The Clinical Experience for Pre-Service Science Educators: An Exploratory Study of Their Collegial Networks and Opportunity-to-Learn Trajectories

临床经验是教师准备的特征之一，被认为对新手教育者有重大影响。然而，关于是什么使这种实习有效的研究基础很少。本研究由美国国家科学基金会的Robert Noyce教师奖学金项目资助，通过第四部分——K-12 STEM教师的准备、招聘和保留研究，将研究来自三个不同准备机构的职前中学科学教师的临床经验。本研究将：(1)调查教师候选人如何在临床准备期间使用“建议和信息网络”来发展有关教学工作的知识，并为计划、教学和评估决策提供信息；(2)调查候选人在课堂上的“学习机会”，记录教学新手有机会尝试的方面和频率；(3)制定量化措施，反映“咨询和信息网络”经验和“学习机会”数据集的质量。这些将用于预测新手在计划、教学和评估方面的edTPA（教师绩效评估）分数。这项研究将揭示学前教育专业人员在该领域向谁寻求帮助，他们随着时间的推移学到了什么，以及它如何影响他们与年轻学习者的工作。该项目将通过确定如何构建支持网络以及合作教师如何提供富有成效的反馈，以及阐明可能随着时间的推移提高教师候选人学习机会的经验轨迹，帮助指导临床经验的设计。本研究将调查60名职前中学科学教师的临床经验，以发展更有经验基础的职前教育工作者在K-12课堂期间的学习机会。第一部分描述了教师候选人如何在临床准备过程中使用“建议和信息网络”（合作教师、实地主管、准备项目中的同伴、临床实习中的其他教师、方法讲师、在线社区成员等）来发展有关教学的知识，并为有关计划、指导和评估的决策提供信息。第二部分考察教师候选人在课堂上的“学习机会”。它将记录教学新手有机会尝试的哪些方面以及随时间推移的频率——这些经验可能包括观察已完成的教学，以各种方式与学生互动，与合作教师共同规划以及共同教学。研究的前两个组成部分的数据将成为每个参与者的个案历史的一部分，包括对职前教师的采访，这些新手的在线调查内容，对方法讲师的采访和对现场主管的采访。将制定量化措施，以反映“咨询和信息网络”经验和“学习机会”数据集的质量。这些将被用来测试这些综合措施是否能显著预测教师候选人实践的质量，这是由edTPA工具得出的。edTPA包括候选人的计划工具、课程、评估、学生作业分析，以及对他们设计和教授的一系列教学情节的分析反思。如果研究人员和教师教育工作者能够理解对他们的知识和实践有实质性贡献的新手寻求帮助和学习机会的模式，那么就有可能为他们设计机会，使他们与影响他们作为专业人员发展的其他人定期互动。临床经验的改善将意味着更有能力的初级教师，即使在他们职业生涯的早期，也能更好地支持学生学习和参与科学。这项工作得到了EHR核心研究（ECR）项目的部分支持。ECR项目强调在该领域产生基础知识的基础STEM教育研究。投资在至关重要、广泛和持久的关键领域：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。

Clinical experience is one of the features of teacher preparation assumed to have a significant impact on novice educators. There is, however, only a thin research base about what makes such internships effective. This study, funded by the National Science Foundations' Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, through Track 4--Research on the Preparation, Recruitment, and Retention of K-12 STEM Teachers, will examine the clinical experiences of pre-service secondary science teachers from three different preparation institutions. The research study will: (1) investigate how teacher candidates use "advice and information networks" during clinical preparation to develop knowledge about the work of teaching and to inform decisions about planning, instruction, and assessment; (2) investigate candidates' "opportunities to learn" over time in the classroom, documenting which aspects of teaching novices are given the opportunity to try out and with what frequency; (3) develop quantitative measures reflect the quality of "advice and information network" experiences and the "opportunity to learn" data sets. These will be used to predict novices' edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) scores on planning, instruction, and assessment. This study will reveal from whom pre-professionals seek help in the field, what they learn over time, and how it influences their work with young learners. This project will help inform the design of clinical experiences by identifying how networks of support might be structured and how cooperating teachers might provide productive feedback, as well as articulating a trajectory of experiences that may improve teacher candidates' opportunities to learn over time. The clinical experiences of sixty pre-service secondary science teachers will be investigated in order to develop a more empirically-grounded representation of the learning opportunities of pre-service educators during their time in K-12 classrooms. The first component maps out how teacher candidates use "advice and information networks" (cooperating teachers, field supervisors, peers in the preparation program, other teachers in the clinical placement, methods instructors, members of on-line communities, etc.) during clinical preparation to develop knowledge about teaching and to inform decisions about planning, instruction, and assessment. The second component examines teacher candidates' "opportunities to learn" over time in the classroom. It will document which aspects of teaching novices are given chances to try out and with what frequency over time--these experiences may include observations of accomplished teaching, interacting with students in varied ways, co-planning with a cooperating teacher, and co-teaching. Data for each of the first two components of the study will become part of a case history for each participant, and will include interviews with the pre-service teachers, the contents of on-line surveys by these novices, interviews with methods instructors and interviews with field supervisors. Quantitative measures will be developed that reflect the quality of "advice and information network" experiences and the "opportunity to learn" data sets. These will be used to test whether these composite measures are significant predictors of the quality of teacher candidates' practices as derived from an instrument known as the edTPA. The edTPA includes documentation of candidates' planning tools, lessons, assessments, analysis of student work, and analytic reflections on a sequence of instructional episodes they designed and taught. If researchers and teacher educators can understand the patterns of help-seeking and opportunities to learn by novices that contribute substantively to their knowledge and practice, then it could be possible to engineer opportunities for them to interact regularly with others who influence their development as professionals. Improved clinical experiences will mean more competent beginning teachers who, even early in their career, are better situated to support students in learning about and participating in science.This work is supported, in part, by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.