Pathway to Science Phase II

目前，缺乏合格的科学教师是导致高风险学生成绩不佳和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：科学教室人数过多，科学教师人手不足；在其认证领域之外授课的教师；和/或没有科学、数学或工程背景的长期代课教师。在美国国家科学基金会罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金项目的资助下，“通往科学之路”（PTS）第二阶段项目正在招募理科生和应届毕业生，并将他们培养成初中生和高中理科教师。该项目将在四年内资助12个奖学金。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与莫比尔县公立学校合作。PTS第二阶段将使最近的STEM学士学位毕业生能够通过一个密集的四学期课程完成二级科学认证，最终获得硕士学位，并将直接解决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的经验，帮助具有强大科学背景的个人在完成教育课程之前评估他们对教学职业的兴趣。一项研究将调查该计划的纵向影响，通过解决以下问题：(1)关于准备，增加实地经验对诺伊斯PTS毕业生自我效能感的影响是什么？(2)关于Noyce毕业生在教学行业的保留，专业学习社区（PLC）的效果是什么？(3) PLC对Noyce毕业生和在职PTS学者的影响是什么？(4)师徒计划对现有和已毕业学者的留存率有何影响？(5)通过诺伊斯专业发展项目，以学生和教师的身份参与专业发展对教师自我效能感有何影响？(6)诺伊斯的毕业生在教师领导和学生倡导方面对所在学校的院系有什么影响？对前PTS毕业生对学生成绩的影响的纵向研究结果，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.