Claflin University Start-Partnership for Improving Mathematics and Science (CUSP-IMS)

克拉夫林大学启动数学和科学改善伙伴关系（CUSP-IMS）的重点是发展可持续的基础设施和综合方法模型，以加深南卡罗来纳州小学学生的概念知识，提高他们在数学和科学方面的成就。这一合作将克拉夫林大学（Claflin University）和沃里斯学院（Voorhees College）的科学、技术、工程、数学和教育方面的教师和研究人员（这两所大学都是少数族裔服务机构）与奥兰治堡联合第五学区和班贝格第二学区的公立学校教育工作者和课程开发人员聚集在一起，这两所学校位于南卡罗来纳州服务最欠缺的地区之一的农村地区。CUSP-IMS项目加强了Claflin大学和Voorhees学院与当地学区的现有合作，并扩大了合作伙伴关系，包括更多的少数民族学院和大学以及非城市，服务不足的学区。该项目正在探索创造性和变革性战略，以建立一个有凝聚力的伙伴关系，设计、实施和评估将数学与科学相结合的课程材料，并为教师提供必要的教学和内容知识，以便有效地使用这些材料。MSP-Start伙伴关系规划期被用来进行需求评估和设计一系列活动的战略计划，包括：1)审查现有的小学科学和数学课程和课堂经验，以及它们与项目目标的一致程度；2)评估教师最重要的专业发展需求，特别是与数学和科学内容相关的需求；3)开发评估工具，提高合作机构服务的农村社区小学生的科学和数学成绩；4)评估地区合作伙伴为达成计划目标所拥有的资源，以及如何分配资源；(5)建立发展中伙伴关系赖以运作的一套工作准则和核心价值。对CUSP-IMS的评估正在使用定性和定量方法记录制定可持续伙伴关系模式的过程，以及制定完整的msp目标伙伴关系项目的准备情况。

The Claflin University Start Partnership for Improving Mathematics and Science (CUSP-IMS) is focusing on development of a sustainable infrastructure and a model for an integrative approach to deepen students' conceptual knowledge and improve their achievement in mathematics and science at the elementary school level in South Carolina. The partnership brings together science, technology, engineering, mathematics and education faculty and researchers at Claflin University and Voorhees College (both of which are minority-serving institutions) with public school educators and curriculum developers in Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 and Bamberg School District 2, located in rural settings in one of the most underserved regions in South Carolina. The CUSP-IMS project is enhancing Claflin University's and Voorhees College's existing collaborations with local school districts, as well as expanding the partnership to include additional minority-serving colleges and universities and non-urban, underserved school districts. The project is exploring creative and transformative strategies for building a cohesive partnership to design, implement, and evaluate curricular materials that integrate mathematics with science, and to prepare teachers with the necessary pedagogical and content knowledge to use the materials effectively. The MSP-Start Partnership planning period is being used to conduct a needs assessment and design a strategic plan for a suite of activities that include, 1) review of existing elementary school science and mathematics curricula and classroom experiences and the extent of their alignment with project goals; 2) assessment of teachers' most critically important professional development needs, particularly as they relate to mathematics and science content; 3) development of evaluation tools that will improve the science and mathematics achievement of elementary school students in the rural communities served by the partnering institutions; 4) evaluation of the district partners' resources to achieve the project goals and how they are being distributed; and 5) establishment of a set of working guidelines and core values from which the developing partnership will operate. The evaluation of the CUSP-IMS is using qualitative and quantitative approaches to document the process of developing a sustainable partnership model, and the readiness to develop a full MSP-Targeted Partnership project.