Pathway to Science Phase II

目前，缺乏经过认证的科学教师是高危学生成绩差、期望值低的主要原因。这一问题在农村和城市地区都大大加剧，因为这些地区的学校通常有：科学教室人满为患，科学教师人数不足；在其认证领域外授课的教师；和/或没有科学、数学或工程背景的长期代课教师。在国家科学基金会罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划的资助下，科学之路(PTS)第二阶段项目正在招募理科专业的本科生和应届毕业生，并为他们成为初中和高中科学教师做准备。该项目将在四年内为12个奖学金提供资金。在这个项目中，南阿拉巴马大学的教育学院、艺术与科学学院和工程学院正在与莫比尔县公立学校合作。PTS第二阶段将使新近毕业的STEM学士学位毕业生能够通过一个为期四个学期的密集课程完成中学科学认证，最终获得硕士学位，并将直接满足莫比尔县增加科学教师数量的需求。该项目的一个显著特点是提供实习前经验，帮助具有强大科学背景的个人在投入时间完成教育课程之前评估他们对教师职业的兴趣。一项研究将调查该项目的纵向影响，通过解决以下问题：(1)关于准备，增加实地经验对诺伊斯PTS毕业生的自我效能有什么影响？(2)关于留住诺伊斯毕业生在教师职业方面，专业学习共同体(PLC)的作用是什么？(3)PLC对Noyce毕业生和现有的PTS学者有什么影响？(4)辅导计划对留住现有和毕业的学者有什么影响？(5)作为学生和作为教师通过Noyce PTS计划参与专业发展(PD)如何影响教师自我效能？(6)Noyce毕业生在教师领导和学生倡导方面对他们所在学校的部门有什么影响？关于前PTS毕业生对学生成绩有效性的纵向研究结果，以及描述他们经历的定性数据，将有助于更好地为科学教师做好准备，以满足学生的需求。

Currently the lack of certified science teachers is a major cause of poor achievement and low expectations for high-risk pupils. This problem is greatly intensified in both rural and urban areas because schools in these locales typically have: overpopulated science classrooms and inadequate science teacher staffing; teachers who teach outside of their field of certification; and/or long-term substitute teachers who do not have a science, mathematics, or engineering background. With funding from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, the Pathway to Science (PTS) Phase 2 project, is recruiting undergraduate majors in science disciplines and recent graduates and preparing them to become middle grades and high school science teachers. The project is funding 12 scholarships over four years. In this project, the Colleges of Education, Arts & Sciences, and Engineering at the University of South Alabama are collaborating with Mobile County Public Schools. PTS Phase 2 will enable recent STEM bachelor degree graduates to complete secondary science certification through an intensive, four-semester program that culminates with an earned master's degree and will directly address the need to increase the number of science teachers in Mobile County. A distinguishing feature of the project is the pre-residency experiences provided to help individuals with strong science backgrounds gauge their interest in a career in teaching before they commit time to completing the education coursework.A research study will investigate the longitudinal impact of the program, by addressing questions such as, (1) With regard to preparedness, what are the effects of increased field experiences on the self-efficacy of graduating Noyce PTS scholars? (2) With regard to retention of Noyce graduates in the teaching profession, what are the effects of a Professional Learning Community (PLC)? (3) What are the effects of a PLC on Noyce graduates and current PTS scholars? (4) What effect does a mentoring program have on the retention of current and graduated scholars? (5) How does engaging in professional development (PD) both as a student and as a teacher through the Noyce PTS program effect teacher self-efficacy? (6) What impact do Noyce graduates have on the departments of the schools in which they work in terms of teacher leadership and student advocacy? The results of the longitudinal study on the effectiveness of former PTS graduates on student achievement, along with qualitative data describing their experiences, will assist in better preparation of science teachers to meet student needs.