GK-12: The Pittsburgh Partnership for ENERGIZing Science in Urban Schools

题目：匹兹堡城市学校科学激励合作机构：匹兹堡大学PI/合作PI: Joseph Grabowski (PI), Jennifer L. Cartier（合作PI）每年研究员：11名研究生和7名本科生学校合作伙伴：匹兹堡公立学区（PPSD）目标：3至8年级设置：城市学科：化学，生物科学，物理和天文学，地质学和行星科学，数学，神经科学。叙述：有充分证据表明，在小学和中学阶段，良好的科学教学存在障碍，其中最值得注意的是，在人满为患的课程中，几乎没有时间持续探索重要的科学概念。一种回应是开发动手工具包，如PPSD中使用的全选项科学系统（FOSS）课程。虽然自由/开源软件的材料是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，因为它增加了对学生探索性体验的强调，减少了要涵盖的“事实”和“主题”的绝对数量，但它们本身并不能解决科学教学不足的问题。事实仍然是，太多的教师缺乏必要的内容知识，无法让学生围绕自由/开源软件课程中潜在的经验经验概念进行丰富的讨论。我们选择了能源的“大理念”作为主题，因为它适合PPSD中使用的许多自由/开源软件单元。概念性主题的采用将提供团队之间更好的衔接，并为学生提供“概念一致性”。智力优势：为了增加对教师的内容支持，我们将在PPSD的3-8年级教师和匹兹堡大学的STEM学生（被选中代表STEM人员的多样性）之间建立伙伴关系。基金将支持来自选定学校的12个中小学教师团队、STEM研究生和本科生团队，以及数学和阅读专家团队。考虑到小学课程对时间的要求，跨学科的支持是很重要的，这样才能在学校里安排时间来教授创新和严谨的科学。每个小组的一项重要活动将是研究和执行适合年级的自由和开放软件单位，并为其他公共和发展部门教师设计和举办有关的专业发展讲习班，以便传播有效的方法。项目协调员将在教育学院教员的协助下，提供与《国家科学教学标准》中所述的研究性教学法和教学方法（强调建模和论证）相关的支持。外部评估人员将监督评估工具的设计和数据规划，将进行实地考察，并将收集、分析和报告项目目标进展的数据。更广泛的影响：增加教师内容知识是我们项目的一个重要目标，但绝不是唯一的目标。我们还期望通过培训活动、接受和提供的指导、与其他参与者的讨论以及与学校学生的互动，GK-12研究员将获得对城市学校教学复杂性和有效教学策略的宝贵见解。在每年夏天的准备课程和后续的努力中，特别强调科学的本质是一种由社会话语支持的“创造意义”的努力。这种科学观，虽然与当前的科学教育改革运动相一致，但对大多数STEM学生（以及许多K-12教师）来说，仍然是新的，相当陌生的。因此，我们与团队的合作将包括对科学探究本质的明确讨论，让中小学生参与与经验现象相关的论证和解释的策略示例，以及对团队成员提供的指导进行反思分析。所有的GK-12活动将有助于在PPSD教师和皮特的STEM教师和学生之间建立联系（目前完全缺乏），而具体的活动，如家庭科学之夜和每月通讯，将项目人员与学校学生的家庭联系起来。该项目得到数学和物理科学理事会的部分支持。

Title: The Pittsburgh Partnership for ENERGizing Science in Urban SchoolsInstitution: The University of Pittsburgh PI/Co-PIs: Joseph Grabowski (PI), Jennifer L. Cartier (co-PI)Fellows perYear: 11 Graduate Fellows and 7 Undergraduate FellowsSchool Partner: Pittsburgh Public School District (PPSD)Target: 3rd through 8th grades Setting: Urban Disciplines: Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Physics & Astronomy, Geology & Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, Neuroscience.Narrative: Well-documented barriers to good science teaching exist at the elementary and middle school level, most notable of which, there is little time in an overstuffed curriculum for sustained exploration of significant science concepts. One response has been the development of hands-on kits such as the Full Option Science System (FOSS) curriculum in use in the PPSD. While FOSS materials are a step in the right direction in terms of increasing the emphasis on exploratory experiences for students and decreasing the sheer number of "facts" and "topics" to be covered, they are not, in and of themselves, a solution to the problem of inadequate science instruction. The fact remains that too many teachers lack the necessary content knowledge to engage their students in rich discussions around the concepts underlying empirical experiences within the FOSS curriculum. We have selected the "big idea" of energy as a theme, as it fits with many of the FOSS units in use in PPSD. The adoption of a conceptual theme will provide better articulation between teams as well as providing students with a "conceptual consistency". Intellectual Merit: To increase content support for teachers, we will form partnerships between grade 3-8 teachers in PPSD and STEM students at the University of Pittsburgh (selected to represent the diversity of STEM personnel). Funding will support 12 teams of elementary/middle school teachers, STEM graduate students and undergraduate students, as well as math and reading specialists from selected schools. Given time demands on elementary curricula, it is important to have interdisciplinary support in order to establish the time within the school day to teach innovative and rigorous science. An important activity of each team will be to study and implement grade-level appropriate FOSS units and to design and deliver related professional development workshops to other PPSD teachers, in order to disseminate validated approaches. A project coordinator, with assistance from School of Education faculty, will provide support related to inquiry pedagogy and instructional approaches (emphasis on modeling and argumentation) consistent with those described in the National Science Teaching Standards. An external evaluator will oversee assessment instrument design and data planning, will conduct site visits, and will collect, analyze, and report on data on progress toward project goals.Broader Impacts: Increasing teacher content knowledge is an important goal of our project, but it is by no means the only one. We also anticipate that GK-12 Fellows will gain valuable insights into the complexities of urban school teaching and effective pedagogical strategies, both through the training activities, the mentoring they receive and deliver, discussions with other participants, and their interactions with school students. During the preparation course each summer and follow-up endeavors, particular emphasis will be placed on the nature of science as a "sense-making" endeavor supported by social discourse. This view of science, although consistent with current reform movements in science education, is still new and quite foreign to most STEM students (and many K-12 teachers). Thus, our work with teams will include explicit discussion of the nature of scientific inquiry, examples of strategies to engage elementary/middle school students in argumentation and explanation related to empirical phenomena, and reflective analysis of instruction provided by team members. All of the GK-12 activities will serve to establish links (currently completely lacking) between the PPSD teachers and the STEM faculty and students at Pitt while specific activities, such as the Family Science Night and monthly newsletter, will connect project personnel with school student's families. This project is receiving partial support from the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.