tailenn Fungcharoen-McCray

After each lesson, GeauxTeach candidates reflect on what went well and what they would do differently—a process Tailenn sees as essential to her development as an educator.

Tailenn isn’t the only student discovering a passion for teaching through the GeauxTeach STEM program. Biology major Laura Carroll originally enrolled in this program  because she had always considered teaching, but she wasn’t certain if it was for her. That uncertainty quickly disappeared after she joined  GeauxTeach STEM. “I fell in love with the environment and look forward to completing my path to become an educator,”  says Laura, who now serves as the vice president of the GeauxTeach Student Organization. She plans to  apply for the Noyce scholarship next year. 

The journey from freshman year to graduation is rarely a straight line—and for students like Tailenn and Laura, that journey is shaped by discovery, mentorship, and purpose. LSU’s GeauxTeach STEM program gives future educators the chance to try, reflect, and grow in real classrooms, with real students, from day one. Backed by a strong community of faculty mentors and scholarship support like the Noyce Program, these students are not just earning degrees—they’re preparing to make a lasting impact in high-need schools across Louisiana and beyond. Through a collaborative effort of Co-PIs from the College of Science, the College of Human Science and Education, and the Gordon A. Cain Center for STEM Learning, faculty leaders James Madden, Joshua Ellis, Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy, and Stephanie Givens  are creating seamless pathways for students to become outstanding STEM educators. 

For more information about GeauxTeach STEM or the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, email geauxteach@lsu.edu or visit our website. The application is currently open for incoming juniors and seniors to apply by April 30.